“This offers total control over the length and size of the assembly,” says McEachern. “For internal machining we have an anti-vibration product that can deliver to twelve times the length to diameter on a boring bar, with Capto as the interface.”

The next production step is the grinding stage, giving the inserts their final surface and geometry. Periphery grinding, chamfering, top and bottom grinding and cutting edge rounding are all part of the final machining process. The final steps are cleaning and coating. The inserts feature either physical vapour deposition (PVD) or chemical vapour deposition (CVD).

The result is increased cutting speeds for all materials, from hard Inconels at 50 per cent faster, to aluminium at 30 per cent, which Graham says is “easily possible.” The only risk? If you increase the speeds in the machining centre too aggressively you might throw a part, and downtime in a multi-tasking machine can be expensive. “The newer machines change everything you do,” says Graham. “You have to be conscious of the set-up, because a long, slender shaft with greater depth of cut may require cutting back on spindle speed due to vibration.”

The XP Centre is home to the company's materials team, which focuses on researching the properties of substrates, developing new CVD and PVD coatings and improving the implementation of the cutting edge. It also features a laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art technology, such as electron microscopes, 3D scanners and a machine for measuring material wear during repeated stress.

The core range of Dormer Pramet is built around an assortment of high-quality, fit-for-purpose hole-making, milling, turning and threading tools and features everything from solid to indexable, high-speed steel to solid carbide, general purpose and high-performance application tooling.

The balancing act has to allow for the fact that when turning in a machining centre the tool will have a heat band that it has to cut within. By applying the right cooling approach, higher cutting speeds are an option without compromise to tool life and chip control. In fact, it then makes low cost, unmanned production a real possibility. CM

In 1951, Pramet started in Šumperk with the production of sintered carbide. Since then, it has grown into a company that recorded the production of 22.5 million indexable inserts in 2011. Since 1999, the company has belonged to the Sandvik Group. In 2014, Dormer Tools and Pramet Tools merged, creating Dormer Pramet. Today, Dormer Pramet has more than 1,400 employees all over the world. The production units are located in Šumperk and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The company is a global supplier of tools for the metal-cutting industry with an impressive range of products.

Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of Canadian Metalworking.

Graham says Jetstream Tooling can deliver coolant to the optimum position close to the cutting edge, thus lifting the chip away from the rake face and improving chip control and tool life. Working within a machining centre, Jetstream can remove heat quickly from the cutting zone, and cool chips rapidly.

Switching from a conventional shank to the Capto quick change system means that new cutting heads can be swapped out in less than 30 seconds—a much shorter cycle interruption than would be required when changing inside the machine. Repeatability is within two microns, with the Capto “sister tool” approach keeping a machine running longer than would an insert index. This is a big help, because when turning in machining centres, the key to success from a tooling perspective is flexibility.

Šumperk is a small city, located roughly three hours east of Prague. To get there, you have to cross many kilometres of deep Czech forest. At the end of this trip, visitors are met by a long-standing company, which drives its products and developments forward with great innovative power.

The front part of the first floor of the Experience Centre was designed after Pramet’s signature product, the indexable insert. (Source: Stahl/ETMM)

These inserts are designed especially for machining stainless steel and high temperature alloys, with cutting force reduced due to helical cutting edges and positive rake angles.

“We used to see 100 psi to 200 psi, but Jetstream can deliver from 300 psi to 1,000 psi,” says Graham. “The implications for this high pressure coolant on turning is very dramatic. I’ve been in this business for thirty years, and this system is the most revolutionary since the advent of coatings.”

Afterwards, the inserts are moved to the next production hall in which the sintering process takes place. This heat treatment gives them the needed strength for machining hard materials. During this process, the inserts are exposed to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 degrees celsius. The parts shrink during this treatment and are hardened.

The advantage of turning in a multi-tasking centre is that processes are more efficient, reducing production times. However, cutting tools designed for turning within these machines have to be compatible with the technology. Often this means working with quick-change tooling systems that aren’t fully automated. One example is Coromant Capto from Sandvik Coromant, which some studies have shown is the strongest quick change system on the market.

From there, extensions can make a tool longer by putting a male Capto on one end, and a female on the other to build out the assembly and also reduce the adaptor size.

The journalists were given a guided tour on how our tools and inserts are manufactured, along with a visit to our brand new Experience Center, which included a number of machining demonstrations. @m_und_w#dihw, #NCFertigung, #VDI-Z, #Fertigung, @ETMM_mag@prxagentur pic.twitter.com/Ujs4SoYS1U

“When it comes to turning, you will still have the same general speeds and feeds as a standard machine,” says Geisel. “But the advantage with a multi-axis machine is the upper and lower turrets—one can be rough turning and the other can be drilling the hole and threading, even finishing behind the first turret.”

