Composite material cutters offer a growing opportunity for toolmakers - pcd coated carbide insert

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.

Tobie Enslin, Technical specialist at Adams Metalworking, Shadrack Leeto, Somta Gauteng Sales Representative, Mark Green, Sales Representative at Adams Metalworking

Marius van Aswegen, Somta Korloy Technical Sales Representative, Ryno Robinson, General Manager at Tool Traders and Stanley Rens, CEO at Tool Traders

“We are still based in the Jet Park area, which is an industrial area near Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport. Moving to these new premises was a fantastic opportunity to enhance the customer experience and employee well-being, as well as position Somta for its growth plans in the South African and African markets,” said Warrick Lowther, Somta’s Global Sales Manager.

Somta’s national distribution centre in Gauteng stocks over 10 000 standard and application Somta products, offering same day delivery within the Gauteng region, and next day delivery to all other South African provinces.

One of Somta’s claims to fame is that its former parent company produced the first twist drill made from high speed steel. Prior to 1870, twist drills were made from a flat piece of steel and then physically twisted, hence the name. Thereafter the flutes were produced on milling machines until the grinding method arrived.

On top of being able to offer all OSG cutting tools in Africa, Somta is also the agent for Korloy, one of the leading indexable insert producers in the world, making Somta the undisputed leader of machining solutions in Africa with all the comprehensive offerings it now has available.

Somta recognises that a company cannot grow without a strong, skilled and happy team that puts the customer first above all things. With this in mind, the company prioritises hiring and developing great people to do extraordinary things.

Additionally, all Beyond inserts are top- and bottom-ground after coating for a better seating surface in the toolholder, which improves security.

The Balzers coating plant also allowed Somta to successfully enter the tungsten carbide tool market with coated drills, end mills and special tools, as well as offering recoating capabilities.

From small and humble beginnings Somta Tools has grown into the largest cutting tool manufacturer in Africa, specialising in the manufacture and distribution of drills, cutters, reamers, threading tools and toolbits, in both solid carbide and high speed steel, with or without state of the art PVD surface coatings.

In 1999 Haggie decided to ‘unbundle’ its non-core or non-mining related companies, of which they had quite a few. Brooke Industrial Holdings, a company based in the UK, then purchased Somta. Unfortunately Brooke ran into difficulties in 2003 and went into liquidation. Somta then underwent a management buyout largely funded by the SCMB (Standard Corporate Merchant Bank).

"While optimized for steels and stainless steels, KCPM20 also can act as a troubleshooter in cast iron applications, particularly with nodular irons in dry conditions," says Osny Fabricio, Kennametal Senior Product Manager. "Use KCPM20 when existing applications need to be optimized to gain additional tool life and productivity via higher speeds and feeds."

Somta was established in 1954, with a staff complement of only 20 employees. Since then, it has grown exponentially and now provides employment to more than 320 people, with its head office and manufacturing plant based at its original site on Moses Mabhida Road (formerly Edendale Road), Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, and a sales and distribution centre in Gauteng.

Somta’s national distribution centre in Gauteng moves into a new home Space constraints precipitated a move to a newer and bigger facility for Somta’s national distribution centre in Gauteng at the end of 2023.

Stainless steels possess high strength, heat resistance, excellent workability and erosion resistance. Four general classes have been developed to cover a range of mechanical and physical properties for particular applications. The four classes are: the austenitic types of the chromium-nickel-manganese 200 series and the chromium-nickel 300 series; the martensitic types of the chromium, hardenable 400 series; the chromium, nonhardenable 400-series ferritic types; and the precipitation-hardening type of chromium-nickel alloys with additional elements that are hardenable by solution treating and aging.

Growth at Somta in the 1980’s continued, with Haggie as its owner, and accelerated with investment in capital equipment and by acquisition.

“We believe that by focusing on these areas, we created a new distribution centre that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to increased satisfaction, loyalty and business success.”

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.

Somta acquired Clarkson Tap and Die South Africa (conveniently located next door) in 1982 and Mitco Tools Pietermaritzburg in 1984.

From small and humble beginnings in 1954, Somta Tools has grown into the largest cutting tool manufacturer in Africa, offering a full range of cutting tool solutions for any machining application.

High-temperature (1,000° C or higher), atmosphere-controlled process in which a chemical reaction is induced for the purpose of depositing a coating 2µm to 12µm thick on a tool’s surface. See coated tools; PVD, physical vapor deposition.

“We chose the location for its accessibility to the highways close by and the central position to many of the industrial areas in Gauteng. Additionally, being close to the airport for international, African and South African distributorship is also important.”

Runs endmills and arbor-mounted milling cutters. Features include a head with a spindle that drives the cutters; a column, knee and table that provide motion in the three Cartesian axes; and a base that supports the components and houses the cutting-fluid pump and reservoir. The work is mounted on the table and fed into the rotating cutter or endmill to accomplish the milling steps; vertical milling machines also feed endmills into the work by means of a spindle-mounted quill. Models range from small manual machines to big bed-type and duplex mills. All take one of three basic forms: vertical, horizontal or convertible horizontal/vertical. Vertical machines may be knee-type (the table is mounted on a knee that can be elevated) or bed-type (the table is securely supported and only moves horizontally). In general, horizontal machines are bigger and more powerful, while vertical machines are lighter but more versatile and easier to set up and operate.

