ENA Advanced Rubber Technologies maintains full-service In-House Tooling and Engineering operations at all 5 manufacturing facilities throughout Vietnam, China and Taiwan. We strongly believe the quality of parts produced at our factories are a direct reflection of the tools produced and maintained. We have an industry reputation for having very low cost tooling, especially on highly complex parts. On higher volume standard parts (such as o-rings and simple gaskets), we sometimes offer “no cost” tooling. There are 3 primary advantages of in-house Tooling operations/capabilities:
- Very quick lead time on initial First Article (FA) parts and initial production runs
- Increased level of quality control of parts (on-going internal tool maintenance)
- No outsourcing of tools, ultimately creating cost savings to the customer
Specialized tooling engineers are much more than typical CNC, EDM and grinding machine operators. They are highly trained tool specialists and certified engineers, cross-trained in every aspect of not only tool making, but also in the physical properties of rubber formulations and metallurgies. Our engineers are compensated higher than typical LCR (low cost region) tooling engineers. It is critical to attract and maintain the very best, most qualified tool designers in the industry.
Similar to our raw rubber, ENA uses only imported, high grade steel for all tooling. In addition to using top grade steel, we require regular tool maintenance programs in compliance with our factories’ ISO and TS certifications to ensure close tolerance, high quality parts for our customers. Dedicated Quality Control engineers with expertise in tooling are permanently stationed in our factories tool departments at all times to oversee tool quality, tool life cycles, and maintenance programs.
Continuous investments in the most modern machinery and equipment are critical to producing the highest quality tools possible. Following is a list of typical equipment in our Tooling Centers and photos of our tooling operations:
- State-of-the-Art CNC Machining Centers
- Surface Grinding Machines
- Planer Type Milling Machines
- Lathes
- Radial Drill Machines
- Grinding Wheel Machines
- Universal Sharpeners
- Linear Cutting Machines
- Electric Discharge Machines
- Tool Presetters
- Digital Measuring Projectors
