Certified Heat Treating Adds A New Location

Certified Heat Treating, Inc. of Miamisburg, Ohio and The Biehn Group of Companies are pleased to announce the acquisition of Heat Treating Incorporated in Springfield, Ohio. 

Certified Heat Treating and Heat Treating Incorporated have served the metal treating needs of the Tri-State area for many decades and the merger of the two companies is a natural progression of synergies, mutually benefiting the companies, and the customers they serve.

The two companies are known and respected for quality and excellent customer service.  They are both ISO 9001:2008 certified, adhere to lean manufacturing principles, and are dedicated to 5-S programs.  These proven practices will continue to maintain an industry leading work environment resulting in the attraction and retention of the best associates available.  This reinforces both companies' positions as leaders in the Miami Valley heat treating industry.  Dedicated to workplace improvement, Heat Treating Incorporated is a member of the DOL-approved Heat Treating Apprenticeship Program and Certified Heat Treating is currently a finalist in the Dayton Business Journal's Manufacturing Awards in the category of Workplace Training.

The integration of the two companies will result in the combining of equipment, knowledge and personnel in the production, vacuum, and induction heat treating departments.  This enables both Certified Heat Treating and Heat Treating Inc. to continue to provide their customers with unmatched service and quality metal treating.  The capacity gained in this acquisition will allow Certified Heat Treating Inc. to treat up to 150,000 additional pounds of material per day.        

                                                                                                                                                                                    

After the acquisition, the combined company will continue operations under the name Certified Heat Treating Incorporated at both the Miamisburg and Springfield sites.  Currently, all operational, accounting and customer service departments will continue to operate independently.  Mike Trimble will be in charge of managing CHTI/Springfield and Bob Biehn will continue as manager at CHTI/Miamisburg.

If you would like to find out more about the acquisition and merger or about Certified Heat Treating Incorporated, please contact the president, Joe Biehn, at 937-901-1574 or via email at jbiehn@cbmfg.com, or visit our two web sites, www.certifiedheattreating.com and www.heattreating.com

Ceramic Snap Off and Titanium Hybrid Blades

Ceramic Snap Off and Titanium Hybrid Blades

American Cutting Edge, Inc. is proud to bring the first line of ceramic snap off and titanium hybrid blades to the United States. These blades have a demonstrated blade life up to 85 times longer than their carbon and stainless steel counterparts and offer an unrivaled level of precision cutting. Other extreme performance materials have already made their mark in fixed cutting applications in the packaging and converting industries. Now they are finally available in snap off form, and for hand knife use.

In addition to their extreme performance, the ceramic blade is chemically inert, non-magnetic, corrosion resistant and can withstand extreme heat without deformation. These blades are also available with all ABS plastic hand knives, with no metal parts, in addition to traditional plastic hand knives with metal guides. These are added benefits to electronics and chemical companies with clean rooms, food and food packaging processesors and others concerned about contamination.

In CATRA (UK) tests, these new blades have demonstrated dramatic increases in blade life. In independent testing, blades are required to cut through synthetic test card containing 5% quartz, until the blades are determined to be “blunt." This is measured by an inability to cut through 5 mm of the card. While stainless steel cut 0.3 meters and carbon steel cut 1.6 meters during their “useful life," our proprietary titanium hybrid blades cut through an amazing 8.8 meters of material before dulling. Even more impressive, our ceramic blades cut through a whopping 25.4 meters!

The difference in performance is a function of the extreme hardness of our ceramic and titanium hybrid materials. While traditional steel blades have a hardness of HV640 to HV800 (HRC of 57 to 64), our ceramic blades have a hardness of HV1310 and the metalized ceramic particles in our titanium hybrid blades measure HV2900. In fact, they are too hard to be properly measured on the Rockwell scale.  As hardness increases, the blade will take a better edge and hold it far longer, as evidenced by the test results.

In business since 1965, American Cutting Edge, Inc., a division of CB Manufacturing, is proud to be the exclusive US distributor for this exciting new line of blades. Please contact a Blade Specialist today, so we can help you find the best cutting solution for your application. 

SUBSCRIBER CONTENT: Jul 12, 2013, 6:00am EDT

Strategies

West Carrollton manufacturer sharpens its efforts

Combined companies post 15% growth

View Slideshow

Joe Cogliano ■ DBJ

Cutting Edge: Chuck Biehn is CEO of CB Manufacturing, which posted more than $25 million in revenue last year, up 15 percent from the prior year. Biehn is holding a knife used by a food processor to cut chicken.

