The COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with experiencing lower-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. The sudden decline in CAGR is attributable to the market’s growth and demand returning to pre-pandemic levels.

When customers ask why they should pay more for Jet-Cut holders, he points out that coolant pinpointed on the cutting edge increases tool life, which translates into more parts per edge. He notes as well that efficiently delivered coolant quenches chips and makes them brittle, so they break up more easily.

The global cutting tool insert market size was USD 12480 million in 2022 and the market is projected to touch USD 21694 million by 2032 at a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period.

Grooving also goes better these days thanks to advances in tool coatings. The latest coating materials are heat- and wear-resistant, which increases tool life. White said they additionally improve speeds and feeds by preventing workpiece materials from sticking to tools.

A single insert also can be used to combine grooving and turning processes. This wasn’t the case back when East worked at a machine shop.

Substances having metallic properties and being composed of two or more chemical elements of which at least one is a metal.

“If (the tool) is going on a lathe, our message is to use coolant-through tooling as a first choice,” said East, whose company offers tooling products of this type called Jet-Cut.

Lisker said coolant-through technology is especially helpful when cutting nickel-base alloys like Inconel that transfer heat back to the tooling. Besides maintaining thermal stability on the cutting edge, he said coolant-through systems disperse chips to help with chip control.

Among the coatings that Scientific Cutting Tools uses for grooving tools are diamondlike carbon coatings, such as ta-C, which he describes as a very hard, thin coating that works well on tools used to cut abrasive nonferrous materials.

If chamfers are on the top of the grooves, Coomer said the insert can be modified to create those features as well, “so you can cut all four grooves and put chamfers on them in one shot.”

The level of industrial growth and manufacturing activity in various sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, construction, and electronics, directly impacts the demand for cutting tool. As these industries expand, there is a greater need for precision machining tools. Advances in cutting tool materials, coatings, and designs lead to improved cutting performance, longer tool life, and enhanced productivity. Innovations in tool technology are a major driver of market growth. Industries requiring high-precision machining, such as aerospace, medical, and electronics manufacturing, drive demand for advanced cutting tool capable of achieving tight tolerances and fine surface finishes.

Common grooving options today include solid-carbide tools and indexables. When it comes to grooving, the focus at Scientific Cutting Tools Inc. in Simi Valley, California, is mainly on grinding solid-carbide tools for cutting internal grooves for things like threads and O-rings, said Sales Director Todd White.

If the groove to be cut isn’t too deep, he believes that Top Notch-style inserts may be a good choice. These feature molded notches on the top and bottom that seat the inserts in their holders. With the inserts held at a 3-degree angle, the notches pull them back into the pocket during cutting, he explained, making the system very rigid and stable.

Fluid that reduces temperature buildup at the tool/workpiece interface during machining. Normally takes the form of a liquid such as soluble or chemical mixtures (semisynthetic, synthetic) but can be pressurized air or other gas. Because of water’s ability to absorb great quantities of heat, it is widely used as a coolant and vehicle for various cutting compounds, with the water-to-compound ratio varying with the machining task. See cutting fluid; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.

“These can be challenging if they are at the bottom of a small-diameter hole,” he said. “You’ve got to have the proper reach to get to the groove (location) and then be able to machine it successfully.”

William Leventon is a contributing editor to Cutting Tool Engineering magazine. Contact him by phone at 609-920-3335 or via email at wleventon@gmail.com.

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Machining grooves and shallow channels. Example: grooving ball-bearing raceways. Typically performed by tools that are capable of light cuts at high feed rates. Imparts high-quality finish.

The pandemic disrupted supply chains worldwide, affecting the production and distribution of cutting tool. Lockdowns, factory closures, and transportation restrictions led to delays in the availability of raw materials and finished products. This resulted in supply shortages and longer lead times for customers. Many industries that heavily rely on cutting tool, such as automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing, experienced reduced demand during the pandemic due to lockdowns, economic uncertainties, and disruptions in production. This decline in demand led to lower sales and revenue for cutting tool manufacturers. While some industries like aerospace and automotive saw a decline in demand, others like medical equipment manufacturing and certain segments of the electronics industry experienced increased demand for precision machining. This shift in demand patterns influenced the type and volume of cutting tool needed.

The report anticipates a detailed analysis of the global market size at the regional and national level, the ssegmentation market growth and market share. The prime objective of the report is to help user understand the market in terms of definition, market potential, influencing trends, and the challenges faced by the market. Aanalysis of sales, the impact of the market players, recent developments, opportunity analysis, strategic market growth analysis, territorial market expansion, and technological innovations are the subject matter explained in the report.

