FEATURE ON TOOLING

FCR end mills offer vibration-free machining

Now available in the UK from Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC), Fullcut Mill FCR indexable end mills from Big Kaiser are said to deliver vibration-free machining. The new Big Kaiser system integrates its indexable inserts with the machine spindle via the BBT (Big-Plus BT taper) interface. FCR end mills are also available in HSK A-63 and BDV interfaces. Notably, the monoblock design helps to reduce vibration and chatter while improving system rigidity. As a result, manufacturers can achieve improved process reliability and consistency.

The Fullcut Mill FCR is an indexable insert tool that come in two variants: standard and long nose (both supplied with a BBT interface). Big Kaiser’s FCR is available in four diameters spanning 16 to 32 mm, with two or three insert seats. The long nose version is more cylindrical and thinner, resulting in a smaller interference contour for difficult-to-access work surfaces.

Compared with solid-carbide end mills, the Fullcut Mill offers enhanced performance through its increased stability and lower running costs. This is credit to users only needing to swap out inserts and not an entire solid-carbide end mill. The advantage of the Fullcut Mill is its insert geometry, which consists of a dedicated single-diameter geometry with a sharp cutting edge for both high radial and axial rake angles. The result? A smooth cut that requires less cutting effort and therefore less spindle power, leaving the surface smooth and burr-free, even when performing a strong interrupted cut.

“The Fullcut Mill FCR is a versatile tool that’s able to handle multi-functional operations such as helical milling, peck-milling, grooving and shoulder milling,” says Giampaolo Roccatello, chief sales and marketing officer for Big Kaiser Europe.

More information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

New drills suit stainless steel and titanium

Guhring has developed a new addition to its hole-making range: the new RT100 InoxPro series of solid-carbide drills. Designed for the drilling of stainless steels and titanium alloys, the new RT100 InoxPro overcomes the challenges of tool wear with its combination of tough carbide grade, new geometry and dedicated coating technology.

According to Guhring, RT100 InoxPro gives manufacturers a 50% increase in feed rates and productivity, with a 60% improvement in tool life compared to conventional stainless steel drills. Furthermore, the geometry design of the RT100 InoxPro optimises swarf control and evacuation to ensure process reliability, even when drilling up to 7xD.

This performance level is achieved with an optimised sickle-shaped cutting edge that forms and evacuates swarf, a smooth Perrox coating which increases wear protection and polished flute surfaces that remove swarf from the cutting area at speed to prevent built-up edge. Available in 3xD, 5xD and 7xD lengths, the RT100 InoxPro comes with a 140° point angle and coolant channels to support swarf removal and extend tool life

Guhring’s RT100 InoxPro is available from 3 to 20 mm diameter in 0.1 mm increments, with all imperial dimensions supported. The 3xD series has an overall length of 62 to 131 mm and a flute length of 20 to 79 mm, depending on the chosen diameter. In contrast, the 7xD range of drills has an overall length from 70 to 244 mm with a cutting length from 30 to 190 mm.

Complementing the new RT100 InoxPro is the new InoxPro fluteless taps, which offer synced macro and micro geometry with an optimised lubricating flute geometry and polygon shape. Guhring says this ensures reliable fluteless tapping in stainless and other high-grade austenitic steels.

More information www.guhring.co.uk

Notable cycle time savings with Ceratizit tools

Lancashire-based subcontract manufacturing specialist Woodbrook Precision continually invests in the latest machine tools, supported by cutting tool solutions from Ceratizit UK. 

Indeed, Woodbrook’s managing director Stephen Hogg says that Ceratizit has been instrumental in enhancing the productivity of the company’s new machinery.

Stephen’s father founded the second-generation business more than 35 years ago.

Initially investing in three-axis Mazak VMCs with rotary tables and turning centres with live tooling, more recent acquisitions have included two 3.5-m bed Mazak VTC800/30SR five-axis machining centres and a five-axis Mazak CV5-500. As the business has shifted from machining steel and aluminium to stainless, super duplex, titanium, Inconel, carbon fibre and Hastelloy, Ceratizit UK has risen through the ranks to be the cutting tool partner of choice.