 

Joe Cogliano

Senior Reporter-Dayton Business Journal

Email  | Twitter  | Google+  | LinkedIn

For years leading into the recession, CB Manufacturing in West Carrollton had been carving itself out a nice slice of the metalworking cutting tool and industrial knife markets.

But as the economy tanked, its revenue dropped more than 20 percent. And to top it off, Charlie Biehn, the company’s founder, passed away in 2009.

That prompted Chuck Biehn — Charlie’s son and the current CEO of CB Manufacturing and its parent, Biehn Co.— to look for the silver living.

“It was our chance to take out a clean sheet of paper and start over,” Biehn said.

So about two years ago he set out to reinvent the 120-person Biehn Co., for which CB Manufacturing is the flagship operation.

For starters, Biehn invested in a more strategic marketing and sales plan that included exiting certain markets — and shedding underperforming business — and going more heavily into others such as companies that cut scrap metal and do slitting work.

Biehn also was inspired to improve operations across the company so he ramped up in-house training, such as lean processes, and pushed execution by putting more emphasis on key performance indicators.

“The company really has a focus right now,” he said.

That mix of changes seems to be the right recipe for success at CB Manufacturing, which posted more than $25 million in revenue last year across all companies combined, up 15 percent compared to the previous year. It also marks the second consecutive year of double-digit increases.

Based in West Carrollton with a Miamisburg mailing address, CB Manufacturing makes industrial knives and blades used in recycling, cutting up scrap plastic and tires and metal; film slitting; and food processing.

For example, its products are used by some plants that cut McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish into individual patties. Other affiliated companies provide razor blades and thin industrial blades; heat treating; industrial hand tools; and sourcing services from low-cost countries.

A major thrust of the new plan was that making metalworking cutting tools wasn’t a good niche for it to be in, so the company sold that business and put more efforts into industrial knives and heat treating. It also quit introducing as many new products in its catalogue division that sells utility knives and similar hand cutting tools.

Biehn felt the risk was low because CB Manufacturing used a variety of analytical tools to determine where it will see increasing sales; its costs and margin per order; return on marketing costs; and other metrics.

“For example, it greatly increased our business in the food cutting sector as we recognized that this was an area we are very competitive in and had not been chasing it as hard as we could be,” he said. “There was some risk in some of these changes but the data doesn’t lie and you have to follow it.”

Ray Attiyah, author and founder of Mason-based business improvement firm Definity Partners, sees an increasing number of manufacturing leaders using more analytical tools in their businesses.

“When used effectively, most leaders are able to confidently make bolder bets while leaders who are busy looking in the rear view mirror are left to make reactive improvements and risk becoming a commodity,” said Attiyah, who also owns more than a dozen companies.

While things are going well now at CB Manufacturing, success didn’t come overnight. Biehn’s biggest challenge was changing the culture, and that started with attitudes.

That meant shedding some negative workers — whom he refers to as people with a “can’t do, loser” mentality — and putting more effort into making sure new hires were a better fit. In addition, performance evaluations were changed so the No. 1 item was attitude and cooperation with others. That’s weighted higher than knowledge or production output.

“I’m constantly talking about compassion for others in the company, how attitude makes the difference in how to approach problems,” he said.

Also, Biehn himself had to come in every day in the right frame of mind to set an example.

Communication was another key to getting workers to buy into his new vision.

Biehn put the company’s financials on display for employees — so they knew “the good, the bad and the ugly” — and began holding regular town hall meetings and sending out bulletins.

He admits his company still has its share of problems — personnel issues, letting down a customer occasionally, machines breaking down — but says that happens everywhere. The key to CB Manufacturing being more successful than most is the new focus and positive attitude.

“You just have to keep doing the right things, and do it over and over again to show people you’re serious about changing the company,” Biehn said. “Today it’s a much happier place to work.”

CB Manufacturing/ Biehn Co.
Contact: Chuck Biehn, CEO
Address: 4455 Infirmary Road, Miamisburg 45342
Phone: (937) 866-5986
Web: cbmfg.com, americancuttingedge.com, certifiedheattreating.com
Business: Manufacturer of industrial knives and blades; heat treating

American Cutting Edge Welcomes New Supply Chain Manager

American Cutting Edge would like to welcome the newest member of our team, Dan Brownfield! Dan will be joining ACE as our Supply Chain Manager. He brings with him 25+ years of experience and a wealth of knowledge. He has a proven track record of improving inventory turns, running lean inventory, improving logistics and evaluating new vendors. Dan will have a major impact on our operations and will help us reach our strategic goals related to his field. We are excited to have him on board. 