Asia Pacific countries have strong manufacturing sectors, with a significant focus on automotive, electronics, and machinery production. These industries drive demand for cutting tool insert market share. Asian countries are known for their technological innovations, including developments in cutting tool materials and coatings. This leads to a strong market presence. Many cutting tools insert manufacturers have established production facilities in APAC due to cost competitiveness in terms of labour and production costs. Asia Pacific countries export cutting tool to various regions, further boosting their market leadership.

He advises those who use inserts to cut grooves to make sure the chipbreaker folds the chip in a way that makes it smaller than the groove being cut.

When a grooving operation is required, don’t plunge in without giving careful thought to what you’ll be using and how to go about the task. Specific items that should be considered include proper preparation, tool and process options and what the latest technology has to offer. Time spent upfront on these important topics can pay off in longer tool life, faster cycle times and better grooving results.

When indexable tools are used for grooving, “many times your chipbreaker is a big key to success,” said Travis Coomer, national key account manager at GWS Tool Group in Tavares, Florida.

Prominent market players are making collaborative efforts by partnering with other companies to stay ahead of the competition. Many companies are also investing in new product launches to expand their product portfolio. Mergers and acquisitions are also among the key strategies used by players to expand their product portfolios.

Machining operation in which material is removed from the workpiece by a powered abrasive wheel, stone, belt, paste, sheet, compound, slurry, etc. Takes various forms: surface grinding (creates flat and/or squared surfaces); cylindrical grinding (for external cylindrical and tapered shapes, fillets, undercuts, etc.); centerless grinding; chamfering; thread and form grinding; tool and cutter grinding; offhand grinding; lapping and polishing (grinding with extremely fine grits to create ultrasmooth surfaces); honing; and disc grinding.

For deep grooving applications, the company typically produces solid-carbide tools because of their superior rigidity. White pointed out that the allowable length-to-diameter ratio for carbide tools is 10-1 compared with 3-1 for indexable toolholders made of steel.

He recommends running an indicator along the length of the tool to check perpendicularity. For a 102 mm (4") tool length, the measurement should be off by no more than about 0.1 mm (0.004"), he said.

East said groove/turn operations used to require two things. One was that CAD/CAM companies had to be pressed to create code for the work. Also, he said a special type of insert was needed, one with a chipformer on the front for plunging, plus a chipformer on each side for turning.

“Even if the groove was wider than it was deep,” he said, “if it had 90-degree corners, you would take a groove tool and plunge all of that material out. Today, we want to apply a groove/turn solution in these cases.”

Substance used for grinding, honing, lapping, superfinishing and polishing. Examples include garnet, emery, corundum, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride and diamond in various grit sizes.

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The automotive industry is a major consumer of cutting tool inserts for machining engine components, transmission parts, and body panels. As automotive production increases, so does the demand for cutting tools. Infrastructure Development: Infrastructure development projects, such as construction, road building, and transportation systems, lead to higher demand for cutting tools used in the machining of construction materials and components. The aerospace and defence sectors require specialized and high-performance cutting tool for machining materials like titanium and composites. Increasing investment in these sectors drives demand. The medical device industry relies on precision machining for components used in medical equipment. Growth in the healthcare sector contributes to the demand for cutting tools. The energy sector, including oil and gas, wind energy, and power generation, requires cutting tools for the machining of components used in energy infrastructure. Fluctuations in energy prices and investments affect demand.

If the tool isn’t, “the edge of your tool is going to be tilted, so you could potentially be running scrap parts,” said Clay East, national product manager for grip systems at Iscar Metals Inc. in Arlington, Texas.

“If you can’t get the chips out of the bore,” White said, “usually you will re-cut them, and then they will scar the surface.”

Another timesaving option he recommends is using a multigroove tool to cut multiple grooves right next to each other. To simultaneously cut four adjacent grooves, for example, shops can use an insert with four adjacent cutting edges.

East said one reason to opt for a groove/turn operation is that chip control is easier when turning than when plunging. In addition, he said groove/turn processes reduce cycle time because metal removal rates are usually “a lot better” than those achieved with plunging.

Inserts come in various shapes and geometries, including square, rectangular, triangular, and rhombic. The specific shape and angles of the cutting edges are tailored to the type of machining operation and the material being cut. The choice of cutting material (e.g., carbide, cermet, ceramic) depends on the workpiece material and the machining conditions. Different materials offer varying levels of hardness, heat resistance, and wear resistance. Many cutting tool are coated with thin layers of specialized coatings, such as titanium nitride (TiN) or diamond-like carbon (DLC), to improve wear resistance, reduce friction, and enhance tool life. Inserts may have chip-breaking features, like chip breakers or chip grooves, to help control the formation and evacuation of chips during cutting. Inserts are designed to fit into specific tool holders or tool bodies, which are then installed on machining equipment like lathes or milling machines.

