The global cutting tools market is characterized by low market concentration and high competition among the major players. The present scenario drives vendors to alter and refine their unique value propositions to achieve a strong market presence.

“As tool designers, we need to increase the pocket security of our grooving platforms to allow customers the freedom (to) turn in all directions,” said John Winter, turning specialist at Sandvik Coromant, Fair Lawn, N.J.

Added Vanderink of Iscar, “Technically, center-height position of the tool is critical. The process of a square tool plunging into a round part is very abusive. The centerline dynamic is not fiction. It is real and essential for success in these applications.”

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During the pandemic, many people turned to DIY activities to relieve stress and take care of tasks to reduce costs while staying indoors. The concept of D.I.Y is well-adopted in Western countries, with most American regions contributing to nearly 81% of the market share in the D.I.Y industry. This trend is expected to continue during the forecast period.

The automotive industry is the largest end-user segment in the global cutting tools market. Drilling and fastening tools are the primary tools for tightening fasteners, engine mounting, and other joint works.

“Also, lower vibrations lead to less pitting of the tool pocket, increasing toolholder life,” Garud continued. “The new patented design by Walter for our DX18 inserts securely clamps the inserts on three sides.” It also has “a secure prismatic base: a V-shaped top groove for the top clamping finger and a small double-faceted groove at the back of the insert to seat it securely in the insert pocket.”

At Horn USA, the company is offering coolant on more of its products. “This includes part-off and grooving holders and even some inserts,” Kollenbroich said. “Getting coolant to the cutting edge has many advantages. For one, having a more accurate delivery method for the coolant direction helps in cooling the work zone. It also offers the benefit of chip breaking when used with higher pressure applications.”

He also said clamping is an issue. “Using torque wrenches when clamping inserts in all parting and grooving tools is essential to maintain clamping force, tool integrity and finally part quality.”

Kollenbroich of Horn noted that managing centerline is critical. “Centerline can be your biggest friend and your worst enemy. All manufacturers design their tools to work on center. When a machine is off, even slightly, things become unpredictable. Customers typically experience a drop in tool life, maybe poor surface finish or, worse yet, catastrophic failure. It is critical to apply part-off and grooving tools properly, and on center.”

The cemented carbide material type segment dominated the global cutting tools market and was valued at over USD 3.2 billion in 2022.

June 30, 2023 04:08 ET | Source: Research and Markets Research and Markets

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Dublin, June 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Cutting Tools Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Additionally, a grooving tool is a cutting tool that removes material to form grooves, channels, or other cross-sectional shapes on the workpiece. A groove may be cut with an end mill having one fixed cutter and another moveable cutter placed at each side. Such tools are also called profile mills when they produce linear cuts along the length of the item being milled.

Another example: “Heli Grip is a game changer due to its unique twisted geometry, enabling depths of cuts to go beyond the second edge of the insert without damaging it.” He said that results in “much deeper depths of cut—grooving and excellent groove turn capabilities.”

Walter USA has adjusted the way it clamps its inserts. “Usually the grooving inserts are held either through a self-clamping mechanism or through a ‘top-clamp’ screw-down mechanism,” Garud said. “The more secure the insert in the pocket, the lesser the tendency of vibration and longer the insert life.

This market is highly fragmented and consists of many companies operating on both global and regional levels. This indicates that manufacturers of cutting tools possess significant bargaining power over suppliers. Cemented carbide tools are primarily used for high-precision work involving greater shape, size, and structure complexity.

The high availability of other raw materials, such as steel, in countries like China, India, and the U.S., is also expected to lead to high growth rates for high-speed steel (HSS) tools. This is expected to enable vendors to further enhance their profit margins by maintaining good supplier-vendor relationships.

With the global electric vehicles market growing at almost 60% annually, expansion and increased production facilities are expected to increase the demand for cutting tools. This can be more prominent in countries such as China, Japan, the US, and Western Europe, where the production of EVs is more likely to accelerate during the forecast period.

Horn also offers a Y-axis part-off system. “This system uses the Y axis of certain lathes as feed direction,” Kollenbroich said. “This switch in axis feed directs forces back into the holder instead of against the holder. The improved strength allows for feed rate increases of two or three times that of standard X-axis part-off applications.”

“We are seeing the increased usage of Y-axis grooving and parting-off. By using this axis of the machine, we are able to increase cutting data, allowing our customers to reduce their cycle times,” he said. “Machine tool builders are adding features to their machines that allow for the use of the Y axis. Also, builders are looking at increasing the stroke of the Y axis, allowing for increased diameters where you can use Y-axis part-off tools.”

