More than the efficient 3D measurement of carbide cutting tools, the company values the user-friendly controls on the EdgeMaster. The measurements are leading to the robust growth in productivity of the company and an excellent measurement data for future reference.

“We have a new Plura endmill optimized for high feed side milling. This tool also incorporates new coating process technology designed to keep the coating intact at higher speeds,” says MacNeil.

Furthermore, the competitive price point of carbide cutting tools ensures they remain a preferred, cost-effective choice over others. Although the tips of carbide tools are manufactured of high-quality expensive carbide, the rest of the make of these tools, i.e. shank and body are generally made from high-quality yet cost-competitive hardened tool steel. With an excellent capability of improving the overall surface finish, carbide tipped tools have always been cited as compatible to high machining temperatures, thereby slashing down the overall machining cycle time.

Besides automotive and transportation, carbide tool sales are majorly favored by the growth of heavy engineering industry, industrial production and fabrication. Driven prominently by the automotive and aerospace industries, the revenue contribution of automotive and transportation in the carbide cutting tools market will be more than 55 percent in the next few years.

“Unfortunately, there’s really no tools that exist that allow you to take a very, very large depth of cut and also take a very, very aggressive feedrate. Because of the heat that’s generated, you either take a big depth of cut with a light feed or a small depth of cut with a high feed…you can only generate so much heat in a cut. The minute you generate more heat than what is needed, you’re going to burn out your cutting tool.”

“A low arc of engagement tends to lend itself to high speeds and feeds…reducing the contact area of a square shoulder tool keeps the heat low and allows us to increase feed to compensate for chip thinning that occurs at the low arc of engagement. An example of this is often called Trochoidal milling in slots but applies to any shape,” states Brian MacNeil, milling products and application specialist, Sandvik Canada. “Also Dynamic milling is a common method supported by CAM software that uses small arc of engagement with higher speeds and high feeds,” adds MacNeil.

With the most-anticipated entry of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and autonomous and self-driving vehicles to the mainstream in the near future, the subsequent reduction in the number of automotive components will possibly limit the demand for precision cutting tools. The exact ramifications of complete vehicle electrification on the growth of carbide tools market still remain to be unexplored. On the other side, heavy machinery and metal fabrication will also account for a combined share of more than a fourth of the global demand for carbide tools.

Microprocessor-based controller dedicated to a machine tool that permits the creation or modification of parts. Programmed numerical control activates the machine’s servos and spindle drives and controls the various machining operations. See DNC, direct numerical control; NC, numerical control.

Towards the end of 2019, it is highly likely that the global sales of carbide cutting tools will account for the revenues exceeding US$ 5 billion, and in the next 10 years, surpassing US$ 10 billion. While a recent research foresees strong annual growth outlook for the revenues of global carbide tools market, a 6.4 percent increase has been envisaged this year, over 2018.

“Typically when you deal with very, very high feed tooling, you’re also dealing with very, very light depths of cuts. So that’s the trade-off,” says Steve Geisel, senior product manager at Iscar Tools Inc.

Other tips from the experts: “Programming is the key in high feed milling,” says William Fiorenza, die and mold product manager at Ingersoll Cutting Tools. “Proper programming that utilizes high speed machining techniques and programing features such as corner welding and corner smoothing promotes free and smooth cutting and constant chip load. These are all key things you need to have to effectively high feed mill.”

Retooling, resharpening and reconditioning of existing carbide cutting tools seems an attractive area of investment, luring OEMs, which is anticipated to add to the cost-competitive, sustainable efforts of the carbide tools market as a whole.

“When you’re running an interrupted cut in a turning situation, it’s almost always best to turn the coolant off and run dry [due to the risk of] thermal cracking,” states Mitchell.

Main body of a tool; the portion of a drill or similar end-held tool that fits into a collet, chuck or similar mounting device.

Ability of the tool to withstand stresses that cause it to wear during cutting; an attribute linked to alloy composition, base material, thermal conditions, type of tooling and operation and other variables.

“We tell them, ‘look at everything as a system.’ Balance everything. You can’t put the cart in front of the horse. What are the limitations of the machine? What are its speed characteristics? You have to look at the whole system … it’s all about controlling the process,” states Morrison.

