Latest milling cutter developments include a Z-axis plunge mill that maximises metal removal rates and solid carbide end mills for machining SS and alloys and hard materials up to 67 HRc

Kennametal introduced three developments in milling cutters at last year’s EMO exhibition, as follows. * The Kennametal Z-axis Plunge Mill offers maximum metal-removal rates in plunge milling. * A solid-carbide End Mill Harvi II, which reduces chatter when machining stainless steels, titanium and heat-resistant alloys.
solid carbide milling cutters for machining hardened steels up to 67 HRc.

** Kennametal’s Z-axis plunge mill provides maximum metal-removal rates with its novel, optimized chip evacuation.

The tool eliminates vibration and improves metal-removal rates in roughing applications.

With these performance features, Kennametal has once again set a new standard in the field of milling increasing the competitive edge for our customers The Z-axis plunge mill has nine integrated coolant nozzles allowing the coolant flow to be optimised per application.

It also features easy to change positive cutting inserts, needs only a single screw, and ensures stable cutting at high metal removal rates.
The tool has applications in the die and mold industry, but is also used aerospace industry and general engineering, said Kennametal.

KDMR is an extended flute drill mill for drilling, pocketing and shouldering.

In addition, KDMR is also suited for deep slotting and facing with diameters from 16 mm to 50 mm and grades for all ferrous materials.

** Solid-Carbide End Mill Harvi II - with Harvi II, Kennametal said it has set new standards for the machining of stainless steels, titanium and high-temperature alloys such as inconel with solid carbide end mills The variable flute geometry of the five cutting edges and a helix angle of 38 deg guarantee chatter-free performance and improved material removal rates, said Kennametal.

The solid-carbide end mills of the Harvi II programme are available in two different point geometries.

The geometry UCDE is specifically designed for machining stainless steels; it is offered as standard in a range from 4 to 25mm.

The geometry UDDE is designed for machining titanium alloys and high-temperature alloys.

Solid-carbide mills with UDDE geometry are available in diameters from 6 to 25mm.

Both geometries are available with cylindrical and in Weldon shank options.

The five-edged tools can be applied for both slotting with cutting depths up to 1xD (D = diameter) and side cuts with a maximum engagement width of 0.5xD and a maximum cutting depth of 1xD.

When cutting titanium and high-temperature alloys, these performance features enable the user to achieve maximum metal-removal rates and reduced machining times, said Kennametal to manufacturingtalk.com.

The Harvi II programme has applications in the aerospace , medical and general engineering markets.

** Roughing Programme up to 67 HRc - Kennametal has extended its well-proven KenFEED milling cutter series with the introduction of two new types of solid-carbide milling cutters having diameters from 6 to 25mm.

The solid-carbide KenFEED mills are available in two geometries; the tools have been developed specifically for machining hardened steels of 37-52 HRc (KMDA geometry) and 52-67 HRc (KHDA geometry).

With an innovative point geometry on each of the six cutting edges, solid-carbide KenFEED tools work with feeds per tooth of up to 0.6mm, increasing metal-removal rates by up to 200%.

The tools are also relieved to allow improved access when machining cavities or complex shapes The solid-carbide KenFEED milling-cutter program is available in thegrade KC639M, a PVD AITiN-coated fine-grain carbide combining very high hardness with extreme cut toughness, providing an excellent balance of wear resistance and durability.

** About Kennametal - Kennametal Incorporated (NYSE: KMT) is a leading global supplier of tooling, engineered components and advanced materials consumed in production processes.

The company improves customers’ competitiveness by providing superior economic returns through the delivery of application knowledge and advanced technology to master the toughest of materials application demands.

Companies producing everything from airframes to coal, from medical implants to oil wells and from turbochargers to motorcycle parts recognize Kennametal for extraordinary contributions to their value chains.

Customers buy over US$2.4 billion annually of Kennametal products and services - delivered by our 14,000 talented employees in over 60 countries - with almost 50% of these revenues coming from outside the United States.

