Widia is launching its WCE solid-carbide end-mill platform, which the company says delivers affordable performance and reliability for small to medium sized machine shops. The initial release of the WCE platform features WCE4, a four-flute geometry that, according to Widia, combines advanced, high-performance features with a new versatile grade offered at a highly competitive price.

“With its new design, the WCE4 delivers the next generation of versatile end mills to help customers be more productive and efficient,” says Tamir Sherif, solid end milling global portfolio manager at Widia. “The WCE4 is an attractively priced tool for small-to-medium shops where reliability and consistent tool life are high priorities.”

Two key features of the tool are its asymmetrical index and variable helix. The combination of the two reduces vibration and enables heavy cuts, while the new grade, WU20PE, enables versatility in applications involving steel, stainless steel and cast iron workpieces. These design features, coupled with the four-flute geometry, deliver an end mill with reliable performance and application versatility, even in demanding operations such as full slots and heavy cuts, reports Widia.

The WCE platform includes four-flute, square-end and ball-nose end mills with both straight and Weldon shanks, and is available in both metric and imperial dimensions. Widia will release WCE5 five-flute geometry later in 2022. Orders for the WCE4 end mill, as well as other Widia tooling for metal-cutting applications, can be placed through Widia authorised distribution partners.

For further information
www.widia.com

As part of its AddForce global launch of next-generation cutting tools, Tungaloy is introducing AddInternalCut to its product portfolio. The company reports that the new AddInternalCut is an industry first, introducing four cutting edges on an internal grooving tool for precision turning and small part machining applications.

The R&D experts at Tungaloy have developed a clamping system that incorporates into the tool body to provide high levels of clamping rigidity, indexing repeatability and precision. AddInternalCut supports the four-edged insert in three positions, with each of the cutting edges protected by the new pocket design. Furthermore, this design allows end users to deploy the same insert on a right- or left-hand tool body.

Tungaloy’s AddInternalCut is available with a steel or carbide tool body featuring a necked relief of 24 or 30 mm to provide sufficient clearance and swarf evacuation. The round tool shanks also have 12 mm flats to correspond with everything from sliding-head turning centres to larger, more robust lathes, while the through-coolant tool bodies reduce vibration and chatter with an overall tool length of 100 or 125 mm, and an insert seat size of 10.

To ensure the new AddInternalCut is suitable for the widest possible number of applications, Tungaloy has developed the range with its CWN and CWX insert designations. The CWN is 1.5 mm wide with the heavier duty CWX being 2.5 mm wide. Depending upon the chosen insert geometry, AddInternalCut provides a protrusion for cutting at depths up to 2 mm. Both geometries are available in Tungaloy’s AH725 insert grade, which features a PVD coating to suit a wide variety of steels, stainless steels and challenging alloys, such as titanium. The tool is suitable for machining inside holes from 10.5 mm diameter upward.

For further information
www.tungaloy.com/uk

Manufacturers looking for versatility and precision in machining can pair up Seco Turbo 16 square-shoulder milling cutters and Helical Turbo 16 milling cutters to reduce tooling inventories and costs. According to Seco Tools, both series offer high material removal rates in steel, stainless steel, cast iron, non-ferrous metals, superalloys and titanium. Scannable data matrix tags on the cutter inserts store product and batch information that the new Seco Assistant app can read.

Versatile Turbo 16 square-shoulder milling cutters deliver outstanding results and process security with exceptional ramping capability, reports Seco. Optimised insert pocket angles enhance the cut and deliver high surface finishes. With a high helix angle for smoother workpiece entry and exit, these cutters also feature efficient chip evacuation, while lower cutting forces reduce power consumption, tool wear and noise levels.

“Manufacturers can achieve production efficiencies and enhance machining performance with these tools in virtually any material,” says Michael Davies, global product manager – square-shoulder milling. The eco-friendly design uses corrosion-resistant steel with no nickel coating.

Next-generation Helical Turbo 16 milling cutters combine performance with ease of use, benefiting from a comprehensive range of Seco insert grades and geometries for high material removal rates (MRR) and extended tool life. The company says that larger cuts and higher feeds reduce cycle times and accelerate production, with optimised coolant channels, flutes and cutting rakes for stable machining and optimal chip formation.

“These features produce smoother cuts, longer tool life and more process reliability for faster production,” confirms Benoît Patriarca, global product manager – helical milling. “Helical Turbo 16 uses fewer inserts than equivalent tools that provide the same MRR.”

For further information
www.secotools.com

A new generation of grades developed by Boehlerit for rough-turning stainless steels is available from Horn under a joint sales co-operation agreement between the two tool manufacturers. The tools are the result of innovations in carbide manufacture, insert coating and chip flow, with parameters finely tuned to create the new grades: BCP10T, BCP15T, BCP20T and BCP25T.

Horn says that all grades offer high performance and reliability throughout the entire turning process. Designated MRM, a special chip breaker with a modified chamfer suppresses a significant proportion of the vibration generated by the machining process to ensure reliable chip flow.

According to Horn, the new AlTiN PVD coating meets demanding temperature and toughness requirements, while its golden colour allows easy wear detection. The coating allows the machining of small diameter components, as it is capable of operating at low cutting speeds. In addition, the coating makes the grades suitable for turning when the tool is required to enter the material frequently.

With the new MRM chip breaker, Boehlerit has extended its ISO turning portfolio for medium to heavy roughing of stainless steels and can now offer indexable insert geometry for virtually any application. The chip breaker is an extension of the established BMRS geometry. Although the feed rate ranges are similar, MRM boasts a deeper rake angle, resulting in significant differences in micro-geometry. Boehlerit says this development reduces the cutting force, increases process safety and extends cutter life when machining hard stainless steels.

For further information
www.phorn.co.uk

At the heart of Hollingworth Design’s subcontract capability in Stockport are two Index bar-fed turn-mill centres, a G200-2 and a C100. These machines, especially the G200-2 with its powerful B-axis and capability of simultaneous cutting with up to four tools, consistently open up many possibilities.
“Any job that can be machined from bar is classed as a turning job, and goes on these machines, even if there is no actual turning involved,” states director Paul Hollingworth.

Applying this philosophy allows cycle times to be drastically reduced, with help from cutting tool supplier Ceratizit UK & Ireland. A good example is one particular component destined for use on superyachts. Initially, Hollingworth Design was using a four-flute 6 mm diameter milling cutter on these 303 stainless steel components. Ceratizit recommended changing this to a five-flute Silverline solid-carbide cutter. Running at 6250 rpm spindle speed, 120 m/min cutting speed and 0.1 mm/rev feed rate with a 1.5 mm step down every rev, the Silverline cutter completed the entire batch of 4000 components without being changed.

“The performance of this cutter simply blew me away,” says Hollingworth. “We achieved a cycle time of 3.5 minutes per component, running the machine 24/7 and meeting all of our customer’s expectations.”

This job is a typical example of the approach that Hollingworth Design takes, to look at every aspect of the application and engineer a process to make improvements. To maximise the benefit for customers, the company looks at batch quantities from 500 upwards, recently completing a single order for 72,000 components. Machining these volumes demands support from Ceratizit in the form of regular visits, along with daily management of tooling through use of a Ceratizit TOM 840 tool-vending system.

For further information
www.ceratizit.com