“When customers come to us for grooving tools, it is usually for a turnkey operation” — that is, a job for which Mikron produces most if not all of the different tools needed to make a part, said Sales Manager Nathan Lisker.

Sandvik Coromant, MITSUBISHI MATERIALS Corporation, KYOCERA and others are the key players functioning in the Cutting Tool Insert market.

If the chipbreaker doesn’t, Coomer said, “the chips will get stuck, especially once you get down into the groove a little bit. This will cause some marring of the parts.”

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Chip problems like these can be prevented by improved coolant delivery, which is possible today thanks to several developments. One is the increased coolant pressures produced by current machines. White said these pressures typically range from 300 psi all the way up to 1,000 psi.

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Many part designs include a chamfer at the top of the groove to eliminate burrs. In these cases, shops can opt for grooving inserts that incorporate chamfering, said Coomer, whose company makes such inserts. By cutting the groove and chamfer at the same time, users eliminate a secondary operation to create the chamfer when the groove is finished.

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.

Groove or other tool geometry that breaks chips into small fragments as they come off the workpiece. Designed to prevent chips from becoming so long that they are difficult to control, catch in turning parts and cause safety problems.

In mature markets, the demand for cutting tool may reach a saturation point, limiting opportunities for significant growth. Manufacturers may face intense competition for market share. Cutting tool, especially those with advanced materials and coatings, can have high upfront costs. This can deter some customers, particularly smaller businesses or those with limited budgets. The cutting tool insert market growth is sensitive to economic cycles. During economic downturns or recessions, industries may cut back on capital expenditures, including investments in cutting tools. The prices of raw materials used in cutting tool, such as tungsten and cobalt, can be volatile. This can impact manufacturing costs and, in turn, the pricing of cutting tools.

Provided with a part drawing or the part itself, Mikron will grind a tool designed for the special form or profile to be grooved into the part.

Another is the variety of coolant-through tooling options available. As the name suggests, this type of tooling features internal passages for coolant flow. White said many different toolholders feature coolant-through designs that get coolant right to the cutting edge to lessen thermal degradation of the substrate.

Shops can get off to a good start with grooving by making sure the tool in the lathe turret is perpendicular to the workpiece surface.

In some instances, he said, “a coated tool is only a few dollars more than an uncoated one. But in the right materials, it can give you three to five times the tool life of an uncoated tool. So you get a great return for a small investment in the tool.”

Coolant Ring Technology holders allow better coolant penetration into a bore during cutting operations. Image courtesy of Scientific Cutting Tools

Workpiece is held in a chuck, mounted on a face plate or secured between centers and rotated while a cutting tool, normally a single-point tool, is fed into it along its periphery or across its end or face. Takes the form of straight turning (cutting along the periphery of the workpiece); taper turning (creating a taper); step turning (turning different-size diameters on the same work); chamfering (beveling an edge or shoulder); facing (cutting on an end); turning threads (usually external but can be internal); roughing (high-volume metal removal); and finishing (final light cuts). Performed on lathes, turning centers, chucking machines, automatic screw machines and similar machines.

Cutting tool manufacturers have been focusing on the development of advanced materials with improved hardness, wear resistance, and toughness. This includes the use of novel carbide grades, ceramics, and composite materials, which enhance tool life and machining performance. Ongoing advancements in coating technologies have led to the introduction of coatings with enhanced properties. Nano-coatings, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, and multilayer coatings are being used to improve tool wear resistance, reduce friction, and extend tool life. Manufacturers are increasingly offering customized cutting tool tailored to specific machining applications and materials. This trend allows for greater efficiency and precision in machining processes.

A cutting tool, often simply referred to as an insert, is a replaceable cutting tool element that is used in machining operations such as turning, milling, drilling, and boring. These inserts are designed to be mounted on cutting tools, such as turning or milling tool holders, and are secured in place using screws, clamps, or other securing mechanisms. Cutting tool are typically made from hard materials, such as carbide, cermet, ceramic, or high-speed steel. These materials are chosen for their ability to withstand the high temperatures and forces generated during metal cutting processes. The cutting edges of these inserts are carefully designed with specific geometries to perform particular cutting operations efficiently and effectively.

When a groove is very wide, White warns that cutting it all at one time can put too much pressure on the tool, causing deflection problems and even breakage. So in cases like this, he believes that a better approach can be to employ a peck cycle — in other words, making a couple of passes to depth using a tool that’s thinner than the groove, then moving the tool over a little and doing the same again. Besides going easier on the tool, he said a peck cycle gives a chance to flush out potentially problematic chips.