“Over 10 years ago, Ceratizit was one of many suppliers but, as I took control of the business, it became evident that Ceratizit had the best-performing tools and their service was far beyond anything else,” says Hogg, who can cite many successful examples.

“We recently implemented Ceratizit facing and parting-off tools, and it reduced the component cycle time on 400-off job from 1 minute 58 seconds to 1 minute 26 seconds. Furthermore, Dragonskin CircularLine DLC-coated solid-carbide end mills have cut cycle times on an aluminium part from 3 minutes to 1 minute 20 seconds, while more than doubling tool life.”

On another 100-off repeat order for stainless steel aerospace fixtures, the company needed to reduce its cycle times to maximise margins and reduce costs. Ceratizit introduced a high-feed indexable end mill, reducing our cycle times from 38 to 26 minutes per part, with a tool life improvement of more than 20%.

More information www.ceratizit.com

Floyd releases Schwanog centre drilling system

Now available in the UK from Floyd Automatic Tooling is the new Schwanog interchangeable indexable centre drilling system. Developed to improve the productivity, precision and positioning of drilled holes, the new centre drill system prevents drills from drifting and maintains a chamfer on the drilled hole.

Suitable for everything from one-offs to high-precision series production runs, the Schwanog centre drilling system provides ±0.01 mm repeatability during insert changeovers thanks to an insert pocket seat that locates and clamps the insert. The tool body is available in a range of lengths and diameters to suit application requirements, providing flexibility to accommodate a host of machine tools and application types.

The ‘quick-change’ design of the inserts results in less time spent changing inserts. Schwanog claims that when combined with the tool geometry, the rapid-change system on the new drilling system guarantees a 40% increase in productivity.

Schwanog centre drill designs range from a 60 to 140° point angle and, depending on the workpiece material, it is possible to apply a wide variety of carbide grades and coatings. Users can machine materials that range from aluminium, brass and copper through to steel, stainless and heat-resistant aerospace grade alloys such as Inconel and titanium.

To further enhance the flexibility of the Schwanog centre drill, customers can request interchangeable drill bodies to suit both left-hand and right-hand operations. Furthermore, to enhance flexibility and ease-of-use, customers to utilise the same tool holder for left and right-hand application. Upon request, customers can order the Schwanog centre drill system with edge preparation to reduce potential chatter that may occur with challenging material types. 

More information www.floydautomatic.co.uk

Tiny turning products offer huge results

Tungaloy-NTK UK is giving the small turned-parts industry a ‘shot-in-the-arm’ with a multitude of offers on its latest range of turning technologies. As part of its 2024 promotional offering, the company has a number of special offers that range across the company’s small-part turning, high-feed milling and indexable drilling lines, including the DuoForceCut, MiniV-LockGroove, FaceMiniCut and TinyInternalCut series.

Designed for CNC sliding-head turning centres and cam-driven lathes, DuoForceCut is for turning parts up to 12 mm in diameter. It has the ability to undertake parting-off, front and back turning, threading, and grooving. As part of the 2024 promotional offer, Tungaloy-NTK UK is giving away a free tool holder when customers buy 10 inserts.

For machining intricate and detailed components, Tungaloy-NTK UK has introduced its MiniV-LockGroove range of high-precision grooving and threading tools. Tungaloy-NTK UK is offering manufacturers the opportunity to buy a pack of 10 inserts and get a free tool holder or buy 10 inserts and get one CHP tool holder or CHP head with an additional 50% discount.

The FaceMiniCut is for grooving applications up to 9 mm deep. It features a rigid insert clamping system, as well as inserts with a sharp cutting edge, optimised geometry featuring a chip ‘redirector’ and an advanced SH7025 PVD grade. Again, Tungaloy-NTK UK is giving machine shops the opportunity to try the new system with an offer to buy 10 inserts and receive a corresponding tool holder free-of-charge.

Completing the seasonal offer on small turning tools is the TinyInternalCut series for internal grooving and thread turning in bores down to 5 mm diameter. Customer can buy a pack of 10 inserts and get a corresponding tool holder for free.

More information www.tungaloy.com