Versatile Cutting Tools Bolster Machining Strategies

From high-speed end mills to specialized inserts designed for exotic alloys, cutting tools are evolving and offer solutions for any machining need. 

Six-flute End Mill for Titanium and Super Alloys 

CERATIZIT USA (Schaumburg, IL) had added a six-flute end mill to its OptiLine Series of solid-carbide end mills. OptiLine end mills are versatile and optimized for various materials, machining strategies and part applications. The new six-flute OptiLine end mill was engineered for titanium and super alloys.

This end mill features a premium substrate and advanced tool geometry. Its asymmetrical variable helix and variable index flute configuration ensures enhanced stability during cutting operations and includes chip splitters designed for applications involving 2.5 x D cutting lengths. Refined cutting edges and CERATIZIT’s Dragonskin coating technology improve chip control and reduce adhesion for longer tool life.

“We started with the six-flute’s foundation ensuring the substrate provides high toughness without sacrificing hardness,” said Scott Walrath, CERATIZIT’s business development manager, solid round tools. “The six-flute’s other key differentiator is the asymmetrical flute design because each tooth on a different helix angle delivers stability when machining a workpiece at varying angles.”

www.cuttingtools.ceratizit.com

Expansion of End Mill Line

EMUGE-FRANKEN USA (West Boylston, MA) has added nearly 2,500 new tools to its line of high performance end mills, which brings its standard offerings to more than 6,000 tools.  Highlights of the expanded lines and new tool types include:

• The industry’s most versatile variable helix carbide tool solution, the TOP-Cut VAR End Mills, has increased three-fold to comprise more than 1,200 tools.
• The new Cera-Cut End Mills are premium ceramic milling cutters developed for machining heat-resistant super alloys, combining the company’s unique Duplex geometry and brazed ceramic head design to reduce machining time on high nickel alloys.
• The new High-Precision Skiving Tools are designed for skiving, which combines gear hobbing and gear shaping for internal and external gears, splines and more.

www.emuge-franken-group.com

Installation Tools for Different Inserts

E-Z LOK (Gardena, CA) offers a wide range of installation tools available regardless of the type of threaded insert being used.  These include drive tools for E-Z LOK solid wall inserts, knife thread, and coil. E-Z LOK tools install solid wall inserts for metal without engaging the insert’s internal threads, which speeds up installation and eliminates the possibility of cross-threading or stripping. Furthermore, drive tools fit standard power drills and drill presses, and are versatile and adaptable to various metalworking applications.

Installation tools for E-Z knife threaded inserts are engineered to improve accuracy, reduce effort, prevent insert damage, enhance strength of connections and increase project efficiency. It ensures that threaded inserts are installed correctly and securely. The E-Z coil tools can quickly fortify or repair tapped holes in soft metal materials. Each mandrel-style insert tool and manual tang break tool offer a low-cost solution for efficiently installing the company’s premium inserts.

www.ezlok.com 

New Indexable Square Inserts with a Shred Cutting Edge

The addition of new indexable square inserts with a shred cutting edge enhances the performance of ISCAR USA’s (Charlotte, NC) MILL-4-FEED inserts in unstable milling conditions. The shred cutting-edge design, which has already proven successful in other ISCAR milling families, offers several advantages:

• Increased anti-vibration resistance of the tool.
• Reduced power consumption and heat generation.
• Improved chip evacuation, especially in deep pockets and cavities where chip removal is challenging.

The new inserts are designed for productive rough high feed milling mainly in steel and cast iron (ISO P, K, and H groups of application) under unstable machining conditions such as high tool overhang, poor workholding, or non-rigid workpiece structures. They are suitable for use in machine tools with limited main drive power. They also feature four indexable cutting edges and are made from the PVD coated carbide grade IC808, which undergoes ISCAR’s post-coating SUMO TEC treatment.

www.iscar.com

Optimized Solid End Mill Solutions for High-performance Profiling

Sandvik Coromant’s (Mebane, NC) CoroMill Plura Ball Nose Solid End Mill is designed for semi-finishing to finishing profiling operations in ISO S materials. The tool is optimized for titanium and HRSA materials, ideal for applications such as blisk and blade machining. It offers enhanced productivity, longer tool life and improved process security, addressing key needs in aerospace and other high-performance sectors.

This end mill features a newly developed face geometry that reduces unfavorable cutting conditions, an uneven tooth pitch for better stability and vibration control, and Zertivo 2.0 grades for improved wear resistance and tool life. With up to six flutes, the tool supports higher feed rates, reducing machining times and cost per part while maintaining surface quality.

While primarily designed for aerospace, the tool’s versatility extends to other sectors such as automotive and medical, excelling in machining components such as hip joints and turbochargers. It is also effective in die and mold applications involving hardened steel and stainless steel.

The standard assortment includes dedicated grades for titanium and HRSA, diameters ranging from 3 mm-to-20 mm and 0.125”-to-0.75”, four to six flutes, 1.5×D depth of cut and usable lengths of 3×D and 5×D.

www.sandvik.coromant.com

New Benchmark for Thread Milling

Walter USA, LLC’s (Greer, SC) Tiger·tec® Gold WSM37G is a wear-resistant thread milling grade with the unique, one-of-a-kind, physical vapor deposition aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) coating technology. The multiple-layer coating features a titanium aluminum nitride coating on the carbide substrate for a high level of wear resistance, followed by Al₂O₃ coating for high temperature resistance and topped with zirconium nitride for excellent friction-reduction characteristics and the best wear detection because of its gold color.

The indexable inserts made of this universal grade are effective for machining blind-hole and through-hole threads in steel, stainless steel, cast iron, heat-resistant super alloys and steel with a hardness up to 55 HRC (ISO P, M, K, S and H material groups). The grade WSM37G inserts are for milling threads with a nominal diameter from UNC ¾ or 16 mm with a pitch range from 3-to-18 threads per inch or 1.5 mm-to- 10 mm.

These inserts are offered in two easy-cutting geometries with a positive basic shape and each with three cutting edges. Both have an extremely smooth, low-friction rake face and defined corner radii for producing threads in accordance with many international standards. All Walter T2710 to T2713 thread milling cutters accept the grade WSM37G indexable inserts.

www.walter-tools.com/us

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