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

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.

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

Welshpool-based Castalum, which is currently one of the largest die-casting companies in the UK, is relying on tooling solutions from Mapal to help it control cost per part for the products it supplies to the automotive sector.

Referring to the relationship with Mapal, Peter Radcliffe, chairman at Castalum, says: “We went into machining absolutely from scratch. However, we knew that Mapal were a good option in terms of quality and what they could supply in regard to both their advice and their tooling. So, we immediately chose them as a partner and it’s something we’ve never regretted. Right now, Mapal do not only supply us with tooling, they provide concurrent engineering advice for practically every quotation request that passes through the company.”
Mapal’s Ted Coyle adds: “When I first became aware of Castalum many years ago, they were only involved in castings. They then diversified into machining as many customers were asking for this service. Castalum got involved with Heller Machine Tools and their first job was a turnkey project. Heller works extensively on machining solutions for castings, like those undertaken at Castalum with Mapal on PCD tooling.
“We did the tooling on those initial projects and Castalum were then interested in approaching jobs on a ‘cost-per-piece’ basis,” he continues. “So, we came up with an offer to do components on this premise. The first work was the Trag 6 piece clutch housing. That worked very well and from there on in, we then started doing every project at Castalum.
“The next job was a BMW steering housing and then we did the MT82 gearbox rear case, the Georgio clutch/rear housing, and the B6 Plus, which is a larger derivative of the original B6.”
For further information www.mapal.com

The Evocut-Line parting system has been introduced to the UK market by Floyd Automatic Tooling. This parting and grooving product from Switzerland-based Applitec incorporates a compact design, simplified insert changeovers and compatibility with platen-type tooling configurations. According to Floyd Automatic, the system is suited to use in compact work envelopes, such as those found in sliding-head turning centres.

Evocut-Line is available with the H series monobloc tool holder, the H Jet series with integrated through-coolant supply, and the HK, HK-RS, HUK and HM designation of parting-off blades. Applitec’s Evocut HK series is a generic parting-off blade, whereas the HK-RS incorporates a recess for sub-spindle access. HUK blades have been designed for upside-down parting, while the HM is a short-length, modular-blade system.
The H-series and H Jet series tool holders are available with 10, 12, 16 and 20 mm square shanks to accommodate everything from compact tool platens in sliding-head turning centres, through to more robust fixed-head machine tooling platforms.
Applitec’s Evocut-Line is offered in four insert widths of 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 mm that are capable of machining up to a maximum 44 mm depth of cut. These ET15, ET20, ET30 and ET40 designations are available with Applitec’s U, J, T and A-style geometries that are said to improve speeds, feeds, material removal flow and surface finishes, while catering to the specific characteristics of various material types, including stainless steel, carbon and alloy steel, titanium, aluminium alloy, copper, bronze, and plastics.
The respective insert dimensions and geometries are available with no fewer than six grades, which include PVD and CVD-coated inserts, as well as uncoated grades for non-ferrous materials. An option is available for high-pressure coolant delivery.
For further information www.floydautomatic.co.uk

Founded in the summer of 2014, Holtex Engineering Solutions provides prototype and small quantity production parts. Utilising the latest technology, the Holmfirth-based company aims to be a one-stop supplier.

“We’ve grown gradually since we formed the business and now have 10 employees,” says Ben Robinson from Holtex. “We have an ethos of investing in new technology and this includes some of the latest multi-axis turning machines, as well as three- and five-axis mills. This technology is supported by high-quality tooling that is complemented by the Haimer Power Clamp special edition heat-shrink system for the milling section, and the Haimer UNO20/40 Microset tool pre-setter for the turning department.
“The reason we invested in Haimer is because a lot of the jobs we do are relatively high precision and we’re using quite delicate tooling at times,” continues Robinson. “Additionally, the machinery we have is only as good as the tooling we use, and the more accurate our tooling, the better off we are from the start.”
As a further point, a lot of the smaller and more delicate tooling used at Holtex means the company is producing profiles that are not possible to measure with normal methods – CMM technology would be required. However, with the Haimer system, Holtex can accurately set diameters and check the run-out of tooling, which means that the company can check the part before it goes to the inspection department.
“Now we’re setting tools off the machine and for longer run jobs,” says Robinson. “We’re also setting the next tool while existing tools are running on the machine, which reduces downtime. In addition, the tooling is lasting considerably longer as it’s running at much-improved accuracy and run-out. The system is very easy to use; with 10 minutes of training anyone can use Haimer solutions.”
For further information www.haimer.biz