The new-generation steel turning insert grades GC4425 and GC4415 deliver improved performance in every way. Coated with second-generation Inveio® technology, they have a broad range of applications and are recommended for continuous and interrupted cuts. See how our experts worked their magic and learn what drove them to create our recently launched ISO P steel turning grades – GC4415 and GC4425.

Turning machine capable of sawing, milling, grinding, gear-cutting, drilling, reaming, boring, threading, facing, chamfering, grooving, knurling, spinning, parting, necking, taper-cutting, and cam- and eccentric-cutting, as well as step- and straight-turning. Comes in a variety of forms, ranging from manual to semiautomatic to fully automatic, with major types being engine lathes, turning and contouring lathes, turret lathes and numerical-control lathes. The engine lathe consists of a headstock and spindle, tailstock, bed, carriage (complete with apron) and cross slides. Features include gear- (speed) and feed-selector levers, toolpost, compound rest, lead screw and reversing lead screw, threading dial and rapid-traverse lever. Special lathe types include through-the-spindle, camshaft and crankshaft, brake drum and rotor, spinning and gun-barrel machines. Toolroom and bench lathes are used for precision work; the former for tool-and-die work and similar tasks, the latter for small workpieces (instruments, watches), normally without a power feed. Models are typically designated according to their “swing,” or the largest-diameter workpiece that can be rotated; bed length, or the distance between centers; and horsepower generated. See turning machine.

“CVD grades have a thicker coating and are better able to withstand heat in larger arcs of engagement and high speeds,” explains MacNeil. “PVD inserts are thinner and sharper which is better at low arcs of engagement. They do not withstand heat as well, but we have less heat in the process when the arc is low,” says MacNeil.

“Because we’re talking about the heat generated, the quicker you can reduce the heat, the more aggressive you can be. Coolant is one means that you can reduce the heat in the cut. One thing we’ve developed, we call it our Jet HP line. It’s a high pressure coolant, tooling system. With our Jet HP line, people can run the coolant pumps up to 5,000 psi,” says Geisel.

Ultraprecision processing is gaining traction across industries, as industries take efforts to maintain the improved product quality, safety and stability. Moreover, the paradigm shift to light weight and more compact products and components is translating into growing demand for carbide cutting tools that have a smaller diameter. Micro-precision machining that has emerged imperative in next-generation technological platforms such as Internet of Things (IoT), connected technologies, wearables and dyes for werables’ sensors, are highly likely to boost requirement of small-diameter endmills, particularly for cutting of dyes, majorly in aerospace and medical applications.

Heat has the greatest impact on tool life, and speed has the greatest impact on heat. With this in mind, we asked pundits about the role of coolant in maximizing speeds and feeds.

“We have a new tool we’re releasing to the US market—the Brinkhaus ToolScope machine monitoring system. It monitors load on spindle, torque forces and other key indicators of machining performance,” says Morrison.

“Almost every application lends itself to cycle time reductions,” says John Mitchell, general manager of Tungaloy Canada. “The options available to reduce cycle time are almost endless. When turning, the maximum feed rate should not exceed half of the insert nose radius, therefore use the largest nose radius possible to increase feed rates. If the part requires a good surface finish or has some corner radii restrictions, use a wiper insert.”

IMCO Carbide Tool, recently announced the replacement of an old surface measurement system that measures edges of drills, mills, inserts and several other round cutting tools irrespective of their material, type, size and surface finish. The company is now using Alicona Corp’s EdgeMaster optical 3D measuring system.

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Sandvik AB, the first company manufacturing rock tools with cemented carbide, announced the launch of a new group, PowerCarbide – highlighting its rock tool capabilities with cemented carbide. This new range is being claimed to be stronger, tougher, harder and a little more wear resistant. The overall drilling performance is expected to significantly high than ever, in addition to the substantially cost competitive pricing.

“Another option for finishing or semi-finishing is to use cermet,” suggests Mitchell. “Cermet is capable of running at higher speeds than carbide, produces excellent surface finish and lasts a very long time. Use CBN in hard turning applications. Some shops are still grinding their hardened parts. It is much faster to produce these parts on your CNC lathe using a CBN insert,” notes Mitchell.

