An internship conducted at Concept Industries, where I researched techniques such as Blade Sputtering and others to make production as efficient as possible, by reducing costs and maximizing revenue

1. KITCHEN KNIVES
CUTTING EGDE IMPROVEMENT WITH THE HELP OF SPUTTERING

2. INDEX
 Introduction.
 Executive Summary.
 Aim and objective of the project
 Manufacturing Process.
1) Punching / Laser Marking
2) Heat Treatment
3) Coil Joining
4) Edge Grinding
5) Vertical Injection Molding
6) Sputtering
 Quality Parameters
 Observation.
 Conclusion.
 Acknowledgement.

3. INTRODUCTION
 Project :- To improve & increase the cutting life of normal kitchen knives by sputtering.
 Method :- By studying the modern materials and technology.
 Internship Location :- Concept Industries Himachal Pradesh India.
 Duration of Internship :- Three weeks.
 Breakup of the Study :-
 Study of the existing process of manufacturing kitchen knives in Concept Industries
 Recording of technical parameters of the product
 Checking the excising process of Quality and Life parameters
 Study of superior metal deposition on kitchen knife edge
 Selection of the process and the method of applying to the edge
 Trial of actual deposition of superior material on the edge
 Testing of modified product as regards Quality and Life parameters
 Comparison of old parameters and new parameters
 Study of Food Safety as regards to the use of new material
 Advantages of the modified product with respect to safety, life and cost”

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 The project study encompasses a study of kitchen knife industry as an overview and a
practical study of the factory environment of Concept Industries at Nalagarh, Himachal
Pradesh.
 The study includes step by step process of kitchen knife manufacturing and packaging.
 The recommendations and suggestions aim at improving the efficiency of the process
with small and marginal improvement which in turn would help in improved revenue and
production.
AIM, OBJECTIVE AND PLAN OF ACTION
 AIM: Learn how “Single–Edge” kitchen knife are produced and marketed, with the
intention of locating and pinpoint areas in the “Single–Edge” kitchen knife
production line.
 OBJECTIVE AND PLAN OF ACTION: Study the production line thereby aiding in the
process of increased revenue coupled with an increase in efficiency and overall sales.

5. A. MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF KITCHEN KNIVES
1 ) PUNCHING & LASER MARKING : The
kitchen knife manufacturing processes are
listed below in the order of the production flow.
 This is the first process. Here the input
material stainless steel is punched with a
carbide tool to give the designed shape.
2 ) HEAT TREATMENT :
• The punched strip is soft and requires being
hardened up to 54HRc in order to sharpen the
shaving edges. Hardening is done in
continuous 4 lanes electrical furnace at a
temperature of 850 degree centigrade, cooling
the heated strip to a subzero temperature of
minus 50 degree centigrade .
Automatic Punching & Laser Marking Machine
Tube Heat Treatment Line

6. 3 ) COIL JOINING :
This process is only to take out the rejections from earlier
stages. Good material is joined together to have un- interrupted
production in the subsequent stage. The rejection %here is
observed to be 2 to 3%. This can be reduced to 1% by proper
control at the earlier stage.
4 ) EDGE GRINDING :
This is where the shaving edges of the knives are
created by a series of grinding, honing and polishing
wheels. Knives from coil are fed into this machine at
one end and received as sharpened individual blades
at the output end.
Edge Grinding
5 ) VERTICAL INJECTION MOLDING:
• Handle of Kitchen Knives are been Molded using
PP (Poly Propylene) material .
• Molding is done with the help of moulds.
• Waste material can again be recycled.
Vertical Injection Molding

7. SPUTTERING
 COATING: Titanium Nitride (TiN) – Balinit A: The titanium nitride coating BALINIT A is versatile
standard coating. It provides effective protection against abrasive and adhesive wear. It is often
applied for its decorative effect or as a wear indicator.
 COATING PROPERTIES
 Coating Material TiN
 Micro hardness* (HV 0.05) 2,300
 Friction coefficient* against steel (dry) 0.4
 Max. service temperature (°C) 600
 Coating colour gold-yellow
Recording of technical parameter of product
 Exceptional sharpness:
A BALINIT® CNI coated cutting knife nearly keeps its
sharpness and must not be re machined. Coating thickness
at the tip: app 10 μm.
 Outstanding dense structure:
BALINIT® CNI has a very dense coating structure
(coating thickness 10 μm).

