by Bernard Martin Unlock the full potential of your composite machining with Decatur Diamond's high-performance cutting tools! From carbon fiber and glass fiber reinforced polymers to metal matrix composites, their extensive range includes versatile routers, honeycomb routers, compression routers, diamond cut routers, and drilling products. Engineered for precision, durability, and efficiency, their tools minimize delamination and fiber pullout while ensuring clean, precise cuts and extended tool life. Discover why Decatur Diamond is the industry leader in advanced tooling solutions for composite materials. Decatur Diamond offers an extensive range of high-performance cutting tools optimized for machining composite materials, including carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), and metal matrix composites (MMC). These advanced tools allow for the efficient machining of large parts, reducing tooling changeovers and overall costs. By tailoring super hard materials such as coated CVD, CVD, and PCD fabricated tools, Decatur Diamond meets the unique challenges of machining composites. Below is an overview of our specific product lines that make Decatur Diamond's tools unique in the industry. Diamond Coated End Mills Decatur Diamond 's Diamond Coated End Mills are designed for high-performance machining of non-ferrous materials. With potentially the best diamond adhesion in the coated tool industry, these tools offer coating thickness and crystal size options to meet various application requirements. Available in square, corner rounding, ball, and profiling geometries, these end mills ensure superior performance and tool life. Sizes start from 0.015” (1mm) and can be customized for special applications.
Diamond Coated Inserts Decatur Diamond 's Diamond Coated Inserts are available in common ISO & ANSI standards, as well as in milling insert forms. These inserts come with various coating thickness and crystal size options to meet different application needs, ensuring high performance and durability. Geometries include CCMT, CNMP, DCMT, DNMP, TCMT, TPG, TPGH, VBMT, VBMW, and VNMP styles
Versatile Router Decatur Diamond’s Versatile Router is designed for a wide range of composite materials, providing excellent performance and durability. These routers are particularly effective in minimizing delamination and fiber pullout, ensuring clean and precise cuts. The versatile design allows for adaptability in various applications, reducing the need for multiple tools and streamlining the machining process. Honeycomb Router Decatur Diamond ’s Honeycomb Router is specifically engineered for machining honeycomb structures, which are common in aerospace and other high-performance industries. These routers are designed to maintain the structural integrity of the honeycomb material while providing smooth and accurate cuts. The unique geometry and cutting edge design minimize fraying and ensure a longer tool life. Compression Router The Compression Router from Decatur Diamond is optimized for machining layered composite materials. It features a unique compression design that pushes the material toward the center of the tool, preventing delamination on both the top and bottom surfaces of the workpiece. This tool is ideal for applications requiring high surface finish and precision. Diamond Cut Router The Decatur Diamond Diamond Cut Router is known for its exceptional cutting capabilities and long tool life. With diamond-coated edges, this router offers superior wear resistance and performance when machining abrasive composite materials. It is perfect for high-volume production environments where tool longevity and consistent performance are critical. Diamond Coated Drills Decatur Diamond offers a comprehensive line of diamond-coated carbide drills designed for non-ferrous and composite material applications. These drills, available in a variety of geometries and coating thickness options, ensure superior performance and extended tool life. The optimized tool geometries ensure superior performance and extended tool life, making them ideal for drilling precise holes in challenging materials. With diameters ranging from 0.028” to 0.750” (1mm to 12.50mm), including most letter, #, and wire sizes, they are ideal for precision drilling in challenging materials.
Decatur Diamond’s commitment to innovation and quality makes our tools the preferred choice for machining composite materials. With tailored solutions and a focus on reducing operational costs, our high-performance tools help you achieve superior results in your machining processes.
