Custom Tooling Service
When a standard tool cannot meet the requirements of the component being machined, a custom-designed tool can combine operations, reduce machining and setup times, and improve process stability. Camcut supplies Walter Xpress and Mehi Tools custom tooling solutions for machining and metalworking applications.
Custom Tool Solutions Tailored to Production Needs
The starting point for a custom tool is always the geometry to be machined and the customer’s production process. The solution can be designed, for example, to produce a specific shape, diameter, depth, angle, tolerance, or a combination of several consecutive operations.
Camcut helps define the required initial information, reviews the quotation request materials, and forwards the details for custom tool design. The tool design typically requires a dimensioned drawing of the tool or the geometry to be machined, information about the material being machined, and an estimate of the required tool quantity.
It is also determined whether the solution will use indexable inserts or solid carbide. The choice depends, among other things, on the tool geometry, application, production volumes, and target cost level.
The image shows a custom chamfering cutter made for our customer using Walter Tools’ square tangential indexable inserts, designed for machining large welding bevels.
When Is a Custom Tool Worthwhile?
A custom tool is particularly cost-effective when one tool can replace several standard tools or combine multiple machining operations. Reducing tool changes and separate machining steps increases the machine’s productive operating time and simplifies the manufacturing process.
The benefits are especially significant in recurring production, where the same geometry is manufactured regularly or in larger batches. Eliminating even a single tool change for each workpiece can result in substantial time savings over the course of an entire production run.
A custom tool may also be the right solution when standard tools cannot achieve the required dimensional accuracy, surface finish, process reliability, or chip control. In such cases, the goal is not merely faster machining, but a more controlled and consistent manufacturing process.
The image shows a lollipop-style solid-carbide end mill manufactured for our customer through the Walter Xpress service. It is used for deburring, machining underside edges, and finishing challenging geometries.
Walter Xpress Custom Tools
Walter Xpress is Walter Tools’ fast special tooling service for creating customer-specific tools for a variety of drilling, boring, milling, threading, turning, and grooving applications. Camcut is an official Gold Channel Partner of Walter Tools.
The strength of Walter Xpress lies in its fast and highly standardized quotation and design process. When sufficient initial information is available, the customer can receive a tool drawing, price, and estimated delivery time within just a few hours. This makes it possible to quickly evaluate the solution’s technical suitability and cost before placing an order.
The Xpress range includes both indexable-insert and solid-carbide special tools. The solution may be based, for example, on a customer-specific modification of an existing Walter tool or on a combination tool designed entirely for the application.
A typical application is combining several machining operations into a single tool. For example, drilling, boring, chamfering, and machining different diameters can be carried out with one tool when the component geometry and process allow it. This reduces tool changes, shortens setup times, and helps ensure that the different machined features remain accurately aligned and concentric with one another.
Delivery times for Walter Xpress tools depend on the tool type and design. In Walter’s 2026 Xpress range, delivery times are typically approximately two to four weeks, depending on the product category.
The image shows a robust, adjustable Mehi Tools reamer made for our customer. It can be used to machine a precise hole and simultaneously create a chamfer at the hole entrance with one tool in a single machining operation.
Mehi Tools Custom Tools
Mehi Tools is a Finnish manufacturer of custom cutting tools that has been producing tools for the needs of the machine shop industry since 1973. Camcut supplies Mehi’s customer-specific custom tool solutions to Finnish machine shops.
Mehi’s tools are designed based on the customer’s machining geometry and production requirements. The solutions take into account tool reliability, usability, and suitability for the customer’s production environment. Mehi specializes in customer-specific cutting tools as well as various drilling, boring, and roughing solutions.
Modern CAD/CAM, production control, and product data management systems are used in the design and manufacture of the tools. Mehi Oy’s operations are based on certified ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 management systems.
How a Custom Tooling Solution Works
A custom tool project begins by defining the application and objectives. Camcut reviews the machining geometry, workpiece material, and the requirements related to the tool design and order quantity with the customer.
A quotation request generally requires:
- a dimensioned drawing or other dimensional data for the tool or the geometry to be machined
- the workpiece material
- information on whether an indexable-insert or solid-carbide solution is preferred
- the quantity of tools to be ordered.
It is advisable to estimate the order quantity already at the quotation stage, as the quantity manufactured at one time has a significant impact on the tool’s unit price.
Camcut reviews the initial information and helps refine the tool solution before submitting the quotation request to the manufacturer. The customer receives the proposed technical design, price, and delivery time for approval. The tool is manufactured based on the approved specifications and delivered according to the agreed schedule.
A custom tool can be a small change with a big impact.
Not all custom tools need to be complex. The solution may simply involve a customer-specific diameter, length, angle, radius, or other geometric modification to an existing tool type.
The key is that the tool’s properties are based on the actual machining requirements. A properly designed custom tool can reduce unnecessary work steps, free up tool positions in the machine magazine, and improve manufacturing repeatability throughout the entire production run.
Contact our experts—let’s find a custom tooling solution that streamlines your production.
