Since 2019, the Thai tool manufacturer N.S.T. Machinery has achieved enormous growth in the PKD sector with Vollmer eroding machines. With additional machines from the Biberach sharpening specialist like the VHybrid 260, the Thais aim to continue their success story with carbide tools. Additionally, N.S.T. Machinery is building a 5400 square meter production hall, scheduled for completion by the end of 2025. With their investments, the company aims to grow beyond Thailand and particularly attract international customers from industries such as automotive, medical technology, electronics, and watchmaking through micro-tools.
The Thai city of Bang Wua has around 13,000 inhabitants and belongs to the province of Chachoengsao. The rural region is increasingly becoming a preferred location for industrial companies due to its proximity to the metropolitan area of Bangkok. Representing this is the tool manufacturer N.S.T. Machinery Company Limited, which set up its operations in Bang Wua in 2011 and has been a customer of the Biberach sharpening specialist Vollmer for five years. Vollmer has been represented in Thailand for many years and established the Vollmer Asia Pacific branch in Bangkok just two years ago. Its customer N.S.T. Machinery is only a 30-minute drive from Bangkok, which greatly simplifies personal on-site support.
Opening New Markets with the VHybrid 260
The portfolio of N.S.T. Machinery includes cutting tools made of carbide, HSS (High-Speed Steel), or PKD (polycrystalline diamond). Within a few years, the company has developed into a leading manufacturer of precision tools for the aerospace, medical technology, automotive, and electronics industries. Currently, the company employs 80 staff and serves around 160 customers, generating an annual revenue of approximately five million euros.
"We receive incredible support from Vollmer Asia Pacific. When we have a problem, the Vollmer service team is immediately available, either online via video call, by phone, or even offline on-site," says Narong Yimnuam, Managing Director of N.S.T. Machinery Company Limited. "And because we are convinced of Vollmer technology and support, we recently invested in a grinding and eroding machine VHybrid 260, with which we can produce carbide tools in Vollmer quality in the future."
With the VHybrid 260, N.S.T. Machinery can grind or erode both carbide and PKD tools in a single setup with 100 percent efficiency. The foundation of the VHybrid 260 is a multi-level processing system realized by two vertically arranged spindles, with the lower spindle being usable for both grinding and eroding. Due to the robust kinematics and the high-performance generator Vpulse EDM, N.S.T. Machinery can manufacture the smallest micro-tools with diameters of 0.45 millimeters and smaller with the highest precision, performance, and surface quality.
Five Wire Eroding Machines for PKD Processing
"Our goal is to establish ourselves as a specialist for cutting tools in Thailand and abroad and to position ourselves permanently in the global market with advanced technology and high-end quality," adds Narong Yimnuam. "Our entry into the PKD sector five years ago has led to enormous growth. Five Vollmer wire eroding machines, from the VPulse and QWD series, have played a central role in this."
Four of the five Vollmer wire eroding machines are VPulse 500 models. With them, N.S.T. Machinery produces a wide range of PKD tools, from end mills and step reamers to form tools and special and step drills. In a single setup, the cutting tools can be precisely eroded thanks to simultaneous path interpolation in five CNC axes. The heart of the VPulse 500, like the VHybrid 260, is the Vpulse EDM generator, which ensures higher material removal rates or improved surface quality. Due to the eroding wire, N.S.T. Machinery can also process complex geometries and small inner radii precisely with the machine – structures typical for step or bell tools. Corresponding automations enable unmanned tool processing around the clock.
N.S.T. Machinery Excels with Micro-Tools
"Vollmer's technologies and services fit perfectly with our own company motto, which is as follows: Quality, precision, punctuality, and providing innovative solutions for complex tool processing," emphasizes Narong Yimnuam. "Through our collaboration with Vollmer, we also want to improve the qualifications and know-how of our employees to tailor our tools even more precisely to the requirements of our current and future customers; therefore, a VGrind 340S will soon be part of our machine park."
At the end of 2024, the Vollmer tool grinding machine VGrind 340S was put into operation. It is primarily used to manufacture delicate micro-tools, such as those used in the medical and electronics industries as well as watchmaking. The VGrind 340S, equipped with two vertically arranged grinding wheels, can also grind the smallest carbide tools with diameters between 0.3 and 12.7 millimeters highly efficiently. Additionally, the machine is equipped with a shank tailstock to ensure optimal roundness and can optionally be fitted with a support tailstock for longer drilling tools.
"From Thailand to Vietnam and Malaysia to Taiwan and the Philippines, we support numerous medium-sized companies like N.S.T. Machinery, which have recently achieved enormous growth with their products and innovations," says Andreas Böhm, Managing Director of the Vollmer Group. "That's why we established our Vollmer Asia Pacific branch in Bangkok two years ago, so we can support our customers in Southeast Asia even more efficiently and individually on-site."
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