Innovations towards better machining

January 15, 2015 10:55 am

With recent advancements of technology, the machine and cutting tools industry has effectively positioned as better prepared for growth
 With over 100 years of development, the cutting tool is still one of the key elements inseparable from high-productivity, high-precision machining operations. Over all these years, the machine and cutting tools sector has witnessed lot of innovations and changing trends time to time in order to meet the ever-growing requirements of the industry. Let’s find out what are the changes the industry has experienced so far.
Latest innovations Driven by advanced material processing and fabrications, cutting tools have been evolving to have the hardest-ever coating and the smallest-ever configuration. In parallel, many emerging machining technologies – such as micro-scale machining, minimum-lubrication machining and machining of abrasive materials – all require new cutting tools with performance uncharacteristic of conventional tooling.
“The cutting tools, either with unique materials or geometry, encounter sophisticated loading during machining and exhibit distinct thermo-mechanical behaviour,” says Vikas Taneja, Vice President – Marketing, Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd.
“The current focus in the cutting tool industry is to upgrade geometries, improve coating technology, and innovate products and ideas to cut down cost,” says L Krishnan, Managing Director, TaeguTec India. “New materials are also looked up on from the point of view of cost-effective alternatives.”
Considering high-speed machiningHigh-speed machining can be mainly envisaged in all industry sectors where small diameter finishing applications like end-milling, drilling, chamfering, engraving are done inefficiently due to limitations of machine RPM. For example, industry which deals with machining aluminium to produce automotive components, tiny computer parts or medical devices, or the die and mould industry which requires dealing with finishing of hard materials. In the latter category, it is important to have machine with high speed and to keep high accuracy.
High-speed machining, however, finds limited use in the industry owing to reasons of cost and set-up. New technologies like TaeguTec’s Typhoon can facilitate high -speed machining on existing set-up. The Typhoon system uses the existing machine’s coolant supply, reaching rotation speeds of up to 40,000 rpm while the main machine spindle remains idle. The results include increased efficiency, accuracy and quality of workpieces, while saving significant cost and time.
Advanced technologyThe workpieces are evolving faster and more dramatically than the machine tools that cut them. There is a gap between machines and parts, and to close that gap, as well as surpass it, the most significant technology gains in metalworking today are coming from cutting tools.
The cutting tool—along with the role of the cutting tool supplier—is changing more rapidly than any other part of the machining process. In fact, so much about cutting tools has changed that any progressive machining facility today needs to step back to re-evaluate its cutting tool thinking. It is not only specific choices in tools that need to be examined. Fundamental assumptions affecting all of the shop’s tooling need to be re-examined. Some of those core assumptions are bound to be outdated today, because the rules of cutting tools have changed.
“In the metalworking industry, there is no other choice except to adopt advanced technology,” says Mr Taneja. “The machining demands that are soon to come are so great, only advanced technology will be able to meet them.”
Two major cutting-tool technologies or innovations recently provide an insight into how machining facilities now need to think about tooling differently. Mr Taneja mentions these innovations as: • Use of Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) and PolyCrystalline Diamond (PCD) materials for tools• Union of two cutting tools/combination tools: drilling and threading for high productivity. 
Contribution by current playersMachine tools are certainly evolving along with technology advancement. Jyoti Automation believes that its machines are getting faster and more accurate. However, the workpieces themselves are not just evolving in the same incremental way, they are fundamentally changing.
“We are concentrating on developing machines with high speed along with high torque. The combination of these two machining parameter will definitely help us to machine any difficult to machine workpiece,” says Mr Taneja. “Also, tool wear monitoring using new sensor technologies, tool life management and tool life predictions using neural network approaches are equally important to advance the overall production and manufacturing systems.”
Machined workpieces are not just defined by more demanding accuracy, delivery and quality requirements, but increasingly they are also made of difficult-to-machine materials that many shops have never faced before. These materials include titanium alloys, nickel-based alloys and Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI), not to mention engineered composites in the growing number of cases where composites are replacing metal.
“Our strategies revolve around the introduction of new products towards increasing productivity and reducing cost,” says Mr Krishnan. “We have always endeavoured to offer the best value proposition for our customers by innovating ingenious products and solutions with maximum cost efficiency.”
Innovation is the only way forward in a world of depleting natural resources and increasing competition. In terms of product innovation and technology, TaeguTec has always been focusing on to delivering increased value proposition for the customers and engineering better machining solutions. The company focuses to continue to work towards strengthening its position as a preferred partner and supplier to its customers.
———————–Our strategies revolve around the introduction of new products towards increasing productivity and reducing cost.
L Krishnan, Managing Director, TaeguTec India.———————–
———————–The machining demands that are soon to come are so great, only advanced technology will be able to meet them.
Vikas Taneja, Vice President – Marketing, Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd.