applications - internal grooving insert

This Industry 4.0 vision is almost as new to Sandvik Coromant as it is to its customers. Since 2015, the company has been developing a CoroPlus monitoring network across its factories; it is now connected to two machines in Gimo, Sweden; seven in Mebane, North Carolina; and in March 2017 the company connected three machines at its factory in Langfang, near Beijing, China. Not yet available as a service on the open market, Sandvik Coromant has only reached the point of choosing its Advanced Machining Analytics launch customers.

The Dove IQ Mill 845 line of inserts boast a unique design, complete with eight reinforced cutting edges for a wide range of 45 degree face milling applications, roughing and finishing operations on a wide variety of materials. The inserts also feature wiper flats for high surface finish and innovative rake face geometry for optimal chip formation.

Three types of turning tools were highlighted: a Silent Tools+ damped toolholder for long-reach internal turning (likely to be first to market); a CoroBore+ fine boring cutting head; and a Capto C5 insert toolholder demonstrated on a Mazak Integrex i-300S mill-turn (01905 755 755).

Like a proud Papa, Harpaz led a slide presentation that highlighted the latest the Israeli cutting tool giant had to offer.

To help improve its machine and tool monitoring capabilities (which now include tool breakage), the company acquired German firm Prometec in January 2016. And Sandvik continues to recruit data analysts to help build its own internal competence for sales and support of the system. Said Magnus Ekbäck, Sandvik Coromant vice president, business development, at the press event: “We will assist customers with the technology to make it [digitalisation] happen.”

The Tang-Grip IQ line consists of tangentially clamped single-ended inserts for face grooving. The same insert can be used for both right and left hand tools. The combination of tangential clamping and free chip flow results in very high reliability and improved tool and pocket life.

C&S Machine excels in Hi-Flex/Low-Volume Medical component production with the Makino DA300 5-axis VMC and MMC-R Automation Cell. C&S Machine reduced cycle time by 32%.

“Every day the gazelle knows it will have to run faster than the lion ... it doesn’t matter [however] if you are a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up, you’d better be running,” read a series of slides depicting bucolic nature scenes.

Other highlighted products included the Sumo Unicham, a DCNS modular drill without a flange, to be used in chamfering operations with the company’s existing Chamring modular chamfering drill holders. Combining the advantages of existing Sumocham drills with those of the Chamring, the Sumo Unicham can chamfer around holes in a diameter range of .295 to 1.020 inches and L/D ratio of 3xD and 5xD. The projection of the Sumo Unicham inserted into the Chamring can be adjusted for drilling depths in blind and through-hole applications for the standard 30 degree, 45 degree and 60 degree chamfers by using XCGT inserts. The new drill uses standard Sumocham ICP/K/M/N drilling heads.

The CoroBore+ toolholder takes tool-operator interactivity a step further by including an actuator that adjusts the extension of the cutter when it receives a wireless signal. That enables the tool to be adjusted during cutting, adapting on the fly to the needs of the process; automation being the goal here

An equally radical invention, also developed in-house, poses a simple question: do cuts have to be directed toward the chuck, and toward a turned part’s centre of rotation? Sandvik Coromant’s answer is no: its two ‘CoroTurn Prime’ toolholders, for roughing and finish machining, are said to be the first ever that can profile forward and backward, and carry out facing operations, in the same cycle, using the same cutter.

The Penta IQ Grip line of pentagonal inserts with five cutting edges was also cited by Harpaz. The line offers deeper grooving and parting applications compared to other pentagonal inserts currently on the market. Three insert sizes are available for parting: .787, 1.181 and 1.575 inch diameters.

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Tool developer and manufacturer Sandvik Coromant (www.sandvik.coromant.com/uk) released more details about sensor-incorporated tooling for lathes, which will launch later this year (probably at EMO in Hanover in September), following publication of the concept last year (see also Machinery October 2016, p19). They form a vital part of its CoroPlus Industry 4.0 offering (https://is.gd/M1L1b6).

Keep up to date with the latest news, events, and technology for all things metal from our pair of monthly magazines written specifically for Canadian manufacturers!

Harpaz also introduced the Sumogun drill line for deep drilling applications of a diameter range of .472 – 1.0 inch (total length of 60 inches). The Sumogun deep drill line features two straight flutes with a standard Sumocham head. The head’s design enables the Sumogun drill to run at faster table feeds when compared to common gun drills on the market. The Sumogun also has the ability to clamp different heads according to the material and application type.

CoroPlus Advanced Machining Analytics, which is the name of the entire system, provides services and analysis not only at the tool and within the machine, but also scales up to cover entire factories of machine tools, and entire enterprises of factories (with security systems protecting the data at each level). The ultimate benefit is to raise efficiency, reduce waste and improve traceability of component machining.

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Both holders take single-sided inserts; finish-machining inserts offer three cutting edges, roughing inserts two, but both types use standard modern insert construction and coatings. Grooving and parting-off inserts for the system are likely to be released in the autumn, turning product unit senior manager Mia Pålsson hinted at the event.

