materials & tools LACH
materials & tools LACH DIAMANT – 100 Years Tradition. Passion. Innovation. part 12: “1984” “When I held my first diamond in my hand in 1908, I would not have imagined that one day diamonds would not only be used in the automobile industry but also for the machining of wood and plastics”. Jakob Lach, the company founder, said this on camera in 1980. It would become the preface for the first presentation of a new technique for machining wood and plastics – using diamonds as cutting material – the Dia Tool. This video, with audio translated into multiple languages, has lost none of its relevance for the choice of appropriate tools within the furniture, flooring and composite industries; the video can be viewed at: https://bit.ly/LACHDIAMANT Company founder Jakob Lach, 1894-1984 (photo taken in 1980) And what happened at Lach Diamant that year? LACH DIAMANT plant in Hanau, Donaustrasse (photo taken in 1988) “1984” As I look at the figure “1984” written down in front of me, I realize that, in relation to the year 2024, forty years have passed since then. In literature, “1984” is a classic, first published under this title by George Orwell in 1949 (famous quote: “Big brother is watching you") and adapted into a film, 35 years later, starring the renowned actor Richard Burton, with its premiere in 1984. However, Burton passed away before the premiere date. For the computer industry the year 1984 marked a revolutionary event. A device with a graphical user interface, enabling the use of both mouse and keyboard: the Apple Macintosh, which, through its user-friendly interface, allowed people even without significant technological knowledge, access to the digital world. In the same year the first CD player for the mass market was introduced, which would also inspire an entire industry dedicated to music consumption. The year 1984 was supposed to be the big year. Finally there was the opportunity to unite the scattered production sites with the administration at a new company location. The existing capacities were about to burst at the seams. The newly established company LACH-SPEZIAL-WERKZEUGE GMBH, which had started manufacturing Dia tools for the wood industry since LIGNA 1979, added additional pressure to the situation. In autumn 1982 construction began on the virgin land in Hanau, Donaustraße, for the new administrative and production facilities. On September 13, 1983 – the 89 th birthday of Jakob Lach – the topping-out ceremony of the administrative building was celebrated. The move of the diamond and CBN grinding wheel production and polycrystalline cutting tools was scheduled for the period from Novem ber 8-19, 1983. On a Saturday, December 9, the grinding shop for polycrystalline diamond tools reported “ready for grinding”! The daily events were overwhelming. New employees were sought and hired. The move of the administration and natural diamond grinding from Bruchköbeler Landstraße had to be prepared. High order volumes were stretching the capacities of all production 14 no. 2, May 2025
materials & tools September 13, 1983, the big day for Jakob and his son Horst Lach, on the same day the celebration of Jakob Lach’s 89 th birthday and the topping-out ceremony areas. Everything had to move quickly now. By mid-April 1984 the sales departments, accounting and invoicing could finally move into the new administrative building at Donaustraße in Hanau. Jakob Lach, who, just two years earlier, had not hesitated to personally explore the developments of the various company divisions through visits, was now dependent on the help of caregivers after an unfortunate fall. However this did not stop him from sorting his beloved (natural) diamonds in his office day by day, for example, in preparation for the setting and grinding of single-point dressing tools and profile diamonds. But just a few days after the move from Bruchköbeler Landstraße, which also encompassed his private home, his strength left him. Jakob Lach peacefully passed away on the evening of April 25, 1984. The breakthrough Five years had passed since my discovery of spark erosion for machining polycrystalline cutting materials, at the end of 1978. Like emerging from a dark tunnel a view appeared: PCD and CBN cutting materials, which until then had been used exclusively in single-cutting applications, such as cutting inserts (incorrectly referred to as “indexable cutting inserts”) for turning tasks, had now the entire world of machining at their disposal. Reinforced as milling tools with soldered diamonds, it was then possible to replace “estimated” carbide cutting edges in terms of both service life and cost-effectiveness with the new “compact” tools. The first users were mid-sized furniture manufacturers as well as wood and plastic processors, who were able to immediately benefit from up to 350 times longer service life compared to carbide tools, with the newly developed numerically controlled wood processing machines, leading to success and profit. The breakthrough in the serial manufacturing metal and automotive industry was expected to occur later, at the end of the 1980’s. Since early 1982, I had been documenting daily events in a sort of business diary, and even today I can trace back that exciting and thrilling time as a constant journey of discovery. I find an entry from July 15, 1984, which I had titled “Legend.” Even today this is a record that reflects the state of technology from that time, and I would like to share it with you as a reader: The topping-out ceremony July 15, 1984 – excerpt from the business diary of Horst Lach “Since 1973 LACH has been processing polycrystalline synthetic diamonds. At Hanover Fair in 1973 LACH first presen ted polycrystalline turning tools for turning aluminum, brass, copper and plastics. A year later, in 1974, LACH demon stra ted milling with polycrystalline diamonds on examples of aluminum, duroplastics, fiberglass and no. 2, May 2025 15