Rough milling cutters for machining steels and SS cut cycle time/workpiece by one-third, said a manufacturer, which has also introduced a new supernitride PVD coating for insert tooling

Kennametal said that its KSRM milling cutter can reduce milling cycle times by up to one third and delivers a consistent performance in roughing applications. The insert is designed to resist rotation in cut, which guarantees excellent stability even at maximum cutting speeds, said Kennametal.
Three indexable-insert sizes (20mm, 0.750in and 1in) are available for the KSRM milling system.

The screw clamping enables fast and accurate insert change.

The KSRM milling cutter, is suitable fo ramping, slotting, helical ramping, profiling and plunging operations This cutter, said Kennametal to manufacturingtalk.com, is ideal for applications in general engineering when machining steels and stainless steels.

It is also well suited for difficult-to-machine components made of titanium or high-temperature materials in aerospace applications.

** Supernitride PVD coating for standard indexable milling inserts - Kennametal now offers a supernitride PVD coating with low residual stress between coating and substrate.

It provides excellent adhesion allowing thicker PVD coatings and, therefore extended tool life.

It is available on standard indexable inserts in the grades KC510M and KC520M with a hone size of 0.025mm (0.0001in) or larger.

This hard coating guarantees longer tool life even in the most demanding applications, said Kennametal.

The upgrade of KC510M completes the transition from a cast-iron and aluminium grade to a market-leading cast-iron grade for wet or dry finishing operations.

On show at MACH 2008 for the first time in the UK will be indexable cutting tools for turning, milling, drilling, boring and reaming, solid carbide and high-speed steel drills, taps and end mills

Walter GB will be showing at MACH 2008, for the first time publicly in the UK, the latest Walter, Titex and Prototyp tooling. The company said that these ranges offer an unrivalled single-source of market-leading tooling, including indexable cutting tools for turning, milling, drilling, boring and reaming, solid carbide and high-speed steel drills, taps and end mills.
The MACH stand will include Walter Tiger.tec and Xtra.tec series indexable tooling, Titex drills, and Prototyp solid carbide and HSS taps, end mills and threadmilling tools.

For example, they include the following.

* Tiger.tec inserts for turning as well as milling.

* Xtra.tec milling with Tiger.tec inserts.

* Titex X.treme/X.treme Plus solid carbide drills.
Protostar Ti solid carbide end mills.

* Prototyp Paradur taps.

The innovative Tiger.tec inserts - claimed to be the world’s first PVD aluminium oxide coated carbide - can achieve up to 75% more components per edge than competitor products, said Walter.

In some cases they can double output, due to their improved process reliability courtesy of a high resistance to flank wear, cratering and thermal cracking.

The Tiger PVD aluminium oxide coating is available on ISO indexable inserts for turning as well as milling.

Designated Tiger.tec WSM30, the new turning insert range embraces all standard ISO shapes in positive and negative geometries.

The product is targeted in particular at high-alloy and stainless steel machining tasks as well as titanium alloys and super alloys such as Inconel.

The benefits of Tiger.tec have also been applied to the expanded range of Xtra.tec milling cutters, with a host of new tools as follows.

* A trio of side and face milling cutters.

* Three shoulder milling cutters.

* New octagon cutter.

All feature four-edged Tiger.tec indexable inserts in staggered tooth formation and approach angles of 90 deg.

There is a variety of insert geometries is available to cover all relevant applications.

* tapping - the Walter GB stand will also highlight the continually-expanding Protyp range of taps, which include the new Paradur Ti Plus and Prototex Tini Plus models for the high-productivity, high-quality machining of titanium alloys.

The HSS taps feature AlCrN coating that is specially designed for high-strength alloys - as used in the aerospace sector - which have a tendency to jam, and the Paradur Ti Plus and Prototex Tini Plus ranges are available in UNJF styles 10-3 up to 3/8-24.

