Zoro helps home workers

Zoro, a one-stop-shop for more than 250,000 industrial consumables, tools and business supplies, has re-launched Zoro Business Accounts, with features making it easy for companies to stock up on tools, site safety and PPE equipment, even with employees working from home. Zoro’s Business Accounts offers multi-user access, a feature developed for home working. All purchases made by users listed on the business account will contribute towards the company’s tiered pricing discounts scheme. Other features include order subscription, which has been introduced to reduce administration.

For further information www.zoro.co.uk

Flat-bottom geometry for drill tip

Kennametal has expanded its replaceable drill offer for the KenTIP FS modular drill series with the new FEG insert for flat-bottom hole applications.

Applicable in steel, cast iron and stainless steels, the FEG insert eliminates end-milling operations and completes tasks in a single operation, saving time and tooling costs.
Drilling flat-bottom holes is a challenge. So is drilling on inclined or curved surfaces, drilling into cross holes, drilling stacked plates or castings, and other parts with rough surfaces. However, leveraging the success of its KenTIP FS modular drill, Kennametal has developed a proprietary insert geometry (FEG) that streamlines many of these application types and simplifies counter-bore and pilot-hole drilling.

Conceptually, the FEG geometry design is simple; it features a 180° cutting edge and a conical centre point that acts as a pilot to provide exceptional hole position and straightness. Corner chamfers serve to protect the cutting edges and reduce exits burrs, while four margin lands provide stability when breaking into interrupted cuts and cross-holes. Kennametal’s KCP15A grade uses a nano-structured AlTiN coating and fine-grain carbide substrate, providing both toughness and wear resistance when drilling steel, stainless steel and cast iron.

The diameter range covers 6-26 mm, while drilling depth of up to 12xD is possible depending on the KenTIP FS modular drill body.
Aside from the one-step drilling of flat-bottom holes, KenTIP FS-FEG is said to excel at drilling through cross-holes, inclined exits, and for use as a pilot drill in deep-hole applications up to 12xD.

For further information www.kennametal.com

Manufacturing centre unveiled

Daventry has been unveiled as the new home for an advanced engineering and manufacturing centre of excellence.

JRM, a company founded in 2007 and noted for its international success on the racetrack, has received funding of more than £1.6m from South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) to extend and remodel one of its existing sites in Daventry. Staff have already started to migrate into the new centre, while a new DMG Mori 3D printer (first in the UK) has also been installed. Building work is set to begin on what will become the UK’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Low-carbon Automotive Technologies.

JRM managing director Jason King says: “With the CoE we will become a company able not just to design and manufacture products, but test and approve them in our QC department. This means we’ll bring together under one roof all our capabilities as an advanced engineering company and, at the same time, bring in new ones – for industries locally and oversees.”

For further information www.semlep.com

TDT boosts sales force

TDT Machine Tools has signalled its intentions for growth by further strengthening the company’s sales team.

Mark Hone, who has around 15 years of experience in the machine-tool sector, has been appointed primarily to spearhead the sales of high-quality CMZ lathes and turning centres across the central England region. TDT was appointed a UK sales partner for Spain-headquartered CMZ in January 2020.

Hone arrives at TDT following extensive periods at a number of established competitors. His central England sales area for CMZ is extensive, running coast-to-coast from Lincolnshire in the east, to Wales in the west, taking in the East and West Midlands, including Hereford and Worcester, and extending as far north as Sheffield. Hone’s past experience will also be useful for TDT’s larger machine-tool products, from principals such as Kafo, You Ji and Lagun.

For further information www.tdt-machinetools.co.uk

Turning stainless steel made easy

For turning stainless steel components – regardless of whether they be cast, forged or semi-finished parts – Ceratizit says it now has the optimum insert in its range.

The established CTPM125 carbide grade has been joined by two new cutting materials to complete the product range: the more wear-resistant CTCM120 and the tougher CTCM130. Both feature the latest Dragonskin coating.

The arrival of these two new carbide grades, which are recommended for turning austenitic stainless steels, coincides with the publication of the new Ceratizit Up2Date supplementary catalogue. Development was focused on the most frequently used stainless steels – V2A (e.g. 1.4301) and V4A (1.4545) – with the aim of providing a wider selection of inserts to cover every application from roughing to fine machining.

CTCM120 is said to allow high cutting speeds on austenitic stainless steels and boasts a smooth cut. According to Ceratizit, the grade also impresses with its long tool life, which in some cases was double that of the competition in benchmark tests.

The tough CTCM130 carbide grade is recommended for interrupted cuts. If cutting speeds need to be kept low and conditions are unstable, the attributes of CTCM130 help to increase process security.

Ceratizit’s complete range for austenitic stainless steels is characterised not just by the precise co-ordination of the three grades, but by the free selection of different chip breakers. Depending on the application, customers can choose from three geometries for negative indexable inserts, or two for positive inserts.

For further information www.cuttingtools.ceratizit.com/gb/en.html