Other tips: if maximizing high speeds and feeds is the goal, use a rigid machine tool—“As rigid as possible. Rigid will benefit everyone,” says Morrison.

“When it comes to high speed machining, we usually like to look at ALTiN [aluminum titanium nitride] coatings, primarily because of their heat resistance and their abrasion resistance,” says Jay Ball, product manager for solid carbide endmills, NAFTA at Seco Tools “In high speed machining, there’s a lot of heat generated.”

“Kyocera recently released an innovative high feed milling line-up. The MFH-Raptor and the MFH Mini high feed end mills and face mills utilize new insert grades with complex geometries that drastically reduce spindle loads and are capable of extremely high feed rates for maximum material removal,” says Rice.

Sweden-based Sandvik has been a leader in the advanced cemented carbide tools space and will maintain the strategic focus on R&D. For the company, close customer collaboration and consistent increase in the investments have been the equally profitable strategies, so far. More importantly, the company has been investing efforts in leading towards a more sustainable future of the industry through the novel carbide recycling system.

Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.

“Obviously the faster the rpm, the shorter the tool life … but tool life is really a small player in total cost,” agrees Mitchell. “I think you’re always better off running as fast as you can, within reason. If you have to go in and index your insert every three minutes on the machine [then speed is not a benefit]. You have to balance tool wear and speed,” he says.

“Until the process is secure and the programming suits the machine, material and fixturing, I don’t worry about wear. We can do a lot of damage before a tool wears,” says MacNeil. “To me it is the last factor left in the equation…wear is inevitable. Slow controlled wear that is predictable is the goal after we have everything else in the process secure.”

The global vehicle parc is thriving steadily, of which the Asia-Oceania-Middle East cluster currently accounts for over 35 percent share. While the share of the Americas, i.e. just-under a third of the total automotive parc, also reflects significant opportunities for carbide tools manufacturers, that of the former will remain the most prominent factor boosting carbide tools demand within the concerned regions.

Tweaking the feedrate “depends on the situation…if you’re dealing with chip thinning, then yes you really need to ramp up your feed rate. If it’s not chip thinning, I’m not sure I would agree [with increasing the feedrate],” adds Mitchell.

A majority of the opportunities for carbide tools manufacturers lie in lathe machines or automatic machines. Increasing preference of end users for machine-based configuration of carbide cutting tools is more likely to supress the applicability of tools with hand-based configuration, as the former supports convenient operation and handling demands, promotes high-speed compatibility and offers extraordinary proficiency.

One final piece of wisdom: Morrison advises machinists looking to maximize speeds and feeds to take a moment to reflect before commencing work.

Carbide-tipped cutting tools, more popularly, carbide cutting tools, have been in use for a plethora of materials on engine lathes, CNC lathes, turret lathes, vertical turret lathes and chuckers. While excellent wear resistance of carbide tools manifests their enduring operational life, it also positions them superior to other counterparts when it comes to surviving longer production runs. Research has proven time and again that carbide tools are highly efficient in comparison with other solid cutting tools and high speed steel (HSS) tools.

“Higher than normal speeds and feeds can be applied to any material group by changing from conventional techniques,” suggests MacNeil. “Techniques allow for cutting data increases relative to material (for example, Titanium 6al4v at 250 sfm using standard toolpath can achieve 450-500 sfm with high feed side milling techniques),” he says.

So, you want to maximize cutting speeds and feeds to reduce cycle times? If this is your goal, there’s a series of cutting tool factors to be considered, including coatings, coolant, materials, applications, etc.

Cutting tool material consisting of natural or synthetic diamond crystals bonded together under high pressure at elevated temperatures. PCD is available as a tip brazed to a carbide insert carrier. Used for machining nonferrous alloys and nonmetallic materials at high cutting speeds.

Sharvari Rale is an experienced market research writer and has written extensively on the industrial automation and equipment, and automotive domains. At Future Market Insights (FMI), she works closely with the automotive, and industrial automation and equipment research teams to serve the needs of clients from across the globe. The information presented here is taken from FMI’s report on Carbide Tools Market.