They offer high process security (via considerable clearance for reduced friction), outstanding tool life as well as excellent quality threads.

* Drilling - also to be shown at MACH 2008, the Titex X.treme Plus sets new standards in solid carbide drilling through an innovative double-coating (Double Performance Line) that promises to double tool life on steel and cast iron applications.

The new drill is available in diameters from 3mm to 20mm and is capable of drilling up to five times diameter.

* Milling titanium - from the Prototyp Protostar Ti family (of four different end mills).

the Ti 40 solid carbide high-performance end mill is available in diameters from 12mm to 25mm and is targeted at the roughing and finishing of titanium workpieces.

The new tool, with ACN coating, can operate at double the cutting speeds compared to conventional tools, said Walter GB.

Milling insert overcomes problems associated with ball nose copying style inserts where zero cutting speed at the centre causes error of form and premature failure of the insert

LMT’s Kieniger tooling division has developed milling inserts that overcome problems associated with ball nose copying style inserts, where zero cutting speed at the centre causes error of form and premature failure of the insert. The FlatBall indexable insert combines the advantages of ball and toroidal style indexable inserts for die and mould and aerospace type applications in what LMT (UK) of Coventry, UK, describes as a ‘double-edger’ geometry.
At zero cutting speed - the design of the FlatBall features a 2mm flat on a 10mm diameter insert, which overcomes the absence of cutting speed as the spindle rotates around the centre line of the tool.

Nomally, this causes a normal carbide insert to suffer from the rapid rise in temperature generated by the resulting ‘rubbing’ rather than a cutting action.

The rubbing action also lincreases wear on the insert, which progressively changes its geometry under cutting conditions.

The result is lost machining time as components have to be checked and new offsets inputted at the machine control - or tools have to be changed frequently, said LMT.

LMT’s solution is to flatten the shape of the ball or more technically, reduce the radius of the insert until it becomes a double-edged cutter.
This modification of form, said LMT to manufacturingtalk.com, means the insert works at a constant speed in its centre but without loss of any advantages gained by the ball shape.

This design also prevents any accumulation of chips or built-up edge at the tip of the ball when an initial cut is made into a slope or a helix.

In addition, it can also reduce the number of individual cutting paths required, thus shortening cycle times when complex contours have to be machined.

* Impressive unmanned trial results - recent trials at the Polish subsidiary of Comau, the Italian corporation that supplies the automotive industry with large cast iron, cast steel and tool steel alloy moulds, a LMT FlatBall was recorded with an in-cut running time of over 70h.

The material was a GH240 steel casting with hardened inserts and was machined using LMT’s WPB 16FB-70 der CBN faced cutting insert.

The 5-axis milling centre was run at its maximum cutting speed of over 600m/min and due to the improved security of the process, was able to be left to run unmanned.

In a further hard milling trial to produce a trimming tool out of P20 tool steel, the LMT FlatBall was run at 400m/min to produce a cutting distance of 3,60m over an 11h period and after that time displayed no appreciable signs of wear, reported LMT.

Using the finest ultra-fine granulated solid carbide available, a range of coated end mills can machine pre-hardened steels up to 70 Rc

NKO is producing its ‘Hard-Cut’ series of carbide end mills from the finest WC-Co ultra-fine granulated solid carbide (0.003mm) available. The WC-Co carbide is noted for its hardness, toughness and wear resistance. NKO has designed end mill geometry, with CAD and grinding sotware, to guarantee a maximum of stability and excellent performance.

The end mills are more precise with regards to the cutting diameter tolerances (h9) as well as the tool run out (<5 micron) and cylinder shank tolerances (h6) for easy clamping in a shrink-toolholder.

A nano-composited coating offers outstanding heat-resistance and a lubricating ability for machining pre-hardened steel of up to 70 Rc.

VisualMill 4.0, a PC-based CAM package for programming three-and four-axis operations on machining centers, features fourth-axis continuous machining, plunge roughing/re-roughing, high speed machining and optimized horizontal finishing.