This portal is a brand of Vogel Communications Group. You will find our complete range of products and services on www.vogel.com

“There has been a lot of attention given to milling in turning centres, but turning on machining centres is innovative,” says Chuck Birkle, vice president, sales and marketing for Mazak Corp., Florence, KY (Mazak Canada is based in Cambridge, ON).

Getting the right cut is always important, and no less so for a turning application within a multi-tasking machining centre. Yet these machines present unique cutting tool challenges for turning.

Last year, Dormer Pramet in Šumperk, Czech Republic, inaugurated its Experience Centre. During a tour of the new and old buildings, the manufacturer of indexable inserts presented itself as an innovative company with a comprehensive R&D department and state-of-the-art technology.

To best serve customer interests, Dormer Pramet has built a new Experience Centre on its premises in Šumperk. The goal is to concentrate expertise from around the world and develop new products and features in the field of indexable and round tools.

“You can adapt in different ways,” adds Randy McEachern, product specialist for toolholding and holemaking products at Sandvik Coromant. “Machines with the correct flange holder can adapt to Coromant Capto, and any one of our toolholders can go on the end of that.”

Image

Imprint Cookie-Manager About Media Subscription cancellation Privacy General Terms and Conditions Help AI-Guidelines

The core of the Experience Centre is a testing room equipped with modern machine tools and measuring equipment. This allows Dormer Pramet to test the functional properties of product prototypes and verify whether the cutting tool meets expectations. In addition to testing, the Experience Centre is also equipped for training courses. Not only Dormer Pramet’s own sales team can be trained here: Customers also have the chance to experience the tools live and test their machining capabilities directly on different machines.

“We have Jetstream Tooling, which I consider a revolutionary new coolant system,” says Don Graham, a manager at Seco Tools, Troy, MI.

For general turning applications ISO inserts function as an international standard. Iscar, which provides a full range of carbide inserts, is one company trying to look at ways of advancing tool applicability for turning in multi-axis machining centres.

Mazak has a range of machining centres, with four having particular applicability to turning: the Integrex i-150 (a high speed, small footprint multi-tasking machine); the Variaxis 630-5X II T (a five axis machine that Birkle says is “the gold standard in machining centres”); the Integrex e-Ramtec (for large cylindrical workpieces); and the Integrex 1-630V (machining harder materials).

Image

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!

One example is Iscar’s Heliturn LD (for “lay down”), a helical cutting edge with high metal removal rates. This is an advance in turning, but the process itself would not necessarily be any faster if integrated with a multi-axis machine.

The company’s main customer focus is on the general engineering sector, although its products can be found in diverse environments ranging from maintenance departments to international railway, automotive and aerospace manufacturers, and – last but not least – tool and mould-makers.

“They can run at a much larger depth of cut and greater spindle speeds,” says Geisel. “It’s often a race between us and the machine supplier, but the end result is the best tools on the best machines.”

Image

The existence of Dormer Pramet’s tools starts in the form of powder. Overall, the company uses 44 different powder materials in various combinations for its indexable inserts. These are produced with dies that are manufactured by the company itself. Some 350 different dies are used by Dormer Pramet for its inserts. Depending on the size and geometry of the inserts, hydraulic and electrical presses are used with a compaction pressure of up to 50 tonnes. This process results in inserts that are bound by a sole mechanical strength (also called “green strength”), making it possible to move them without damaging their form before they are hardened.

To get the most out of a turning application within a multi-tasking machine, however, the revolution may be more relevant to coolants than inserts. As cutting methods have improved, heat control has remained a major challenge.

Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of Canadian Fabricating & Welding.

“Coromant Capto has a unique shape at the connection,” says Dave Andrews, product manager for threading, turning, parting, and grooving at Sandvik Coromant Canada. “It’s self-locking, a tapered polygon, with lobes that don’t allow the coupling to twist. It also has face contact on the flange, so it is a very strong connection.”

The production area in Šumperk covers 13,500m². Here, roughly 20 million indexable inserts are produced. Most of them (around 80%) are standard inserts, the rest are special or custom-built models. Šumperk is home of Dormer Pramet's indexable inserts as well as many other departments. It serves as the sales headquarters for Central and Eastern Europe and is also home to company R&D, logistics, marketing and product management departments.

“We want to look at how to enhance ISO,” says Steve Geisel, senior product manager at Iscar in Toronto. “Our CNMX and DMNX lines are ISO inserts on steroids.”