Meanwhile, GC4415 is designed to complement GC4425 when enhanced performance and more heat resistance is needed. In addition, the materials’ new post-treatment is found to boost performance in intermittent cutting operations, avoiding any sudden breakages and enabling both insert grades to outperform over a broad application range.

NATS picked up two industry awards last week in recognition of its work with suppliers and customers around the world.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will create the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Matchmaker platform to link airlines and SAF suppliers.

“With innovation at its heart, milling cutter specialists, H&V Tooling is producing tooling today that will help shape the manufacturing world of today and tomorrow. Depending on the application, H&V designs and manufactures cutters for machining steel, cast iron, titanium, Inconel, aluminium, hardened steel, abrasive material, inox and stainless steel. The new EXN1 series was developed to enable potentially easily machinable materials to be safely processed and meet the specific requirements of non-ferrous material cutting.”

“Hi-Tech Machine Tools represents Mazak CNC equipment, Albrecht precision chucks, hyperMILL software, Blaser Swisslube cutting and grinding fluids, 5th Axis workholding fixtures and Fraisa SA, a family-owned business that offers its customers a complete range of endmills, drills and taps.”

“Their machines are well suited to companies currently not utilising a fluid recycling system that may be looking to reduce coolant consumption, prolong fluid life, reduce the health risks associated with poor fluid management and even improve machining performance by eradicating the use of contaminated coolant. Additional benefits include the potential to significantly reduce expensive fluid disposal costs, improve tool life and remove harmful contaminants that cause bacterial growth.”

In one case, a general engineering manufacturer subjected a 4140 pre-heat treated steel workpiece to multi-directional external roughing with the GC4425 insert. Compared with using a competitor’s ISO-insert for the same process, the customer was able to achieve a 100% productivity increase, with a reduced cycle time of 50% plus a 30% cost reduction.

Farsound has opened its new facility in San Antonio, Texas, as part of its commitment to serving a growing customer base across the Americas.

“Machine coolant never really wears out. Machine coolants and cutting oils become unusable when they become excessively contaminated with bacteria, tramp oil, metal fines, or wastes.”

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Grade GC4425 is shown to outperform competing inserts in a majority of steel turning applications. It features improved wear and heat resistance and toughness, which significantly expands the application range. Both it and GC4415 can be used for finishing to roughing, in applications with continuous cuts and light interruptions.

Menzies Aviation has announced the official opening of its new cargo facility at Maputo International Airport (MPM) in Mozambique.

Hofmann & Vratny (H&V Tooling) a leading manufacturer of solid carbide milling cutters based near Munich, Bavaria, Germany and UK company Freddy, a manufacturer of industrial recycling vacuums and coolant filtration machines have both recently appointed Hi-Tech Machine Tools to market and service their products in South Africa.

GC4415 and GC4425 deliver increased toughness, heat resistance and predictable wear. They are ideal for manufacturers operating in mass and batch production set-ups machining low alloyed (P 2.1 to 2.6) and unalloyed (P 1.1 to 1.5) steels, respectively.

“All the international manufacturers that we now represent are the leaders in their particular aspect of the market. They also cooperate and work with each other in advancing the technology for their particular product. This is why we are proud to be associated with H&V Tooling and market their products in South Africa,” said Chris Killian, Sales Manager of Hi-Tech Machine Tools.

“H&V Tooling have developed a full service around milling cutters which includes a serial production of the highest quality solid carbide milling cutters from diameter 0.1mm up to 32mm. Companies from the medical industry, semiconductor industry, machine and plant construction, aviation, aerospace engineering and, not least, the automotive industry have been using the milling cutters of H&V for many years now.”

“If contaminated, these have the ability to harm machinery, plus cause significant health and safety issues. With a recycling machine, users can take care of disposal with ease. Freddy Products specialises in producing high-quality coolant and swarf recycling vacuums, renowned for their level of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and longevity.”

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Each crystal is lined up towards the cutting edge, creating a strong barrier that improves crater and flank wear resistance. Heat is also lead away from the cutting zone more quickly, which keeps the cutting edge in shape for longer. The result is a harder wearing tool.

The inserts’ superior wear resistance is attributed to Sandvik Coromant’s second generation Inveio® technology, an alumina coating layer. What makes Inveio unique can be seen at a microscopic level; its surface is characterised by a uni-directional crystal orientation.

Wet and dry machining “Maximum performance is achieved by using the latest coating technology – Alpha Ferro Platin X – a new high-performance coating. In addition, they have made it their mission to solve the problematic differences between wet and dry machining and have created specific experts where it is most important. Further to comprehensive technological updates, the eight new milling cutter types in the series also fit into the new H&V naming. These are: Performmaker (end mill cutter), Slotmaker (roughing cutter), Chipmaker (trochoidal cutter), Mirrormaker (finishing cutter), Formmaker (torus cutter), Blademaker (face torus cutter), Rowmaker (full radius cutter).”