“Be conscious of average chip thickness,” echoes Fiorenza. “All high feed tooling has a feed rate multiplier associated with the tool that is different for almost every cutter. That multiplier allows you to compensate for chip thinning. You do have to be aware of slowing down the feed rate and possibly generating too thin of a chip in which case you end up rubbing the material … it’s a very important thing for end users of high feed milling tools to understand what their feed rate multiplier is,” he says.

“I would say that’s very relative to what the process is … a low feed rate does cause increased wear. If that is the reason for the wear, then a higher feedrate would be better. If the cutting speed is too high, a higher feed rate is not going to help. If you’re talking about turning hardened steel at 60 Rc, the wear on the tool is just going to be a fact of life,” says Morrison.

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“Tungaloy recently expanded its DoOcto line…this milling cutter can now take a double positive eight-edged insert or an eight-edged high feed insert. The high feed insert can be used as a conventional milling tool when the depth of cut exceeds the recommended depth for high feed,” says Mitchell.

Grooves and spaces in the body of a tool that permit chip removal from, and cutting-fluid application to, the point of cut.

Drills and mills are emerging highly lucrative in the carbide tools market. However, carbide drills will continue to hold an edge over carbide mills. While former continue to gain ground in automotive applications – prominently related to engines, the latter will particularly will adoption for applications in fabrication. Significantly billowing consumption of carbide burs are key boosters to their high applicability in thermal deburring applications, whereas tipped reamers will also remain a significantly preferred type of carbide tools in the global market.

Emphasizing development of customized carbide tools at competitive prices will remain one of the key strategies among participants in the global cutting tools landscape. Competitive Carbide Inc. (CCI in Ohio), recently acquired by the U.S. manufacturer and distributor of precision cutting tools, Arch Global Precision, is globally recognized for its range of customized milling tools, including endmills and reamers, solid-carbide mills, custom inserts and indexable precision tools. Arch will now have an extended portfolio of offerings, significantly supplementing its PCD tooling capabilities. CCI has also taken over a new state-of-the-art facility for custom tools manufacturing.

“We have several new products out: Gold-Quad F and Gold-Quad XXX [high feed mills]. The first one, Gold-Quad F, is a 12-degree lead angle style tool. It does an excellent job of managing cutting forces and has up to seven different insert styles to address different milling scenarios,” says Fiorenza.

“I always recommend the highest quality holder you can get,” says MacNeil. “High feed and speed is used to maximize metal removal rates. Investing in a high quality machine and programming methods and not investing in quality tools and holders … is equivalent to owning a Ferrari and putting the cheapest tires you can find on it. You won’t win the race, and you may end up with damaged components.”

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Increasing incorporation of additive printing technology in manufacturing and measurement of precision carbide tools will ensure seamless flow of work right from manufacturing stages, through the value chain. The U.S. manufacturing giant specializing in engineering high-performance cutting tools,

The new 3D system manufactured by the Illinois-based company has reportedly facilitated the prototype development and IMCO Carbide Tools is now relying on it for a more versatile, multiple-attributed measurement than ever. IMCO’s milling cutters with maximum 13 flutes are known to have above-average surface finish despite dealing with the most difficult-to-machine surface materials. The R&D center of IMCO is witnessing an effective prototype cutting tools measurement record by the EdgeMaster.

“Pretty much all of our tools are designed with coolant through applications in mind,” says Cullen Morrison, business development manager at Komet of America. “We also have applications for MQL [Minimum Quantity Lubrication]…we’re looking at how can we run these components as fast and as stable as possible,” he adds.

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We also wanted to know what materials work best in high speed/feed operations—and what materials are best machined slowly.

“High feed milling works well in a variety of materials including, but not limited to, carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels, heat resistant alloys, and titanium. Cutting conditions vary depending on the type of material,” says Paul Rice, applications engineer at Kyocera Precision Tools. “For example, slower feeds and speeds are used when machining heat resistant alloys and greatly increased when machining low carbon steels.”

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A previous Canadian Metalworking story noted that on the first indication of premature tool wear, chatter or chipping, machinists will often turn down the override controlling the feedrate. In such situations, however, might it be better to boost the feedrate instead?