Trust Us With Your Sourcing Needs!

As a valued customer of American Cutting Edge, you know that we are in the blade business, so you don't have to be. But did you know that we can help with your general sourcing needs as well? Evolution Resources, the sourcing division of American Cutting Edge, has helped many companies like yours to find the highest quality parts, such as gears, castings, machined parts, springs, screws, plastic parts, and many, many others. We'd like to do the same for you!  It's a very tough marketplace these days and you have to make sure your costs are in line with your competition.  At American Cutting Edge we have a hybrid model where we manufacture many of our products domestically, but import certain items due to cost, raw material and quality standards.  By doing this we are able to maximize our company's employment and business in America, while offering our customers the best quality and price they have come to expect from American Cutting Edge.    As the world is shrinking, many companies are attempting to source products overseas themselves. However, they quickly find that it is incredibly difficult to find reliable sources, they struggle with quality and reliability concerns, language barriers, slow communication, forced prepayments with no credit terms, and absolutely no guarantees on the products. Because of Evolution Resources' extensive experience, we can solve all of these issues, and give you the comfort of dealing with an American company. We back every product with a 100% guarantee, so you can be assured of the OEM quality you demand! Evolution Resources and American Cutting Edge have spent 35 years refining our sourcing skills. We've made 100s of trips overseas to find and qualify our partner factories. As a result, we have a wide network of long established, trusted partners, ready and willing to help you and increase your profits. Don't take a chance with money and reputation on the line. Call American Cutting Edge or visit Evolution Resources online at www.evolve-now.net! Let your friends at American Cutting Edge and Evolution Resources make your job easier!

We Are In The Knife Business So You Don't Have To Be!

Professional Sales Position

 

Our company is growing and looking for motivated people to help drive our sales!  Apply today to become part of our highly successful team!

Job Profile

American Cutting Edge,

A Division of CB Manufacturing & Sales

Centerville, OH

Job Summary:

• Prospecting for new customers
• Negotiating and closing sales.
• Professional and goal driven
• Three to five years B2B sales experience preferred.
• Mechanical aptitude as we sell industrial razor blade products
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and Outlook, ACT!, and MAS
• Telephone sales work, both outbound and inbound.
• Experience selling to or through industrial distributors and end users a plus.
• Developed overcoming customer resistance and objections to buying strategy.
• Some travel may be required
• 4+ year college degree or equivalent.

We are a distributor of industrial razor blades and related hand tools. Our company is fundamentally a “Selling Machine” offering stocked items for same day shipment and custom blades.

Compensation / Benefits:

    The position provides full benefits, excellent working conditions and offices and will pay a salary and performance based bonus. Pay is commensurate with experience.

How to apply:

E-mail your Resume with Cover Letter to:  tcoble@americancuttingedge.com or fax to: 888-900-9136

                                              

      Please view our website at: http://www.americancuttingedge.com/

American Cutting Edge (part of the BiehnCo Family of companies) participated in their first ever company sponsored 5K, last weekend.  The Spring Into Health 5K at Kettering College provided a challenging run/walk for most of BiehnCo. However, our sales manager, Josh was able to hold on and win 1^st place in his age group. Way to go!

American Cutting Edge

Contact us at: http://www.americancuttingedge.com/contact.html

The Many Uses For Hobby Blades

Give more detail to your next model build or craft project.

Hobby Blades have as many uses in today’s hobby and craft market as there are styles of

them. Not only are hobby blades used by hobby and craftenthusiasts the world over, but  they are also employed by industrial manufacturing companies from New York to California and all the way to China. Hobby blades are primarily used by hand for intricate trimming and precise dissection of small electronics, plastics, battery materials, woods, films, foils and many other products.

Artists use hobby blades for cutting, scoring, stenciling paper, wood, clay and wax.

They can be fixed in a standard hobby blade handle. Hobby blade handles come in a wide

variety of sizes and quality levels. Most blade handles will accommodate any hobby

blade. 

You have no doubt seen hobby blades used in today’s popular “extreme” cake making

competitions to achieve their fine detail and artistry. Wherever a standard kitchen knife or

box cutter just won’t do, a hobby blade can make the ordinary, extraordinary.

While sharpness and material quality always plays a role in the quality of a cut, with

hobby blades, much of the end product is in the hands of the craftsman or worker who

wields them. Fine precision and intricacy is a benefit of these light duty tools and a

steady hand always helps!

