Cutting tools from Quickgrind are now available to purchase on Amazon, in turn making the next-day delivery of standard product lines a certainty.

By using the Amazon platform, customers can order cutting tools as late as 22:00 in most areas with guaranteed next-day UK delivery. Quickgrind says that no cutting-tool manufacturer with an established logistics platform can provide a service that offers such a responsive service. Furthermore, customers can get free one-day delivery on eligible items and take advantage of consolidated shipping and ‘Amazon Day’ events, with predictable and convenient weekly deliveries.

Although bespoke engineered solutions from Quickgrind will continue, the company will introduce a standard series of products through the Amazon logistics platform. This move not only opens Quickgrind up to the whole UK market, but further afield, such as the US, mainland Europe and Australia. Furthermore, it will give Quickgrind exposure to enthusiasts, job shops and small manufacturers.

The Amazon online store is familiar to most households and businesses, and this familiarity reduces the complexity of purchasing for work purposes and can reduce overall procurement time. In short, being able to automate approval processes (all part of Amazon Business) helps limit the administrative burden.

Additionally, customer control and consolidation of spend can be achieved through a single ‘multi-user’ account with built-in features. This capability eradicates what procurement staff call ‘long-tail’ and rogue spending. Customers can track all their orders with ease and transparency.

Leveraging the Amazon Business store produces lower costs with quantity pricing available, alongside reduced shipping costs. For example, customers can spend just £80 for unlimited deliveries per year. This provides manufacturers with the traceability and confidence that staff can order cutting tools for urgent jobs that may come in at short notice.

For further information
www.quickgrind.com

As a prominent tier-one subcontract supplier to leading aerospace OEMs, Coventry-based Arrowsmith Engineering relies upon the expertise of its supply chain, and in particular MSC Industrial Supply.

Arrowsmith, like the entire aerospace sector, has witnessed the perfect storm of reduced orders and output, COVID-compliant distancing and staff on furlough – all created by worldwide flight restrictions. However, Arrowsmith has overcome numerous industry downturns in its five decades of business, and this experience has seen the company once again adapt to market conditions. With MSC supporting the subcontractor over the past five years to deliver cost reductions and productivity savings of more than £500,000, Arrowsmith has again called upon its supply partner to support it in the machining of more than 50 aluminium engine components.

MSC reviewed the proposed strategy for five set-ups on a pair of three-axis machining centres and subsequently adapted the process to two set-ups on a single five-axis machine.

The solution included the adaptation of the existing zero-point clamping system to add a secondary clamping plate and two Lang vices for clamping the extra-long parts.

In terms of tools, MSC knew that machining aluminium aerospace components of this type is best suited to the solid-carbide milling range offered by SGS Carbide. Sharing the details of the project with SGS, MSC remotely created and optimised a selection of cutting tools that would enhance machining performance and tool life, while consolidating the number of tools required.

By adapting the machining strategy to just two set-ups, MSC has guaranteed process stability for critical aerospace components with tolerances across the part tied to less than 50 µm. MSC has also instigated a machining strategy that is yielding a cycle time of just 2 hours 20 minutes.

For further information
www.mscdirect.co.uk

Kennametal has expanded its HARVI I TE series with the HARVI I TE four-flute ball-nose end mill. Designed for productive 3D roughing and finishing operations, the new cutter delivers lower machining cost through maximum metal removal in a broad range of materials, says the company.

The HARVI I TE ball-nose end mill features a novel proprietary relief that requires a closer look. In the most critical area – the ball-nose section – a wavy contour shapes the rippled relief that provides improved coolant flow into the cutting zone. The result, according to Kennametal, is maximised productivity and tool life in 3D milling operations.
In addition, the rippled relief enables higher feeds and speeds, as well increased depths of cut, thanks largely to advanced vibration damping and lower cutting forces.

On the outer diameter, the relief changes its shape, and turns into the eccentric faceted relief. Kennametal says this eccentric faceted relief provides exceptional edge strength, geometric accuracy, lower cutting forces and makes the HARVI I TE four-flute ball-nose end mill highly versatile.

Further geometry advancements of the square-end styles – including a twisted end face, chip gashing and a variable helix angle – also feature in this new solid-carbide end mill.

Kennametal is making the HARVI I TE ball-nose end mill available in two different lengths, both with a diameter range from 2 to 20 mm.

For further information
www.kennametal.com

The Haimer Mill solid-carbide end mill – for roughing, finishing, drilling, profiling, ramping and slotting in nearly all materials – is now available in a short and a long version.

For a long time, Haimer says that manufacturers, especially those in the areas of mechanical engineering, medical and contract machining, have been asking for a milling tool that they can use universally in steel and stainless steel, but also in cast iron, copper and even hardened steel.

The Haimer Mill tools, which are available as end mills according to DIN 6527 with a sharp edge, corner radius or chamfer, show substantial results in most cases. The same edge geometries are available as modular tools for the Haimer interchangeable head system, Duo-Lock.

Characteristics for Haimer MIll end mills are the unequal cutting edge, the centre-cutting design and a neck for higher cutting depth. The end mills are supplied with an h6 shank tolerance and come fine-balanced. Run-out accuracy is <10 μm. To offer users even greater benefits, the Haimer Mill range has now been expanded further. A short version with a cutting-edge length of 1.25xD is suitable for all applications that require less cutting depths. The mill, which features no neck clearance and reduced shank length, uses the cutting edges at low ap (axial depth of cut) values and achieves high stability. In addition to the short version, a long version is available for engineers who want to machine higher workpiece walls. With the new 3xD Haimer Mill, it is possible to achieve consistent high-quality surfaces for such requirements, reports the company. For further information www.haimer.biz

Sandvik Coromant is upgrading its range of turning inserts for machining ISO-P steels. The tooling specialist has launched two carbide grades, called GC4415 and GC4425, which are said to deliver increased toughness, heat resistance and predictable wear.

GC4415 and GC4425 are suitable for manufacturers machining mid to high batch sizes from low-alloyed (P 2.1 to 2.6) and unalloyed (P 1.1 to 1.5) steels, respectively. Sandvik Coromant says that GC4425 outperforms competing solutions in a majority of steel-turning applications. Users can deploy GC4425 and GC4415 for both finishing and roughing, in applications with continuous cuts and light interruptions.

Meanwhile, GC4415 complements GC4425 whenever there is a need for more heat resistance. In addition, the grade’s new post-treatment boosts performance in intermittent cutting operations, avoiding any sudden breakages.

According to Sandvik Coromant, inserts based on GC4415 and GC4425 grades show superior wear resistance over competing inserts, which contributes towards extended tool life and predictable performance. This performance attribute also minimises material waste, both from the workpiece and the insert.

In one case example, a general engineering manufacturer subjected a 421 / 280 pre-heat treated steel workpiece to multi-directional external roughing with a GC4425-grade insert. Compared with using a competitor’s ISO-insert for the same process, the customer was able to achieve a 100% productivity increase, with a reduced cycle time of 50% and a 30% cost reduction.

For better sustainability, the carbide substrate of these new grades contains a high proportion of recycled carbide material, more than 50%. Making grades from recycled material saves virgin raw material, and requires less energy and fewer CO2 emissions in production.

For further information
www.sandvik.coromant.com