According to Walter GB, aerospace manufacturers that require special solid-carbide tooling for titanium workpieces will have to wait no longer than three weeks using the company’s newly introduced Xpress service.

An example of the cutter options available to aerospace component manufacturers is the Prototyp Ti38 Z6-10 solid-carbide milling cutter. Featuring a newly developed substrate and PVD coating, this cutter is able to operate at cutting speeds of up to 140 m/min. In addition, multi-tooth solutions with up to 10 teeth allow the feed to be increased by up to 50%, says Walter, in turn providing an increase in metal removal rates of up to 50% compared with conventional solutions.
In one case, tool life on a titanium aerospace window frame with a tensile strength of 1250 N/mm² has been raised by 154% when semi-finishing and finishing using a Prototyp Ti40 cutter. On the same component, using a Prototyp HDC Ti38L for finishing the outer contour, tool life was extended by 116%, while cutting speed increased by 25% and machining volume by 23%.
Also, the use of Walter’s CVD coating technology for its WSM45X indexable insert which, for instance, is used in the Walter Blaxx M3255 porcupine milling cutter, is seen as pivotal. Using this tooling combination, titanium structural components are typically machined using full slotting and climb milling at a cutting speed of 45 m/min and a feed of 0.12 mm. A further option is to increase the cutting speed to 65 m/min, achieving a predictable tool life of around 60 minutes.
Customers of the Xpress tool service can use the my.Walter software to design the tool online. This will be followed by an email quote for the purpose-made tool along with a 2D drawing and 3D model; all within an hour.
For further information www.walter-tools.com