 

There are dozens of shapes and sizes to choose from when selecting a hobby blade for your particular craft or project. This is why many companies offer hobby blade kits with a wide assortment of blades to choose from. Good luck on your next project, and don’t forget to pick up some hobby blades and add that finished touch to your work!

Surface Grinding

Surface grinding is used to produce a smooth finish on flat surfaces. It is a widely used operation in which a spinning wheel covered in rough particles cuts chips of metallic or non metallic substance from a work piece to create a more polished, finished surface or create a functional surface texture.

A surface grinder is comprised of a wheel coated with an abrasive material, a chuck, which is a device designed to hold the part or parts in place, and a reciprocating table.  A chuck can either be magnetic to hold metallic parts or vacuum to hold in place non-metallic parts.   A reciprocating table is the work surface and has the ability to move back and forth.

There are three main types of grinders: horizontal, vertical, and disc.  In horizontal, the grinding spindle has the axis parallel to the table and is oriented to the back and forth motion of the table.  Horizontal grinders are used for high-precision work on simple, flat pieces.  The flat edge of the wheel comes into contact with the part, creating the flat surface.  In the vertical grinder, the face of the wheel is used on the flat surface and the spindle and grinding wheel travel up and down and side to side above the work piece.   This is the workhorse of the grinders, allowing quick, rough removal of a lot of material quickly.  Disc grinders have a larger contact area between disc and work piece and can be either horizontal or vertical in orientation.  Disc grinders can achieve very tight tolerances.  

Grinding wheels are manufactured of many materials, but the four most common are diamond, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and cubic boron nitride.  The type of wheel used depends on the material being ground.  Aluminum oxide, while economical and excellent on tool steels, would not be the right choice for carbides or ceramics.  For either of those materials, the proper wheel would be a diamond coated grinding wheel, bringing the material's surface finish to an almost glass-like polish. During and after the process, grinding wheels are "dressed", a process that removes collected debris and sharpens the wheel in preparation for its next use.  

Surface finish is determined by how a part will be used.  An industrial knife may require a slick, manufactured lubricity that will reduce friction between the cutting surface and the material being cut and extend blade life.  An engine part that will be lubricated by either a natural or synthetic substance, like oil, might be ground so that its surface is riddled with microscopic little pockets that capture the oil so it doesn't all slide away from the part.   

You may not be aware of it, but American Cutting Edge's parent company, CB Manufacturing & Sales Co., Inc.,  is proud to be one of the best equipped sub-contract grinding facilities in the US, and we boast the largest Mattison grinder (132" swing) this side of the Mississippi----one of only three of this size in the States.  Our grinder operators are craftsman with an average of over thirty years of experience and knowledge.  We have customers in every state of the continental US who ship their sub-contract grinding to us for the unmatched capabilities and capacities of our sub-contract grinding department.   A CB Manufacturing sales consultant is trained to help you make the best finish choice for your process.  Adjusting the small nuances of your blades may extend knife life, reduce downtime and save you money.

Hardness vs Toughness

Getting the Best of Both Worlds

In the world of industrial razor blades, hardness is a desired quality. Usually, the higher the hardness, the greater the resistance to friction and abrasion and the longer the life of the blade. How do we define hardness? How does this differ from toughness?

Hardness vs. Toughness: Generally as hardness increases, toughness decreases. Toughness is desirable when blades are heavily impacted, hardness when a blade is exposed to corrosive or abrasive materials.

Hardness is related to the amount of carbon in steel. Often the lower the carbon, the higher the toughness. Also, some steels do not perform at lower hardness as they were designed for use at higher hardness.

Indentation hardness tests are primarily used in engineering and metallurgy fields. The tests work on the basic premise of measuring the critical dimensions of an indentation left by a specifically dimensioned and loaded indenter.

Hardness is a characteristic of a solid material expressing its resistance to permanent deformation. The Rockwell or Vickers hardness scales are most commonly used in the industrial blade industry.

Toughness on the other hand is the maximum amount of energy a material can absorb before fracturing, which is different than the amount of force that can be applied. Toughness tends to be small for brittle materials, because it is elastic and plastic deformations that allow materials to absorb large amounts of energy.

The key with industrial razor blades is finding that magical blend of hardness and toughness that will give a blade long life and good durability to stresses and impacts depending on the application. Tool steels like M2, D2 have these most ideal properties. However, you can create ideal qualities with different alloys of stainless or carbon steel as well.

