Kennametal engineers say they have taken the strength and versatility of the KSEM modular drill system and combined it with the ease of use and low feed forces of its smaller companion drill, KenTIP. The resulting fusion of these advanced holemaking technologies is the KenTIP FS, a 6 to 26 mm, 1.5 to 12xD modular drill that is said to be simple to use and tough enough to compete with solid carbide drills across a range of materials. The tool has a full solid carbide front, enabling it to withstand more heat and abuse than competing modular drill technologies.

The drill’s flutes are highly polished after final machining, a process that Kennametal has found greatly improves chip evacuation and reduces washout near the tip. And instead of the two coolant holes found in most modular drill designs, the KenTIP FS has four – two at the tip and two in the chip gullet directly behind the head. This multi-coolant approach provides greater coolant volume to prevent chip packing while simultaneously drawing heat away from the cutting zone, prolonging tool life and improving hole quality.
Inserts with HPL and HPC point styles have through-tool coolant channels to provide better lubrication in this area to overcome the issue. In steel though, it´s better to concentrate coolant to the rake and take the heat from the contact zone between chip and rake surface. As a result, Kennametal has eliminated the front coolant holes in its HPG geometry inserts to raise insert tool life and improve chip breakage. In addition, this avoids built-up edge and makes the insert more rigid, which allows higher penetration rates in steel applications.
For further information www.kennametal.com

Floyd Automatic Tooling says that it now offers the latest Hommel + Keller brand of Zeus marking systems.
A manufacturer of aerospace industry connectors has recently chosen marking technology from Hommel + Keller as a means of clearly identifying components. The connectors vary in terms of diameter and material. For example, parts identical in design are made from nickel with a diameter of 3.33 mm and from brass with a much smaller diameter of 1.52 mm. To optimise production and further reduce set-up times, the aerospace manufacturer was also looking for an alternative to marking with the production number.

The solution was the Zeus spring return marking method. Explaining the situation, Hommel + Keller International technical sales engineer, José Cruz, says: “The customer was already using our tools for marking. However, the revolving method that depends on diameter was being employed. That meant there was a separate marking roll for each connector diameter and the customer often had to swap tools with production changes. Since the workpieces have very small diameters, the marking rolls also had an unfavourable ratio of 6:1 to ensure precise marking in multiple rotations. This increased the amount of set-ups required, particularly in the case of small and medium-sized production volumes. With our spring return system, we were able to offer the customer an even more cost-effective method of machining. Now, different connectors need only one roll for marking.”
In contrast to the revolving method, the spring return method ensures the embossing process takes place over just one partial rotation of the marking roll. This permits processing at high speeds.
For further information www.floydautomatic.co.uk