Tools At The Touch Of A Button

A focus on the needs of customers sets machining specialist Walter apart, including when it comes to providing digital product data. Konstantinos Bountolas, Product Data Solutions Manager at Walter, summarises Walter's data philosophy as follows: "Product data that is ready to use enables our users to find, choose and assemble tools more quickly when it comes to designing, planning, NC programming and purchasing, as well as on the shop floor.

" Walter's strategy of focusing on its customers is also geared towards the customers' procurement preferences. "We leave it to our customers to choose where they would like to access the product data for our tools. Everyone has their own preferred channels for obtaining this data. All that matters is making sure that we provide our data exactly where our customers are looking for it," he explains. Walter mainly relies on the "channels" of MachiningCloud, the e-catalogue for TDM and Tools United.

Walter on MachiningCloud
Customers around the world can access more than 40,000 Walter tool elements on MachiningCloud. "MachiningCloud is perfect for us," underlines Konstantinos Bountolas. "There, we present our tools in virtually the same way as in our catalogue. Thanks to Walter's standardised product designations, the way in which the products are presented and the logos that customers are familiar with, users will find our products without fail on MachiningCloud."

Walter e-catalogue for TDM
MachiningCloud and the Walter e-catalogue for TDM have similar functions, such as product specification lists (cutting diameter, projection length, length of cutting edge, the direction of rotation, etc.), 2D drawings, 3D models, photos and descriptions. But the Walter e-catalogue for TDM goes into even greater detail. With an average of 20 parameters, it contains all the information that is required by a CAD/CAM system. The e-catalogue can also be linked to ERP software via TDM. Konstantinos Bountolas confirms: "It's not good when customers have to manually re-measure missing properties, such as lengths and diameters and have to manually enter parameters. Customers want product data at the touch of a button."

Tools United
More than 900,000 tool components from 36 different manufacturers, including Walter, are stored on the Tools United tool platform. The platform provides NC programmers, buyers, tool managers, project managers and design engineers with product data based on their requirements in standardised formats and common export interfaces for tool management systems and CAM systems.