This version introduces several new options for tool-path creation. For example, the between-two-curves method can be applied to complex flow areas, such as grooves with contoured sidewalls and fillets. Optimized horizontal/vertical finishing allows contoured surfaces to be machined with uniform scallops left on the part. A fourth-axis continuous machining feature facilitates programming of machines with rotary tables.

Improvements include high speed roughing with smooth cut connections to eliminate jerky movements that reduce tool life and cause excessive wear on machine axes. Smoothing of corners and arc fitting are said to promote more efficient machining at high feed rates. Horizontal re-roughing capability is now based on operations so that the cut model from previous operations is used to calculate new tool paths. Parallel finishing has been revised with a Z-containment option to stop machining at a preset Z level. An upgrade to flat area finishing allows pocketing tool paths to be applied in addition to parallel machining tool paths for improved efficiency.

VisualMill 4.0, a PC-based CAM package for programming three-and four-axis operations on machining centers, features fourth-axis continuous machining, plunge roughing/re-roughing, high speed machining and optimized horizontal finishing.

This version introduces several new options for tool-path creation. For example, the between-two-curves method can be applied to complex flow areas, such as grooves with contoured sidewalls and fillets. Optimized horizontal/vertical finishing allows contoured surfaces to be machined with uniform scallops left on the part. A fourth-axis continuous machining feature facilitates programming of machines with rotary tables.

Improvements include high speed roughing with smooth cut connections to eliminate jerky movements that reduce tool life and cause excessive wear on machine axes. Smoothing of corners and arc fitting are said to promote more efficient machining at high feed rates. Horizontal re-roughing capability is now based on operations so that the cut model from previous operations is used to calculate new tool paths. Parallel finishing has been revised with a Z-containment option to stop machining at a preset Z level. An upgrade to flat area finishing allows pocketing tool paths to be applied in addition to parallel machining tool paths for improved efficiency.

The APC milling chuck is said to provide holding power up to four times that of shrink-fit and hydraulic toolholder systems. Runout is guaranteed to be less than 0.00012″ TIR at 2.5 x diameter. End mills are said to be easily changed on the chuck with the supplied hex key. Coolant-through capability is standard on all models. The chuck is offered in two size ranges: 3 mm to 14 mm and 12 mm to 20 mm. Both inch- and metric-size collets are available from stock.

The KB1000 vertical CNC milling machine has an angular table dimension of 1,400 mm x 320 mm. The machine has a travel of 1,120 mm for the X axis, a cross-travel of 450 mm for the Y axis and vertical travel of 650 mm for the Z axis. Spindle speed ranges from 60 to 6,000 rpm, and the machine uses a Siemens 802S control system. Positioning accuracy is 0.01/300 mm and repeatability is 0.005 mm.

DIMA Digital Machine Shenzen Co., (86) 755-6901459. Enter 1207 at www.mmsinfo.com to visit Online Showroom, or write 1207 on RS card.

The company recently introduced the Hardpoint 300, a CNC machine that combines turning, drilling, milling and grinding. It is a modular concept machine and can be configured with up to four main spindles and a variety of tooling combinations, depending on user needs. The machine can machine the front and rear faces of a single part; machine a single face on two parts simultaneously; machine the front and rear faces of two parts simultaneously; or machine a single face on four parts simultaneously.

The company says its product represents a flexible and economic machine concept for high-quality, complete machining of small components. The axes is variable, with up to ten possible. The machine offers fully automatic, synchronous complete cutting of complex workpiece geometries, up to a diameter of approximately 3″ x 3″ (80 mm x 80 mm).

The modular machine concept is said to ensure machining efficiency and flexibility. The various platforms are said to allow several cutting processes to be combined, thereby eliminating the need to operate multiple machines. The company says this reduces floor space requirements and operation costs. The machine incorporates an internal gantry loader. External loaders are also available as is a post-process measuring system.