All new Beyond inserts are CVD (chemical vapor deposition) coated, but whereas conventional CVD coatings are under tensile stress, Beyond inserts undergo a proprietary post-coat treatment on all surfaces to reduce this stress, which improves coating adhesion and reduces micro-chipping. More uniform and reliable wear of the cutting edge results in improved and more consistent tool life. Smoother surfaces also lower frictional forces, another factor that expands applications and permits higher cutting speeds.

Globally, Somta has a strong presence in industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction, medical, DIY and general engineering which has resulted in their tooling being exported to over 70 countries worldwide. This includes the African continent, where Somta is working tirelessly to expand its customer base throughout, with particular attention being paid to the mining industry.

In keeping with OSG’s philosophy of investing in local manufacturing, OSG has invested over 60 million rand in new machinery and technology. This investment means that Somta has upgraded its manufacturing capabilities ensuring up-to-date technology is applied to the manufacturing process of the tools enabling Somta to provide best solutions to the market. In addition OSG work closely with Somta for knowledge transfer and upliftment which is invaluable.

The introduction of friction welding into the manufacturing process, welding the HSS body to an EN9 shank in 1980 saw Somta become the first cutting tool manufacturing company to do this outside of the UK. The acquisition of CNC grinding machines in this period ensured greater consistency in quality and enabled Somta to enter and compete in world markets.

“The friendly and open environment is conducive to engaging more with the customers and of course the customers engaging with us. We will also host open house events for customers to participate in and learn more about our products, participate in community events and offer special promotions to attract new customers and strengthen our relationships with existing customers.”

During the period of 1963 to 1979 Somta gradually grew in both output and number of employees. Numerous products were added to the range during this period. In 1979 Haggie Ltd, one of the largest steel rope manufacturers in the world, purchased the company. The South African mining sector was their biggest market.

New Beyond KCPM20 inserts are available in a variety of Kennametal milling cutter styles, including:

Secures a cutting tool during a machining operation. Basic types include block, cartridge, chuck, collet, fixed, modular, quick-change and rotating.

Kennametal is introducing the new BeyondTM KCPM20 grade indexable milling insert, specially engineered for high-speed dry machining in light to medium milling of steel and stainless steel parts under stable conditions. KCPM20 is being recommended as an ideal optimization grade for stainless steel machining applications where coolant is not used and excellent wear resistance is required.

Loosely, any milling tool. Horizontal cutters take the form of plain milling cutters, plain spiral-tooth cutters, helical cutters, side-milling cutters, staggered-tooth side-milling cutters, facemilling cutters, angular cutters, double-angle cutters, convex and concave form-milling cutters, straddle-sprocket cutters, spur-gear cutters, corner-rounding cutters and slitting saws. Vertical cutters use shank-mounted cutting tools, including endmills, T-slot cutters, Woodruff keyseat cutters and dovetail cutters; these may also be used on horizontal mills. See milling.

Despite its 70 year history, Somta Tools is better positioned than ever before to grow and make manufacturing better for its customers.

Len Jacobs, Sales Manager, Stephen Allport, Strategic Support, Reshma Pitamber, Product Specialist Workshop Equipment and Cutting Tools, Rochelle Nadine Veeran, Buyer, Christine Urtel, Team Leader Tools & Equipment Procurement, all from Bearing Man Group

“The friendly and open environment is conducive to engaging more with the customers and of course the customers engaging with us. We believe that by focusing on these areas, we created a new distribution centre that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to increased satisfaction, loyalty and business success.”

“The upgraded facilities have allowed us to improve stock levels and align ourselves to the demanding market conditions. The additional space also allows us to add more products to our portfolio in order to better serve and contribute to the local manufacturing industry.”

Willem Pietersen – New Business Development Manager and Jaques Botha – Sales Manager, both from Cosmo Group

Immediately after the buyout in 2003, Somta made a substantial investment in a state-of-the-art Balzers PVD Rapid Coating System plant, which was integrated into its manufacturing programme. This enabled the company to offer the innovative range of Balzers BALINIT® high performance coatings on all cutting tools and to compete with the very best high-tech tool producers in the world.

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.

“Designing the layout of the premises with the customer journey in mind has ensured a more efficient and effective operation from the ordering stage right through to the collection / delivery stage. Clear signage, easy navigation, and a comfortable express checkout area are all part of the greatly enhanced customer experience.”

Each specific Beyond grade from Kennametal is optimized with substrate characteristics and coating thickness specific to its application. The result is productivity improvement and an expanded range of application for each new product compared to the original grade.

“More importantly the new premises are easily accessible to our distributors and this allows for and creates an effortless customer experience.”

“We have also included a training centre where we can train our staff on existing and new products, which will allow them to deliver exceptional customer service in the new environment. This will give them the confidence to be familiar with the products and be able to offer complete and informed solutions, and provide prompt and knowledgeable assistance to customers on any new processes.”

OSG Corporation 2016 was a significant year for Somta, as it was acquired by OSG Corporation, a publicly held company headquartered in Japan. OSG is a world-renowned cutting tool manufacturer best known for its taps and other product offerings such as end mills, drills, and rolling dies. With OSG as the major shareholder, Somta is now able to offer OSG cutting solutions to the African market, whilst OSG subsidiaries worldwide have added Somta’s range of tooling to their portfolio offering.

Somta also subscribes to the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement, a statement proven by the company’s longevity thus far, and its willingness to diversify, constantly seeking innovative ways to make manufacturing better, both locally and internationally.