The global cutting tools market is expected to reach a value of $13.266 billion by 2028 from $9.5 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 5.72% from 2022 to 2028.

Kollenbroich described how Horn addressed that challenge with its 960 part-off system. “This is a cassette-based, coolant-through design that offers a major upgrade in blade stability,” he said. “This additional stability results in great improvement in tool life. Customers can realize gains of double or triple the tool life while showing dimensional improvements in flatness and surface finish.”

The surge in the D.I.Y industry is projected to grow due to the high penetration of media presence, including television, social media, and videos, which have helped recreate home improvement projects. Western countries like North America and Canada actively engage in D.I.Y activities. Additionally, many retail stores like supermarkets and hypermarkets have enabled significant growth for many vendors in the D.I.Y segment.

One question is what to expect in the next few years. “I believe one thing we will see is machines equipped with sensor monitoring technology watching slight changes in the tool and adjusting accordingly,” Kollenbroich said. “Some machine manufacturers already have things like this, but they are not accurate or sensitive enough yet. Incorporating this sensor technology into the toolholder and tying directly into the machine control is a possibility.”

In developed economies such as the U.S. and Europe, many adults engage in purposeful and creative leisure activities, with some investing in home improvement and maintenance based on personal interests. Consumers in countries like France, Germany, Italy, and the UK consider DIY activities a significant hobby.

“Multi-axis, multi-spindle machine tools with Y-axis capabilities are emerging to complete parts in one setup,” Vanderink continued. “The use of robots on the shop floor is increasing and is becoming a viable operation for small to medium-sized shops now.”

The concept is also gaining popularity in developing economies such as India, Brazil, and South Africa. The growing interest among consumers in undertaking their projects and maintaining a sustainable environment has increased the demand for D.I.Y products such as cutting tools.

Industry changes also create other considerations for toolmakers and their customers. “Geometry always plays a critical role in grooving operations,” Walter’s Garud said. “But parting-off operations typically tend to need the inserts to go all the way to the center of the bar, so cutting speeds are zero at the center, which means tougher grades are always going to be better than the harder grades. Also, chip-crimping is quite important. Not only do the chips need to curl into ‘sixes and nines’ shapes, they also need to be folded axially, so the chip breakers need to be aggressive to fold the chips.”

However, solid round tools are experiencing high growth rates in the global cutting tools market due to their ability to cover all application types within solid carbide drilling, milling, HSS tapping, reaming, and threading. Each solid round tool is designed to meet the requirements of high quality, precision, and maximum productivity, allowing for optimal machining processes.

Cutting tools are crucial in manufacturing, particularly in producing general machinery, automobiles, aviation and aerospace, energy, medical equipment, rail transit, molds, machine tools, and other industries.

Furthermore, due to machinery and equipment automation and the growing need for high-performance, high-precision machining equipment has become essential to industry growth. As a result, the demand for high-efficiency and performance-cutting tools is increasing. Such factors drive the development of new cutting technologies in the cutting tools market.

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“Users are always demanding the same thing,” said John Kollenbroich, head of product management at Horn USA Inc., Franklin, Tenn. “More tool life and predictability, better chip control and surface finish. These demands have not changed in many years, nor will they change anytime soon.”

The offline distribution channel had the highest global cutting tools market in 2022. Factors such as the broader reach in areas that lack better connectivity and high consumer trust associated with touching and experiencing the quality of products are driving the growth of this segment.

However, specialized cutting tools are more cost-effective and efficient for specific tasks. The APAC and North American regions are expected to have the largest share in the global cemented carbide industry. Vendors in these areas are anticipated to benefit from abundant raw material availability and will provide a competitive advantage to vendors regarding the selling price.

According to Garud, Walter is also adjusting design. “The need for higher volumes and reduced cycle times is always weighing down on tool manufacturers,” he said. “Walter recently introduced a new line of G4014 toolholders specifically designed for gang tooling. One of the key features of these holders is the side-access screw to clamp the insert into the toolholder.

Iscar has had a series of product launches to address customer demands. “Cut Grip is one of the most complete and comprehensive grooving lines on the market,” Vanderink said. “Iscar promotes and champions the GTO (groove turn operation) as a cornerstone process for this line. Straight grooving and then turning side to side utilizing all edges of the insert reduces cycle time while producing excellent part finishes.”