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compiled and edited by Bernard Martin The choice between various materials can significantly impact performance, productivity, and cost-effectiveness in Metalcutting manufacturing. Among the materials commonly used for cutting tools, carbide-tipped tools have remained in prominence for their remarkable advantages when compared to solid carbide and high-speed steel (HSS) tools. In this article, based upon information supplied by Hannibal Carbide, we explore the distinctive benefits of carbide-tipped tools by comparing them to their solid carbide and HSS counterparts. Durability and Longevity One of the foremost advantages of carbide-tipped tools is their exceptional durability and longevity. These tools combine the best of both worlds, featuring a tough steel body with a carbide insert at the cutting edge. When compared to solid carbide tools, carbide-tipped tools often outlast them due to their ability to withstand high-impact applications. In contrast, HSS tools are more prone to wear and require frequent regrinding or replacement Versatility Carbide-tipped tools offer a remarkable level of versatility. The carbide inserts are available in various grades, each tailored to specific machining tasks. This adaptability allows users to choose the ideal carbide grade for their application, optimizing tool life and performance. In contrast, solid carbide tools, while highly capable in specific applications, lack the flexibility to adapt to various materials and machining conditions. HSS tools, though versatile, may not match the cutting speed and precision of carbide-tipped tools in demanding applications. Cutting Speed and Efficiency Carbide-tipped tools excel in cutting speed and efficiency, making them a preferred choice for high-production environments. The hardness of carbide allows for faster cutting speeds, which translates to reduced machining time and increased productivity. Solid carbide tools come close but may not always match the speed and efficiency of carbide-tipped tools, especially when it comes to demanding materials like stainless steel or hardened alloys. HSS tools, on the other hand, are often outpaced in terms of cutting speed and efficiency. Heat Resistance Heat resistance is a critical factor in machining, especially when working with materials that generate high temperatures during cutting. Carbide-tipped tools have superior heat resistance compared to HSS tools. The carbide can endure high temperatures without losing its cutting edge, ensuring consistent performance even under demanding conditions. Solid carbide tools have good heat resistance but may be prone to chipping or breakage when subjected to extreme heat, which is less of an issue for carbide-tipped tools. Cost-Effectiveness While the initial cost of carbide-tipped tools may be higher than HSS tools, their durability and longevity make them a cost-effective choice in the long run. Solid carbide tools, while durable, can be more expensive and may not justify their cost in all applications. HSS tools, although cheaper initially, may need more frequent replacements and regrinding, ultimately incurring higher costs over time. In the world of cutting tools, carbide-tipped tools stand out as a versatile, high-performance, and cost-effective solution. Their unique combination of a tough steel body with a carbide insert at the cutting edge offers durability, versatility, high cutting speeds, heat resistance, and cost savings. While solid carbide and high-speed steel tools have their merits in specific applications, carbide-tipped tools are the go-to choice for industries and machinists looking to maximize efficiency and quality across a wide range of machining tasks. Whether you're working with metals, plastics, or composites, carbide-tipped tools provide a winning edge in the world of precision cutting and machining. Advantages of Carbide Tipped |
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Advantages of CARBIDE TIPPED
VS.
SOLID CARBIDE ADVANTAGE
- Carbide grade selected for cutting characteristics - not compromised for structural strength
- Tipped tools usually cost less than solid carbide
- Often utilize specialty carbides not available in solid round forms
- Expensive carbide only used for cutting edge & chip forming surface
- More aggressive cutting edge geometries - shear, edge & rake angles
- A shattered solid carbide tool often damages the piece being machined
- Hardened tough alloy steel body provides superior structure to absorb shock loads
- Carbide cracks stopped in steel body pocket rather than shattering the entire tool
- Reduced scrap & machine downtime as even a cracked carbide tipped tool keeps cutting
- Carbide cracks stopped in steel body pocket rather than shattering the entire tool
ADVANTAGEs of CARBIDE TIPPED
VS.
CARBIDE INSERT
- Initial tooling costs far lower for carbide tipped tools
- Insert pocket interferes with chip flow
- Vibration-free brazed carbide tip permits higher feeds & speeds since inserts simply cannot be securely clamped to avoid all vibration problems
- Far better finish using carbide tipped tools
- Inserts are impractical for many operations such as reaming and most drilling
The Cutting Process
To understand the essence of carbide cutting tools, it's essential to comprehend the cutting process itself. At the heart of this process is an intense, concentrated force applied at the cutting edge, effectively separating the metal's individual crystals. This separation results in the creation of a continuous flowing chip, which eventually moves up the cutting tool face until internal stresses cause it to fracture, breaking away as a segmented or discontinuous chip.
During this process, a substantial amount of heat is generated at the cutting edge. This heat is primarily due to the friction between the tool and the workpiece as the chip is formed and flows along the cutting tool's face. Remarkably, individual carbide grains are so incredibly hard that they do not deform or flow under these intense forces and high temperatures, ensuring the tool's longevity and efficiency.
CARBIDE PRODUCTION
- Increasing % Cobalt Binder: The cobalt binder is a major factor in determining carbide's hardness and toughness. Increasing the cobalt content enhances the toughness, enabling the carbide to withstand mechanical shock or impact loads, which are typical during the cutting process.
- Decreasing Carbide Grain Size: Carbide grain size is another critical parameter. Smaller carbide grains contribute to a more wear-resistant cutting edge. It's a balance, as smaller grains can lead to decreased toughness.
Carbide Technical Specs
- Carbide Powder Creation: Metal powders, usually tungsten, and carbon, are heated to extremely high temperatures, exceeding 2800ºF. This process results in the creation of tungsten carbide powder grains that are exceptionally hard and stable at elevated temperatures.
