Yuhuan Jiaodu Valve Co., Ltd. , http://www.tz-valve.com
DaveStrobelt, manager of Swiss tooling at Manchester Tools, points out that the use of coatings makes the indexable inserts not only convenient and efficient, but also effective in improving the surface finish of the workpiece, reducing built-up edge and improving chip control.
Manchester's double-headed blades, sharpened and coated with TiN and TiCN with PVD, effectively prevent the formation of built-up edge when machining 300 series stainless steel. The chip breaker on the blade also controls the ribbon chips produced during this stainless steel cutting. Strobelt also pointed out that the company's CSV blade, refined and polished, achieves a mirror finish that ensures a smoother surface of the cut workpiece. This is critical for medical and dental device processing in small sizes (less than 5 mm in diameter). This type of blade is suitable for both cam and CNC machines.
Wills of Stellram Tools also pointed out that the small diameter and complex shape are typical features of Swiss-type turned parts. When the part is machined, the blade provided by the tool factory is required to be finely sharpened, and the blade is not required to be additionally trimmed. He also pointed out that for Swiss-style processing, the single-coat effect is the best, and the over-thick coating (5-6μ) is not applicable.
Noal Buschmohle, assistant general manager of NTK Tools, points out that coatings extend tool life, so 90% of the Swiss-made blades sold by NTK are coated. Although the company has repeatedly stressed that users may re-grind their own cracks, breakage and deterioration of the finish, but some users are accustomed to re-grinding themselves, in order to take care of this part of the demand, the company's factory blades are 10% uncoated.
In addition to agreeing that coatings are important for extending the life of Swiss-style tools, Century Tools' Koontz places special emphasis on the need for chip control, especially cutting tools. He believes that Century's cutting blade ends have grooves that are used to "crush" the chips. If there is no such groove, the chips will be rolled into a Q shape and then broken and pushed out. This process prevents the chips from blocking the cooling oil from reaching the cutting edge. The blade with the chipbreaker causes the chips to be comminuted as soon as they are stripped, so that the cutting oil is continuously poured to the cutting edge.
Blade base
Most of the Swiss-made blades are made of fine-grained cemented carbide.
Brent Lindsey, an application engineer at Kyocero Industrial Ceramics, says that in Swiss-style processing, a small number of blades use cermets and ceramics. The choice of tool material depends mainly on the processing process and the workpiece material.
MikeGadzinski, director of technical training at Iscar Metals (USA), points out that the Swiss-made blade base is basically a hard alloy. When the cermet insert is used under high speed conditions, a good workpiece surface finish can be obtained because the chips flow lightly. However, the spindle speed of Swiss-type machine tools is usually not high enough, so it is more suitable for the use of carbide inserts. At speeds below 213 m/min, cermets do not show their advantages.
Davestrobelt, manager of Swiss-type tooling at Manchester Tools, believes that the optimum degree of matching between the coating and the substrate determines the speed and level of feed usage.
David Wills, technical manager at Stellram Tools, emphasized that fine-grained carbide substrates are important for Swiss-style turning. But he also believes that 60% of tool performance depends on the quality of the coating and its bonding strength, only 40% is the impact of the blade matrix and geometric parameters.
In the interview, all tool manufacturers agreed that with the increasing consumption of Swiss-style tools, more efficient indexable tools will be introduced to replace ordinary brazing tools.
Davestrobelt, manager of Swiss tooling at Manchester Tools, said: "I believe that when the types of tools users need are available, they will build confidence in indexable tools."
The situation facing the machine tool industry
Coated blade