Hardness of steels is typically achieved by heat treating processes. The carbon in the steel combines with various elements in the steel like Vanadium, Chromium, Molybdenum, Silicon etc. to form carbides and other crystalline structures. Steel by its nature becomes harder (and more brittle…less tough) when it is heat treated and quenched.

With Steels, putting together the right mix of materials is key, but how you treat or temper the material also plays a role in the toughness and hardness properties.

As we explained in American Cutting Edge’s January/February newsletter on coatings, often the combination of a “hard” steel and a wear-resistant coating can offer the user the best of both worlds.

One great example of extreme hardness but little to no toughness is carbide razor blades. While they have high endurance for cutting, they withstand very little impact or side load pressure.

Even with “exotic materials” like this you can achieve some level of toughness by working with different binders like cobalt or nickel. Each will add toughness as their concentration increases in the material make up. But you sacrifice some hardness for this.

To combat its lack of toughness, carbide is often brazed onto softer steels, allowing the steel to absorb the vibrations and impact while the harder carbide can retain its extreme wear ability with out fracturing.

For American Cutting Edge to really help a prospect with material selection, we need to know as much as possible about the application: what is being cut, what type of process is being used (i.e. slit cut, crush cut, shear cut, etc), is the application corrosive in any way?, is there a contamination that may influence the process? In addition, what type of failure mode is being experienced now? In other words, is the blade chipping, getting dull, breaking, corroding? By giving your salesperson as much information as possible, we can recommend other materials that may perform better.

Coatings of Many Colors

Very thin surface coatings can be applied to nearly any knife or blade. Almost 20% of American Cutting Edge's customers choose to have an after-market coating applied to their blades before shipping. Why? The main purpose of a coating is to increase the wear life of the blade. Increased blade life is achieved through coatings in two ways; the coating will increase the hardness of the cutting edge and the coating will fill out the small valleys that form during the sharpening/grinding process. The reduction of these grind lines provide a more uniform and smooth cutting surface, increasing blade life. Because coated blades are both harder and smoother, friction is effectively reduced, performance and life are significantly improved. Coated blades increase production by reducing machine down-time due to build-up edges on knives; reduce tool breakage; reduce scrap rates by holding close tolerances and finishes; reduced tool costs by reducing the need for replacement blades; and increased productivity by increasing speeds and feeds by as much as 50% in some cases.

American Cutting Edge’s coatings are applied by a valued partner with whom we have worked for almost a quarter of a century. The proprietary process layers on very thin coatings only angstroms thick, building the final result and providing absolute control over thickness and uniformity. The processes and equipment used allow the blades to be coated at temperatures less than 250 deg, assuring that there is no annealing or softening of the substrate and no warpage to affect dimensional stability.

Why do we call them the “Coatings of Many Colors”? Because they are just that. In most cases, each coating has a very individual physical appearance that makes it stand out. Such as:

*   TiN: Titanium Nitrate has a bright gold* surface color. Customers will often call in and request a “gold blade”. TiN provides the least added wear life to blades, but can be a good choice when price is critical. TiN will typically cost less, depending on blade size and quantity, but the added wear life can be 5 to 10 times longer than a carbon steel blade.

*  TiC: Titanium Carbide has a gray* surface color. TiC can be a high performing surface coating and may add additional wear life of 20 to 30 times over a standard carbon blade.

*  Boron Carbide: is a black* colored surface coating that is often referred to as “ceramic” or “extreme”. It is one of our biggest selling coatings. The added wear life can be up to 20+ times longer than a carbon steel blade.

*  Teflon: this is usually a clear* coating that is generally used to increase the lubricity of the blade surface. Teflon can be good for adhesive cutting applications to keep the blade edge and surface free from “gumming up”.

A number of coatings are FDA approved and allow you to run tool steels in applications that would typically have been “stainless only” in the past.

American Cutting Edge is proud to have been one of the fore-runners in the offering of the cost-cutting products since their introduction into the marketplace. Our long relationship with our coating partner gives us the ability to work with customers to determine which, if any, coatings is best for their application. (As discussed in our previous newsletters, sometimes the re-engineering of a cutting angle or a different material can improve blade wear and performance.) Our product managers are well-versed in the different qualities of each coating and look forward to discussing customer’s needs, based on application, quality, and cost. If you think coating application might be something to consider to reduce your costs and increase your blade life, please contact us or give us a call:  888-252-3372 

Click here to learn more about blade materials and coatings