- Powder Sorting and Mixing: The carbide powders are sorted by grain size and then recombined in appropriate ratios to achieve specific physical properties. Cobalt metal powders are mixed thoroughly with the tungsten powders.
- High-Pressure Compaction: The tungsten-carbide-cobalt mixture is forced under high pressure (30,000 psi) into molds of the desired shape and size. This forms the initial carbide blanks.
- Pre-Sintering: Carbide blanks undergo a low-temperature pre-sintering process, developing sufficient physical strength for handling.
- High-Temperature Sintering: Finally, the carbide blanks are sintered at temperatures ranging from 2500ºF to 2900ºF. This high-temperature sintering causes a dramatic shrinkage, almost 40% volume reduction, resulting in an extremely dense and hard material.
With state-of-the-art CNC 5-Axis grinders, sophisticated inspection equipment and in-house coating capabilities, they service a wide range of drills in a variety of tool styles, including multi-step and chipbreaker type tools. They are also experts in applying close tolerance edge preps and corner geometries on standards and blue print special drilling tools.
Better Edge will restore drill points to original specifications all top brands of solid carbide high performance drills, including Kennametal®, Widia®, Garr®, Mitsubishi®, Sumitomo®, Sandvik®, OSG®, Titex® and Hanita®.
No matter the degree of wear, Better Edge will restore like-new performance - GUARANTEED.
Get in contact with us and we'll get you started!
RMT, Rocky Mountain Twist Drill, is an industry leader in design, engineering and manufacturing of high performance cutting tools. Founded in 2001, Rocky Mountain Twist headquarters and 300,000 square foot manufacturing facility is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Ronan, Montana – a region known for great hunting, fly-fishing, four-season recreation, and now superior performance made in the USA industrial cutting tools.
Shrink fit holders are the most accurate for TIR as the toolholder engages completely around round shank tools with a bore tolerance of -0.0001" to -0.0003". As high performance end mills have tightened shank tolerances to the same range of -0.0001" to -0.0003" they have used finer and finer grain grinding wheels which give the shanks a 'shiny' appearance.
Shiny means that the superfinished shank has a lower coefficient of friction. So, although the TIR is tighter, the shank is more "slippery". End mills traditionally had surface finish of about 8 μin on the tool shank. But that's changed. It's been recommended that tool shanks used in shrink fit holders should not have a finish finer than 16 μin. for optimum holding power, but tell that to the guy who just superfinished the end mill to a super cocncentric tolerance that you don't want it looking that good.
Everyone know that the last thing you want is for the end mill to slip in the middle of a heavy cut or on the finishing pass of a high tolerance part. These 'hi performance' end mills, often times have higher helix angles which are great for ejecting chips but also create a higher pull out force on that slippery shank. And reducing the helix angle is not the answer.
We already know that the gripping pressure is a function of the interference between the tool shank and the shrink fit toolholder bore. Most shrink fit holders have a already bore surface finish of between 12 μin. and 16 μin. So they are ground to a very high tolerance and have about the same surface finish as the toolholder shank.
End mill manufacturers and machinist have tried a variety of methods over the years to stop the tools from pulling out. This has ranged from grit blasting the shank to rubbing chalk on the shank, but most everyone in the industry has felt that the problem really needs to be addressed by the longer life toolholder rather than the replaceable cutting tool.
Techniks arrived at their 4x the holding power comes from torsion testing vs. a standard shrink fit toolholder. They used a ¾” carbide gage pin in a standard holder and found the torque at which the tool will spin in the bore.
They then tested the ShrinkLOCKED holder using the same test.
According to Greg Webb, at Techniks,
"We actually could not find the point at which the tool would spin in the ShrinkLOCKED holder as we broke the carbide gage pins at 4x+ times the torque of the standard holder. The holding power is greater, we just have not found a way to measure this, so we kept our claims conservative at 4x."
The challenge was to achieve both hard and soft cost savings, as well as time spent on drilling flanges from one side, chamfering the backside and creating a controlled chamfer on the top surface which was a secondary process.
We designed an indexable drill with our rear cutting carbide deburring insert along with a fixed pocket chamfer insert to create the precision top chamfer that was required. The spade drill insert also had a special feature that allowed it to chamfer the top side of the bottom hole that was pre-drilled.
The Results
Four operations were completed in one pass.
The EZ Burr Burr-Free Drill drilled the hole, deburred and chamfered the back all in one step, thus eliminating the secondary step of chamfering the bottom surface on the top hole.
This saved time as well as money, plus the tool life of the Burr-Free Drill achieved a more consistent result and had a longer tool life than the previous method.
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