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“Many medical devices happen to be round or cylindrical in shape,” says Slieve Foy’s technical and sales director, Patrick McGrath. “Over the years we have developed the necessary skills to serve medical industry requirements, giving each job the necessary attention to detail required to produce superior quality tools.”

During the past couple of years, however, Slieve Foy had noticed that things were beginning to alter. “Over time technology changes, as do tolerances,” says Mr McGrath. “We had noticed a distinct trend for medical industry injection mould cores and cavities to exhibit ever tighter tolerances. To this end we realised that we might require a new machine that we could dedicate to finishing work to meet precise customer specifications.”

Mr McGrath says the company devoted a significant amount of time to considering the various die sink machines available. However, when Slieve Foy saw the AQ35L from Sodick, the company knew that it had found the answer to its dilemma.

“Because we supply tooling for medical devices, most of the components we manufacture require highly precise, accurate finishing,” he says. “The parts are often complex, one-off components manufactured from stainless tool steels. Tolerances are typically in the region of ±0.002mm.”

The accuracy and repeatability demonstrated by the Sodick AQ35L convinced Slieve Foy that it was the right machine, and it was duly installed in January 2006.

Slieve Foy Tool & Die Ltd is a 100 per cent Irish-owned company established in 1984. As well as specialising in cores and cavities for the medical, pharmaceutical and personal care industries, the 12-employee company also provides tooling for customers in the packaging, electronics, filtration, automotive and IT sectors.

Since installation the Sodick AQ35L has been set to work performing finishing operations for most of the Slieve Foy’s throughput. The machine now runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unattended overnight and at weekends.

“Investing in the latest technology such as the AQ35L makes sure we competing with the best the sector has to offer,” concludes Mr McGrath. “It also means we are ready for step-change within the industry, whenever that should occur. We have no regrets about changing our EDM preference to Sodick.”

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