“A Freddy coolant vacuum recycles your coolant so it can be reused, with filtration down to 5 microns. Sucking coolant straight from your machine tool slump, and returning it for reuse within seconds, it saves you time and increases coolant life – saving you money.”

Part of global industrial engineering group Sandvik, Sandvik Coromant is at the forefront of manufacturing tools, machining solutions and knowledge that drive industry standards and innovations demanded by the metalworking industry now and into the next industrial era. Educational support, extensive R&D investment and strong customer partnerships ensure the development of machining technologies that change, lead and drive the future of manufacturing. Sandvik Coromant owns over 3100 patents worldwide, employs over 7,900 staff and is represented in 150 countries, including Sandvik Coromant UK, based in Halesowen in the West Midlands.

“People working in manufacturing facilities (metalworking, milling and machining) that use these oil-based cutting fluids are exposed to the adverse health effects of contaminated fluids and oil mist. Machines used for production applications, such as screw machines and machining centers, centreless grinders, and CNC machines, create fine oil mist, which contains undisclosed additives that are harmful to human health. Ensuring an oil mist-free environment is highly crucial to safety and cleanliness in the workplace.”

“However, the company is constantly developing new products. The EXPK1 series has been developed specially for cutting steel and cast iron. The steel and cast iron material group is a challenging one for milling tools to handle, not least because of the variety of alloys that can be used and all the different properties they have. On the one hand, the tools need to be able to withstand huge amounts of strain, for example due to the high tensile strength of steel (up to 1400 N/mm2) and the unequal structure of cast iron. Yet on the other hand, very soft alloys require geometries that are favourable for cutting in order to ensure that the material can be machined effectively.”

Customers have been able to implement higher cutting speeds (vc) and multiplied feed rates (fn) with the new carbide inserts.

The NPAS Annual Report 2023/24 has been published, following September 2024's National Strategic Board, capturing some of the key headlines from the previous year and details operational and financial performance data.

“For manufacturers with a batch production set-up, this also means having the flexibility to machine multiple steel materials with the same grade. Our new GC4415 and GC4425 grades can help you achieve this — even with tough and complex ISO-P materials.” The GC4415 and GC4425 inserts show superior wear resistance over competing inserts, which contributes towards extended tool life and predictable performance with every use. This also minimizes material waste, both from the workpiece and the insert.

“H&V’s success is based on innovation, a culture of togetherness, open interaction and many years of successful and trusting cooperation with its business partners. H&V focuses on permanent improvement and continuous development of its products, which is also reflected in its comprehensive product portfolio.”

“Whether you are using fully synthetic, semi-synthetic or neat oil, contaminated metalworking fluids are detrimental to your health, the environment and business. Reducing the effectiveness, and reducing the life of machine tools can be costly. The finish of your products can be diminished, not to mention the health and safety implications that can be caused by the contaminated coolant, such as skin irritation, rashes and dermatitis. Then there is the cost of purchasing and disposing of your metalworking fluid.”

Hi-Tech Machine Tools will also represent the Freddy Products family of industrial recycling vacuums and coolant filtration machines

Freddy Products “Recycling coolant has become increasingly important in recent decades, offering clients the chance to rid their workplace of contaminated metalworking fluids, whether they be synthetic, semi-synthetic or neat oils.”

To help customers optimise their cutting speeds and feed rates, and identify the best insert or tool for their requirements, Sandvik Coromant has also developed its online CoroPlus® Tool Guide.

County Armagh based Thompson Aero Seating has officially launched its VantageNOVA seating solution, the latest addition to the Vantage seating family, providing an innovative premium angled seat for twin-aisle aircraft.

“GC4425 and GC4415 give prolonged tool-life in some of the most challenging cutting conditions,” added Anderstedt. “Combined with Sandvik Coromant’s close partnership and the Toolguide, our customers can achieve higher productivity, a lower cost-per-part and more profitable production.”

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“Generally speaking, every manufacturer wants to achieve the following goals: increased metal removal rates, more pieces per edge, reduced cycle times, minimised waste and optimised inventory use,” said Johan Anderstedt, Global Product Manager Turning at Sandvik Coromant.

“The variants include end mill cutters, torus cutters, full radius cutters, form cutters, chamfer cutters, roughing cutters, face torus cutters, finishing cutters and micro-cutters.”

“The company, which was established in 1976, originally manufactured carbide profile milling tools to machine plastic for the eyewear industry. Now it is renowned for its solid carbide milling cutters, which it only started manufacturing in 1989. With a team of almost 100 employees, the company produces around 1.6 million tools in 7 000 variants every year.”

For better sustainability, the carbide substrate of these new grades contains a high proportion of recycled carbide material, more than 50%. Making grades from recycled material saves virgin raw material, and requires less energy and fewer CO2 emissions in production.