Profile mill range expanded

The DoTwistBall profile-milling line has been expanded by Tungaloy to include further insert radii.

In addition to the 04 (R4.0) style insert, the company has added the 05 (R5.0) and 06 (R6.0) style inserts to the standard range. Tungaloy’s expanded DoTwistBall line incorporates a novel design that allows two different types of inserts to fit the same shank, each dedicated to profiling and high-feed applications.
DoTwistBall inserts are constructed in a helically twisted structure that fits the seat pocket, which is constructed in a matching helical profile. This twist-clamp system helps maximise insert retention, making DoTwistBall suitable for stable machining in demanding 3D profiling and high-feed machining tasks.
MJ radius insert geometry is cited as popular among manufacturers profiling mould and die parts. This insert features a large cross-section that has been designed to absorb cutting forces, providing higher reliability and performance over conventional round inserts, says the company. The cutting edge integrates a large inclination angle to promote smooth chip evacuation.
Tungaloy says high-feed HJ geometry inserts promote efficient machining through 30% greater cutting depth and feed rates over conventional high-feed inserts. The maximum depth of cut for the existing 04 insert is 1.3 mm, while the newly released 06 insert is suitable for cutting at a depth of 2 mm per pass in operations that include shouldering, facing, slotting, pocketing and helical interpolation.
Two standard grades are available: the AH3135 for steel and stainless steel; and the AH120 for cast iron. The cutter body line-up is available in shank, modular and bore types for all three insert sizes, with various choices of tool reach.
For further information www.tungaloy.com/uk

MBO at Alba

Alba Gaskets has successfully completed a management buy-out (MBO). The announcement was made during a visit to the company’s Altens premises by Minister for Trade, Investment & Innovation, Ivan McKee, MSP.

McKee toured Alba Gaskets’ manufacturing facility and met with key members of the management team. Managing director Gavin Sim and director Sigfrid Ruz, will head up the new company structure. Sim is one of the company’s founders and has more than 21 years’ technical and management experience in the gasket sector.
For further information www.albagaskets.com

Latest Walter parting and grooving tools

Two multi-edge tool systems have been added by Walter GB to its range of products for grooving and parting-off – the Walter Cut MX, with four cutting edges for parting-off small workpieces up to 12 mm diameter, and the two-edge Walter Cut GX34 for work up to 65 mm diameter.

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These additions complement the existing Walter Cut GX24 double-edged grooving inserts for workpieces up to 46 mm diameter. The result is that Walter users can now complete 90% of all grooving applications with standard tools from its catalogue.
Walter’s Standard MX system tools feature insert widths between 0.8 and 3.25 mm for cutting depths up to 6 mm, though the company can provide special sizes and designs – grooving with chamfer, for example – on request via the Walter Xpress service. The Walter Cut GX34 has grooving inserts with widths of 3 or 4 mm for cutting depths up to 33 mm.
By developing the tools, Walter engineers say they have successfully overcome a range of important ‘accepted weaknesses’ with standard grooving tools, including poor chip breaking, chip removal, cooling and securing of the indexable inserts – which is often awkward, imprecise and insufficient.
Parting-off and deep grooving are widely considered particularly difficult processes, and such applications are generally performed with cutting values that are too low, to avoid tool breakage or other problems. According to Walter, these weaknesses have also been eliminated with the new MX and GX systems.
Walter MX tools offers a new approach to clamping, which Walter says is more user friendly and reliable. The tangentially clamped insert aligns itself independently and accurately in the machining direction, while a dowel pin in the insert seat ensures precise and secure fixing.
For further information www.walter-tools.com

Business Secretary opens AM facility

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Andrea Leadsom, has officially opened the Manufacturing Technology Centre’s new innovation and knowledge hub for metal additive manufacturing (AM), ahead of a major industrial launch event this week.

In a significant advance for the UK, the hub aims to lead research, development and collaboration on metal AM, developing and testing ideas for taking the technology forward. The hub, in the MTC’s Aerospace Research Centre at Coventry, will be formally launched to industry on 15 October.
For further information www.the-mtc.org

First indexable drill for 7xD hole depth

The CoroDrill DS20 from cutting tool and tooling system specialist Sandvik Coromant is said to be the first indexable drill concept capable of producing hole depths up to 7xD.

Replacing the existing CoroDrill 880 and CoroDrill 881 tools, 4-5xD CoroDrill DS20 indexable drills provide tool life improvements of up to 25% and productivity gains up to 10%, depending on workpiece material, reports Sandvik Coromant. However, the 6-7xD variants represent an entirely new capability range of indexable drills. To complement the introduction, the company is releasing a new Modular Drilling Interface (MDI) that acts as a coupling between the drill and adaptor. Available in Coromant Capto and HSK shank types, the MDI provides high precision, good centring capabilities and reduced tool inventory.
“Among the most important factors when drilling to depths of more than 5xD is controlled cutting forces, secure chip evacuation and high centring capabilities,” explains Håkan Carlberg, senior R&D engineer – indexable drilling at Sandvik Coromant. “Going from a 5xD to a 7xD drill, the theoretical difficulty increases approximately three-fold due to an increased inclination to bend. Designing a CoroDrill DS20 7xD drill requires careful consideration for around 50 parameters that all depend on each other. The outcome is improved process security through lower forces and lighter cutting, particularly at entry. In turn, users achieve lower cost per hole, the ability to drill deeper and reduced sound levels.”
The drill body is strong and fatigue-resistant with higher levels of stiffness than ever achieved before, while chip flute shapes are individually designed for each drill size and insert. This combination of factors leads to less vibration, predictable wear patterns and increased tool life.
For further information www.sandvik.coromant.com