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ANCA is celebrating the art of toolmaking with a Tool of the Year competition. Customers will submit their favorite tool online and the winners will be announced live at IMTS 2018.The prize is a trip for two to ANCA’s headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, to see firsthand how the technology is created and to meet the team.

Pat McCluskey, joint co-founder of ANCA, says that, “As well as showcasing our latest products at IMTS, we want to celebrate the deep grinding knowledge and daily dedication of our customers who create beautiful tools that have helped shape our world. We know that grinding a tool is a craft and a passion for many of our customers. Grinding the perfect tool is as much about art as it is about science.”

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The judging panel includes:

• Pat Boland, joint co-founder and managing director at ANCA
• Pat McCluskey, joint co-founder and managing director at ANCA
• Alicona, for measurement of surface finish
• Zoller, for measurement of profile and diameter
• Alfred Lyon, cutting tool supervisor at AB Tools

Here is how to enter:

1. Share a photo or video of your tool being ground on an ANCA machine on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #ANCATooloftheyear18.
2. Visit anca.com/tool-of-the-year-2018 to complete an entry form that includes your full name, company name, email address and social media handles.

Social media submissions will run from July 27 through August 20, when ANCA will gather all entries and post them on its Facebook page as an album. Submitters are encouraged to promote the competition album within their social networks to gain likes on their image. The five finalists will be selected according to the number of likes they achieve on their pictures. These finalists will be announced August 25, whereupon they will be asked to send the actual tools to IMTS along with the names and logos of their companies, to be displayed in the ANCA booth.

At IMTS, the top five tools will be judged by a panel based on the following criteria:

• Best surface finish in Ra (roughness average) value on the flute or gash surface
• Closest tool to the nominal tolerance as stated on the drawing in terms of diameter and profile (for example, if the tolerance on diameter is ±0.010 mm and the tool is measured to 0.005 mm, then this will rank favorably)
• Tightest tolerance as per the drawing (i.e., the tool ground to the lowest tolerance will rank favorably)
• Level of complexity (i.e., in terms of the number of steps, profiles will rank favorably)

Entries should adhere to the following criteria:

• The tool must be made on an ANCA machine
• The organization or individual must follow ANCA’s Facebook page
• The material should be carbide or HSS
• Length should be between 50 and 150 mm (2" and 6")
• Tool size diameter should range between 6 and 25 mm (¼" and 1")
• The tool must contain at least one step diameter or profile consisting of a radius
• There is no restriction on the number of flutes

Alfred Lyon, cutting tool supervisor at AB Tools, says, “The grinding of rotary cutting tools takes craftsmanship and is considered art by myself and many others in the round tool industry ( as well as the machining community). On many of the various social media platforms the passion for the craft is inspiring. I am happy to be a part of a competition that would showcase the talent and capabilities of the tool grinding community.”