E-Sharp News July 2026

When Volkan Güller founded TDM Kesici Takım in 2016, he entered the Turkish cutting tool market with a clear advantage: deep expertise in special tooling and a commitment to supporting manufacturers with both products and process know-how. What began as a specialised tooling consultancy has evolved into a competitive tool manufacturer, celebrating its 10th anniversary with a growing reputation for producing world-class special tools and drills.

TDM’s growth has been built on close customer relationships. As the company’s expertise expanded, Güller saw an opportunity to move beyond advising customers and begin producing tools in-house. "We understood our customers' challenges intimately," Güller explains. "The logical next step was to develop and produce our own tools – giving us the ability to respond faster, customise more deeply, and deliver exactly what each customer needs."

This transition demanded a full-service approach encompassing tool development from customer briefing through to cutting verification. TDM's process begins with customer CAD drawings showing specific features to be machined, then progresses through custom design incorporating specialised features like optimised chip breakers, precision grinding, coating selection, and finally validation through cutting tests.

The focus remains constant: maximising surface finish quality, extending tool lifetime, and ultimately improving customer business performance. TDM chose “Fornax” as its brand name, a southern constellation whose Latin name means “the furnace.” The name reflects tools designed to deliver consistent performance under demanding manufacturing conditions.

Finding the Right Technology Partner

Turning vision into reality required the right manufacturing technology. Güller knew precisely what he needed: "I had a vision for high-performance tools in my mind, and I knew that I could take the next step with the right technology partner. ANCA helped me turn this vision into reality."

The search led to ANCA, a global leader in CNC tool and cutter grinding technology. Ogün Kırımlıoğlu, working with ANCA's Turkish team and global organisation, took the time to understand TDM's ambitious plans. Together, they analysed process requirements and technology needs to develop a solution that would help TDM start production quickly and meet quality expectations from day one.

"It was important to understand TDM's needs," Kırımlıoğlu notes. "ANCA has a broad portfolio as well as proven partners for auxiliary technologies like filtration, consumables, and finishing technology. We were able to deliver a turnkey solution that met TDM’s product and quality demands."

The package included everything TDM needed: ANCA's ToolRoom design and CIM3D simulation software, an FX5 tool and cutter grinder with a 19kW spindle, complete local installation, and technology support to ramp up production rapidly.
 
Güller's confidence in the solution proved justified – even before the first machine was installed. "I was very confident with the solution even before the first machine arrived," he recalls. "More importantly, my customers trusted in our plans as well."

That trust translated into rapid business growth. Demand accelerated so quickly that Güller ordered a second ANCA machine before the first was even installed. Since then, TDM has maintained an impressive pace, adding a new ANCA machine approximately every 18 months. Today, the company operates four ANCA grinding machines, including the original FX5 and the advanced FX7 Ultra platform.
 
Professional Tool Development Process

TDM’s production reflects the demands of precision manufacturing: 90% special tools, strong drill expertise, and high-performance endmills. The company has built a highly professional development process leveraging ANCA's software ecosystem.

When customers approach TDM with a manufacturing challenge, they typically provide a part drawing showing features to be machined, cycle time requirements, and surface quality specifications. TDM's tooling experts develop tool concepts collaboratively, initially designing in CAD before transferring via DXF format to ANCA's ToolRoom software. With growing experience, many tools are now designed directly in ToolRoom, utilising user-friendly features and wizards that streamline the process.

The Drill Wizard in ToolRoom exemplifies this efficiency, enabling TDM's operators to create complex drills in minutes. It guides users through drill type, geometry, and tolerances, then automatically builds grinding operations and wheel selections. This helps shorten setup times, improve consistency, and respond quickly to new drill designs or customer requests. 

Before a tool goes into production, the grinding process is thoroughly verified using CIM3D simulation software. This powerful program visualises the complete grinding sequence, checks for potential interferences, and optimises both grinding cycle time and wheel usage. The newest machine in TDM's facility runs ToolRoom RN35, which can automatically reduce cycle times by up to 30% while reducing wheel wear, improving surface finish, and optimising idle times through intelligent feedrate optimisation.
 
Breaking New Ground with FX7 Ultra

The addition of the FX7 Ultra platform enabled TDM to expand its portfolio into new territory. A prime example is the successful production of 0.1mm cutting tools for automotive applications – products that present extreme challenges in size, surface finish, and coating preparation.

The FX7 Ultra's made this possible through nanometre-resolution control, advanced servo algorithms, and Motor Temperature Control. Together, these technologies deliver smooth axis movement, finer cutting edges, reduced micro-chipping, and improved dimensional stability.

The integration of LaserUltra provides in-process measurement and compensation, holding line-form accuracy on profiles within ±0.002mm. Combined with tool runout compensation in iGrind, which ensures each tooth cuts on the same track, batches are held within 0.002mm runout. Together with nanometre control, it delivers the smoother, finer cutting edge and surface finish that benefits downstream edge preparation and coating processes. Combining these advantages, TDM was able to produce 0.1mm tools with the surface finish required for high-quality coating.

Competing on the World Stage

TDM's customer base spans automotive, aerospace, defence, and die and mold sectors. The company has developed particular expertise in long drills – achieving length-to-diameter ratios up to 25:1 in premium quality. This capability has earned TDM recognition among the world's best manufacturers, reinforced by its success in ANCA’s Tool of the Year competition, where manufacturers worldwide submit their finest work. TDM has been a finalist multiple times, demonstrating that Turkish manufacturing can compete at the highest international level.

This recognition is supported by rigorous process control. TDM maximises drill quality using Tool Runout Compensation (TRC), which measures the actual runout of each tool and automatically adjusts the grinding path so that every flute cuts on the same radius. This delivers very low runout at the cutting edge, improving surface finish, extending tool life, and enabling higher cutting parameters with more stable performance. Combined with precise wheel balancing and smart steady rest support, customer cutting tests validate the results, with TDM tools consistently delivering strong performance.

6 July 2026