Manufacturer of diamond-coated drills and milling cutters as well as contract coating of carbide tools in Weingarten.
GCT GmbH
Weingarten (headquarters, diamond coating production)New on Amplifa
About GCT GmbH
GCT GmbH, founded in Weingarten in 2003, is a company specializing in diamond-coated cutting tools. The product portfolio includes drills and milling cutters with diamond coating, including thread milling cutters and countersinks with the MicroSpeed diamond coating, for difficult-to-machine materials such as IMS aluminum, copper, technical ceramics, CFRP/GFRP and filled or halogen-free laminates. In addition to its own tool production, GCT offers a coating service: external tools and carbide products are coated in the company's own diamond coating systems. Since production started in 2010 with three systems and an investment of 3.5 million euros, the machine park has been expanded to seven coating systems. Customers come from printed circuit board and PCB manufacturing, the electronics industry, and the machining of technical ceramics and non-ferrous metals. The company delivers to Europe, Asia (China, Taiwan, South Korea) and the USA.
- Site
- Weingarten
- Processes
- Diamond coating of tools (contract coating / coating service), Manufacture of diamond-coated drills (types 1640, 1638, 1835, 1534), Manufacture of diamond-coated milling cutters (types 1700, 1704; GC-2i High Performance milling, MicroSpeed-coated thread milling cutters for internal threads (ISO internal threads, metric) and, Diamond coating of drills and milling cutters, Coating service / contract coating for carbide tools and products
- Materials
- Carbide, IMS aluminum, Aluminum (IMS applications), Copper (IMS), Technical ceramics, CFRP / GFRP, Filled laminates (e.g. ISOLA DE156, IS500, Panasonic R-1566), Halogen-free materials
- Certificates
- ISO 9001
- Founded
- 2003
- Industries
- Printed circuit board / PCB manufacturing (IMS), Electronics (laminates, CFRP/GFRP, solder masks), Technical ceramics, Non-ferrous metal machining
- 01
Tool development and product design
- 02
Tool production (drills, milling cutters)
- 03
Diamond coating in own coating systems
- 04
Process monitoring with measuring instruments
- 05
Contract coating of external tools (coating service)
- 06
Sales and international market support
Materials and Coating Processes
MicroSpeed diamond coating
Diamond coating for drills and milling cutters, available as a multilayer variant since 2013 and as MicroSpeed Plus since 2018.
Carbide
Base material for the company's own tools as well as for external products in the coating service.
IMS aluminum
Aluminum substrates from IMS printed circuit board production, machined with diamond-coated milling cutters such as the GC-2i High Performance milling cutter.
Copper (IMS)
Copper in IMS applications, machined with MicroSpeed-coated thread milling cutters and countersinks.
Technical ceramics
Ceramic materials, mechanically machinable since 2011 thanks to a stronger diamond coating.
CFRP/GFRP and solder masks
Fiber-reinforced plastics and solder masks, machined with diamond-coated drills and milling cutters.
Filled and halogen-free laminates
High-Tg and ceramic-filled laminates such as ISOLA DE156, IS500 and Panasonic R-1566 for PCB manufacturing.
Non-ferrous metals
Non-ferrous metals as an application area for diamond-coated milling tools.
Locations
Weingarten
DEHeadquarters, diamond coating production, coating service
- Materials
- Carbide, IMS aluminum, copper, technical ceramics, CFRP/GFRP, laminates
- 7 diamond coating systems
- 2 redundant refrigeration systems with free cooling
- Water treatment system with reverse osmosis and EDI
- Measuring instruments for process monitoring
Components and Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond coating of tools (contract coating / coating service)Surface | – | – | – | – | Carbide |
| Manufacture of diamond-coated drills (types 1640, 1638, 1835, 1534)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Filled / halogen-free laminates (e.g. ISOLA DE156, IS500,, CFRP/GFRP, Technical ceramics |
| Manufacture of diamond-coated milling cutters (types 1700, 1704; GC-2i High Performance millingEngineering | – | – | – | – | Filled / halogen-free laminates, IMS aluminum, CFRP/GFRP, Technical ceramics |
| MicroSpeed-coated thread milling cutters for internal threads (ISO internal threads, metric) andEngineering | – | – | – | – | Aluminum (IMS), Copper, Technical ceramics |
4 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond coating system | – | 7 | – | 2010–2020 | Weingarten |
| Refrigeration system with free cooling (2 redundant systems) | – | 2 | – | 2021 | Weingarten |
| Water treatment system with reverse osmosis and EDI | – | 1 | – | 2021 | Weingarten |
| Measuring instruments for process monitoring | – | – | – | 2016 | Weingarten |
Additional services
Quality
GCT GmbH is certified to ISO 9001 (re-certification in 2018 by TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH). Measuring instruments taken into operation in 2016 together with a new coating system are used for process monitoring.
| Evidence | Weingarten |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 2003
Foundation of GCT GmbH in July 2003 in Weingarten; start of tool production in Uhingen; cooperation agreement with CemeCon AG
- 2004
Cooperation agreement with EXTRAMET AG
- 2005
Use of diamond-coated GCT milling cutters in high-volume applications in Europe
- 2006
Worldwide marketing of diamond-coated milling tools in Europe, Asia and the USA
- 2007
CemeCon AG becomes main shareholder; market launch of diamond-coated milling cutters in China and the USA
- 2008
Market development in Asia (Taiwan, Korea); market launch of diamond-coated drills in Europe; certification to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000
- 2009
EXTRAMET AG becomes main shareholder; investment in the company's own diamond coating production in Weingarten
- 2010
Production start in April with 3 diamond coating systems, investment of 3.5 million euros
- 2011
Market launch of drills and milling cutters with a stronger diamond coating for technical ceramics and CFRP/GFRP
- 2012
Market launch of diamond-coated 2-flute milling cutters; ISO 9001:2008 certification
- 2013
Market launch of the MicroSpeed multilayer diamond coating; introduction of thread milling cutters for internal threads in technical ceramics
- 2014
MicroSpeed-coated thread milling cutters and countersinks for aluminum and copper IMS; additional sales partners in China/Shanghai and South Korea
- 2015
Re-certification ISO 9001:2008 by TÜV SÜD; introduction of an alternative system for energy efficiency improvement under SpaEfV
- 2016
Commissioning of a new diamond coating system and various measuring instruments for process monitoring, investment of 1.4 million euros; market launch of diamond-coated single-flute milling cutters
- 2017
Extension enlarges the operating premises by 44%; 5th diamond coating system goes into operation
- 2018
15th company anniversary; re-certification ISO 9001:2015 by TÜV SÜD; market launch of MicroSpeed Plus and milling cutters with rectangular spiral flutes and drill point
- 2019
Commissioning of the 6th diamond coating system in April
- 2020
Commissioning of the 7th coating system in February
- 2021
Commissioning of 2 redundant refrigeration systems with free cooling and a water treatment system with reverse osmosis and EDI