A roughing operation on high alloy steel CMC 02.2 was demonstrated at cutting depth of 3.0 mm, feed of 0.8 mm/rev and cutting speed of 300 m/min. In comparison, a standard insert (CNMG 120412-PR) cut the material at half the feed and at a lower speed (200 m/min). A finishing run was performed at the same cutting speed as roughing, and reduced cutting depth of 0.5 mm and reduced feed of 0.35 mm/rev.

Vahid Kalhori, Sandvik Coromant digital machining manager, said that it was the difficulty detecting potentially damaging in-process vibration using Silent Tools that lead to the idea of installing sensors in the toolholder. The sensors can provide data that indicates cutting performance – surface finish and depth of cut – as well as data relevant to tool maintenance. They also assist tool set-up. For example, insert centre height can be adjusted by rotating the tool in the holder; a graphical dial indication on a screen demonstrates when the correct positioning has been reached.

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Although a standard three-jaw chuck is said to offer sufficient grip, PrimeTurning is best suited to short, compact parts, so a tailstock may be required. Water-soluble coolant is recommended, and finishing toolholder Type A features over- and under-coolant supply for chipbreaking and cutting lubrication, respectively, while roughing holder Type B has under-coolant alone.

At the May 7 launch of Iscar’s new IQ Products line, company CEO Jacob Harpaz waxed philosophic about the cutting tools trade before a crowd of shop owners and suppliers gathered in the RBC Theatre at Mississauga, Ontario’s Living Arts Centre.

Testing continues on the additively manufactured (AM) 390 milling cutter (below, right) built from maraging steel powder. There’s no release date, but it has performed well in tests, the company says. Thanks to a special design that minimises the use of material, so-called topology optimisation, its weight has been reduced by more than 60%. That allows it to run at greater speeds, said Camilla Engbrink, Sandvik Coromant vice president, product management and R&D. Another advantage of AM in toolmaking is its ability to incorporate internal cooling channels. The company’s AM business operates seven machines for mainly prototyping in a sister operation to Sandvik Coromant within the Sandvik Machining Solutions division (http://is.gd/iyadub).

The new Dove IQ Grip Tiger Line of tools and inserts were also created for deep heavy grooving. The line features very rigid dovetail clamping, a user-friendly locking mechanism with frontal access, unobstructed chip flow (no upper jaw or screw cavity) and a wide variety of standard sizes in the .394 –.787 inch range.

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Tools and toolholders will soon start to arrive in new grey packaging that relegates the familiar Sandvik yellow to the multiple self-adhesive part identification labels, which now contain an image of the part inside. Toolholder boxes, in particular, now incorporate a moulded mounting for an insert changing wrench held in its own torque-limiting handle.

The advantages are said to be speed, longer insert life, plus the creation of a thinner, wider chip that breaks more easily – particularly relevant to tough materials such as heat-resistant superalloys and titanium (ISO category S), one of the three materials originally covered. The other two are steel (P) and stainless steel (M). Also, the PrimeTurning process avoids chip jamming in corners, such as at the bottom of a partial face, as the cutter can start in the corner and move away.

Handling tool communications – including vibration, deflection and temperature data via Bluetooth – is the Promos3+ networked computer appliance, described as the head and the heart of CoroPlus. As the heart, it pumps data around its mini-network of tools and machine sensors; as the head, it performs computational functions and analyses the data.

The system, launched last month and demonstrated at the event, consists of the toolholders, application development and proprietary software, called PrimeTurning code generator. In addition, development partner Mastercam (in the UK sold by ETG, 01926 818418, supported by 4D Engineering, 01285 650111) will probably be the first CADCAM supplier to support PrimeTurning capability, said to be scheduled for release this month.

The value of this integrated connected network of sensors and computers goes way beyond individual cutting tasks. It can be used for automatic tracking of tool utilisation, management of tool inventory, cost-per-part estimations, monitoring of spindle load, prevention of tool-machine collisions and even prediction of remaining tool life using deterministic or machine-learning algorithms. Software systems also included in the CoroPlus family are the digital ToolLibrary database (based on its existing Adveon service) that links into CADCAM systems, plus a tool application selection advisor called ToolGuide.

Among other new products he introduced the Dove IQ Turn clamping system for tools and inserts. The system can firmly hold two-sided inserts with double negative prism flanks. A dovetail pocket and insert prismatic flanks prevent the insert from being lifted by cutting forces. Three insert geometries with prismatic flanks are available: WOMG- R3P-IQ, COMG-R3P-IQ and SOMG-R3P-IQ.

New tools and inserts are “not something [created] overnight,” observed Harpaz, who compared the arrival of such products to the arrival of a newborn baby.

Electronics and combined software-hardware packages for turning dominated a March press event held at tooling company Sandvik Coromant’s Sandviken, Sweden, technical centre. Will Dalrymple was there