Diamond-tipped tooling from Horn

A CVD diamond-tipped tool system, DDHM, has been introduced by Horn for the cost-effective drilling and countersinking of sintered carbides and ceramics of hardness up to 3000 Hv. DDHM is said to enable short throughput times, high surface quality, lower costs and more flexibility within the production process, as well as long tool life.

Due to the fact they allow machining to take place on conventional milling and turning centres, DDHM tools do away with costly and time-consuming grinding and eroding processes. There is also an opportunity for savings in capital plant, as investment in expensive new machinery can potentially be avoided.
Thanks to its ability to machine carbide punches and dies, the DDHM system is particularly suited to manufacturers in the tool and die-making sector. However, the tools also offer advantages in other areas, including the medical, aerospace and automotive industries, as well as in punching, forging and forming technology.
Horn CVD-D-tipped drills can be used for producing holes in solid material to a maximum depth of 10xD. The drills are of two-edged design and available in diameters ranging from 2 to 10 mm. All versions feature an internal coolant supply.
For chamfering and countersinking, Horn offers the CVD-D end mill from stock in diameters of 3 and 6 mm, and with flank angles of 15, 30 and 45°. The 3 mm version has five teeth, while the 6 mm version has six.
For further information www.phorn.co.uk

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