Improvements in machine tools have also altered the way companies design tools. “The biggest improvement in machines that I have noticed is more machines are running high-pressure coolant,” Kollenbroich of Horn said. “Even the standard offering from most manufacturers is a considerable jump in pressure from what it was just a few years ago. High-pressure coolant offers benefits in chip breaking. Coolant-through tools, with better and more focused coolant delivery, remove chips from the work zone. This helps improve tool life and overall performance.”

“Jet cut tooling is vital today,” he said. “Iscar has taken great care in making sure coolant is introduced to the cutting edge of the insert even when high pressure is not accessible. Data has shown that in all cases this makes a difference in tool life and part quality.

In 2022, the Groover product type dominated the industry. These tools are highly used with lathes to cut channels on the end of a workpiece or into an existing bore. Groovers are also utilized for various applications, including creating recesses for retaining rings and necking workpieces to ensure a clean fit when mating parts.

The automotive manufacturing process heavily relies on cutting tools as they are one of the key components of the process. The traditional procedures have been replaced with new techniques like high-speed cutting, dry machining, hard machining, and advanced cutting technology.The automotive sector has significantly shifted towards using professional tools such as Carbide Cutters. This transformation is driven by the need for high product quality and precision, which is required to produce high-value parts. The industrial circle has gradually moved from traditional machining to high-performance cutting tools that provide greater efficiency and accuracy.

Advancements in carbide substrates are “ever changing and we are seeing new grades and coatings that are making a meaningful impact in tool life,” he added. “Industry 4.0 is expanding into tooling more and more. Tracking of tool life and wear is becoming a seamless part of the manufacturing process.”

Said Winter of Sandvik Coromant, “We will see machines turning in all directions and the requirement for part-off and grooving tools is to do the same.”

Currently, the cutting tools market is highly fragmented and dominated by vendors such as Kennametal Inc, OGS Corporation, and Iscar Ltd, among others, alongside numerous domestic tool manufacturers that manufacture cutting tools as per the local demands and regulations.

Some trends in machining remain constant. Machine speeds continue to increase. Difficult-to-cut materials are used more frequently. The desire for better cooling, chip control and reliability remains.

Although the online segment holds a relatively lower market share, it is expected to grow faster than offline distribution channels.

Sandvik Coromant works to make its products flexible. Winter said that with CoroCut 1-2 “you can part-off, groove, face groove and do high-feed machining of hardened steel. The CoroCut QD platform can part-off in both the X and Y axis and face groove.”

Higher machine speeds are also a big part of the demand on tools. “As the machines get more capable of higher speeds and torques, and the demand to get more out of the same tool constantly increases, manufacturers have to respond accordingly,” said Sarang Garud, product manager at Walter USA LLC, Waukesha, Wis.

The global cutting tools market by product segments as groovers, reamers, milling cutters, drills, and others.

The company also looks to coating for product improvement. “We offer coatings that are capable of handling heat better, which in part-off and grooving is always a challenge,” he said.

The dominance of the indexable tool type segment in the global cutting tools market in 2022 can be attributed to its modern turning operations.

“The side-lock, or ‘smart lock’ as the technology is called, allows the users to index the inserts while the tool is still clamped onto the gang tooling of a Swiss machine,” he continued. “The side access to the indexing screws allows a time reduction of up to 70 percent in insert indexing, saving valuable time on high-volume Swiss machining operations.”

Added Steve Vanderink, national product specialist for grip products at Iscar USA, Arlington, Texas, “Users are demanding ease of indexing of the insert with accurate repeatability while increasing productivity with rigid support and strength in the pockets—all while keeping an eye on the economics. The market wants it all. Innovation is the driving force for solutions to the market’s needs.”

This has displaced previous common tool types, such as HSS, brazed-carbide, and custom form tools, before the widespread use of CNC machines. Indexable turning tools, when used in conjunction with the multiple-axis motion of a CNC machine tool, make it easier to create complex shapes, eliminating the need for dedicated turning tools.

Progress in various manufacturing technologies may play a role in the future for parting and grooving, Iscar’s Vanderink said. “Additive manufacturing will be a big player from here on out,” he said. “Already, new concepts are on the way due to this technology. Additive manufacturing producing near-net shaped parts will change how removing material is viewed. This concept alone will drive the innovation needed to accommodate these types of components.”