Key strategies are the expansion of production capacities and focus on mergers and acquisitions to increase their global and regional footprint in the cutting tool inserts market. For instance, in July 2017, Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc., started operations at the Dayton Plant, which is operated by one of its subsidiaries named Sumiden Wire Products Corp. (SWPC) in the U.S. The plant is dedicated to the manufacturing of wires for automobile springs. In April 2017, Kyocera Corp. expanded its industrial ceramic manufacturing business in Washington, U.S. ILJIN Diamond Co. Ltd. is focused on developing human friendly technologies that can impart to better customer relations and long-term deeds.

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Furthermore, the APAC region is also expected to remain the most attractive region in terms of market attractiveness by market share index, on account of the largest volumes of cutting tool inserts consumptions expected by the region, over the forecast period, mainly driven by China. A high growth rate due to considerable industrial activity in the region is expected to contribute to the rising demand. Europe is expected to hold a significant market share in terms of both value and volume after APAC region, owing to growing automotive and other end use industries and infrastructural developments in the region.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Key applications of cutting tool inserts, such as threading, milling and shearing, parting and grooving, and drilling and boring, are expected to drive the cutting tool inserts market growth at a significant rate. The stainless steel segment is estimated to retain its market share over the forecast period. According to the report, the demand for cutting tool inserts is expected to be driven primarily by the rise of automotive industry, oil and gas sector, construction industry, urbanization, and the increasing demand from other end use industries. Furthermore, massive demand from automotive OEMs, automotive refinishing service companies, construction companies, general industrial manufacturers and maintenance service providers, marine service companies, manufacturers of cans, coils, and wood and transport industries will contribute to the demand for cutting tool equipment, which, in turn, will augment the demand for cutting tool inserts.

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.

European investments in Asia are motivated by the need to reduce costs, to exploit benefits of the local supply chains and to be close to an untapped customer base, which enables them to better understand user needs and better serve their customers. European machine tool builders’ investment strategies abroad vary from strategic alliances to joint ventures, from the acquisition of foreign companies to opening production facilities in third countries. Increasing investments of global car manufacturers in emerging countries, for instance, India, China and Brazil, along with large publicly funded energy and infrastructure projects in these countries, make them attractive enough for European investments from machine tool builders.

Geographically, APAC and European markets are picking up pace in the global cutting tool inserts market, owing to expansion of industrial infrastructure and an upsurge in the automotive and oil and gas industry over the years. Europe being an automotive hub has a lot of scope for transportation industry including railways. Most of the metal used in this industry is machined with cutting tool inserts, thus accounting for better sales of the same. The transportation segment is anticipated to soar the cutting tool inserts market in Europe. The demand for cutting tool inserts is majorly driven by its applications in various sectors such as aerospace, automotive, marine, medical, woodworking, die and mold, driven by growth in global GDP. Moreover, stable economic growth in developing countries such as India, Brazil, China and ASEAN countries, and rising urbanization and expenditure in these regions, acts as the major growth factors that are propelling the growth of the cutting tool inserts market.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

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“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.

Process of both external (e.g., thread milling) and internal (e.g., tapping, thread milling) cutting, turning and rolling of threads into particular material. Standardized specifications are available to determine the desired results of the threading process. Numerous thread-series designations are written for specific applications. Threading often is performed on a lathe. Specifications such as thread height are critical in determining the strength of the threads. The material used is taken into consideration in determining the expected results of any particular application for that threaded piece. In external threading, a calculated depth is required as well as a particular angle to the cut. To perform internal threading, the exact diameter to bore the hole is critical before threading. The threads are distinguished from one another by the amount of tolerance and/or allowance that is specified. See turning.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

The global cutting tool inserts market is likely to account for ~US$ 18.1 Bn by the end of the assessment year 2019, and is estimated to expand at a CAGR of ~7.0% during the forecast period of 2019-2029. Among the type of material, the carbides segment is anticipated to grow at a noteworthy rate, owing to their cost effectiveness and durability, thereby contributing to the relatively high growth rate of the carbides segment over the forecast period.

“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.”

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.

For instance, wood working industry in Latin America is at a boom and this has facilitated the increase in the number of sales of cutting tool inserts. Cutting tool inserts are used to draw grooves in wooden furniture and artifacts. The most common type of cutting tool insert used to machine wood is carbide. In addition, with rising competition in the field of aerospace and marine, the requirement of jet engines, turbines, transmission parts and other vital components of aircraft or submarine has significantly increased the need for machining these components thereby increasing the scope of cutting tool inserts market.

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.

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.

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.

The global cutting tool inserts market highlights some of the key market participants operating in the global cutting tool inserts market, such as Kennametal Inc., Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc., Sandvik AB, Knight Carbide Inc., Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, Total Carbide Ltd., Asahi Diamond Industrial Co. Ltd., Tomei Diamond Co. Ltd., Kyocera Corp., Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Showa Denko K.K., YG-1 Co. Ltd., Element Six, Iscar Ltd. and NGK Spark Plugs Co. Ltd. (NTK Cutting Tools).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

“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.”

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.”

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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.

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.

Enlarging a hole that already has been drilled or cored. Generally, it is an operation of truing the previously drilled hole with a single-point, lathe-type tool. Boring is essentially internal turning, in that usually a single-point cutting tool forms the internal shape. Some tools are available with two cutting edges to balance cutting forces.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When used in lathe or screw-machine operations, this process separates a completed part from chuck-held or collet-fed stock by means of a very narrow, flat-end cutting, or parting, tool.