8. EFFECTS OF SPUTTERING
 Sharpness :- Sharpness is increased more than 10 times.
 Life:- Life is increased 10 times than of normal knife which create a market demand and create a
extra ordinary market segment. This is 1st time and a new innovation to house hold category.
 Corrosion : particularly when in contact with acidic foods like lemons, onions and so on.
 Flexibility : A filleting knife, ham slicer or a palette knife depend on being highly flexible to
function properly; a cook’s knife or a cleaver need to be extremely stiff.
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
APRIL MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT
UNSPUTTERD
SPUTTERED
Sale graph un-sputtered knife v/s sputtered edge knife
 Improved load bearing capacities,
durability, enables higher torques.
 Improved fatigue resistance under high
dynamic or oscillating loads.
 Reduced friction ensures reliable operation
with environmentally safe lubricants.

9. PROCESS QUALITY CONTROL
 This is not a manufacturing process at the
same time is very critical being the last stage
of 100% inspection to segregate discolored,
stained and damaged knives. This
instrument is designed specially
to determine the life of the knife and
sharpness of a knife at any given time.
Chop Testing Instrument

10. OBSERVATION
 The profitability of an organization can be enhanced by exercising effective control on
manufacturing processes, operational efficiency, material utilization and making the optimal
use of power and fuel.
 Very high wear resistances plus excellent tri-biological behavior plus outstanding adhesion
properties: this combination makes BALINIT HARD CARBON an ideal coating mainly for
machining aluminum alloys. The coating is a great asset for end users mainly in tool
manufacturers.
 The components to be coated are attached to fixture. The contact surfaces remain un-coated.
Other areas to remain un coated must be mechanically masked. Deep holes and
narrow slots are only conditionally coated. Depending on the coating, parts can be as large
as Ø 700 mm × Ø 1.500 mm.
 The coating portfolio of Oerlikon balzers with TiN coating can now meet the most diverse
requirements and stress types to which precision & general engineering component are
exposed.
These coating are also available in special multifunctional TiN layer with reliable hard, tough
metal based compact support layer ensuring superposed carbon layer.

11. PRODUCTION V/S REJECTION CHART
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
PRODUCTION QTY IN
LAKHS PIECES
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
PRODUC
TION
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
REJECTION %
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
REJECTI
ON %

12. CONCLUSION
 From the above write-up, it becomes clear that manufacturing costs can be reduced and
the life of the product substantially extends because of superior coating. The cutting
performance improves drastically. The longer life adds to the quality of the product.
Hence the productive output can be enhanced. Thus, for a given input and investment in
plants, machineries and existing infrastructure, the profitability shall definitely go up. The
profitability thus achieved may be re-invested in Research and Development activities,
modernization of plants and machineries and towards Technological improvement.
 What I learnt from this project:
Prior to this project exercise, I had practically no knowledge of a manufacturing industry and
the operations involved. Given below are some of the important lessons and knowledge I
gained doing this project.
 An overview of high- speed – mass manufacturing process
 Various parameters involved in an industry
 Inter- relationship between input and output
 Cost/investment involved in manufacturing process
 Wastage analysis and ways and measures as how to reduce rejection
 Relationship between effective operational control and profitability.

13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
At the very outset, I am highly indebted to the CONCEPT INDUSTRIES for giving me an
opportunity to carry out a 3 Week internship at their esteemed organization.
I would specially like to thanks :
Mr. Prasanna Otta - Unit Head
Mr. V.K. Tripathi - General Manager - Operation
Mr. Edwin Sampath - Head Quality Control and Quality Assurance
All technical experts and workmen for giving time and guidance during
my training without which it would have been very difficult to attain success
in this project.