Launched early in 2006, Sandvik Coromant’s programme of introducing its new insert generation has reached a first landmark with the completion of the GC4225 insert programme.
GC4225 is one of Coromant’s biggest selling grades impacting on all areas of steel machining, an area which represents a significant proportion of Sandvik Coromant’s worldwide turnover in inserts. The programme now features more than 800 different items with the 360 variants introduced this autumn completing the extensive programme. Among the latest introductions are ranges of positive and negative geometries, inserts designed for parting and grooving and for specialist operations such as bar peeling.
“GC4225 now represents the world’s largest range of ex-stock, turning products with next day delivery,” claims Paul Williams, Sandvik Coromant’s product manager, turning products. “The bulk of the upgrade programme for steel machining grades is now largely completed,” he adds.
Running in parallel with the flagship GC4225 new insert generation introductions have been other elements of the wider programme, notably the development of cast iron milling grades and the GC4240 and GC1030 steel milling grades, the latter with a PVD coating.
The accelerated programme of grade introductions is already impacting on Sandvik Coromant’s challenge at MACH 2006 where it asked customers old and new to benefit from £30 million of cost savings it estimated are available to the UK metalcutting industry by the simple application of the best combination of cutting tools, inserts and machining processes.
“Using data recorded and accepted in our Customer Value Files (CVF), in six months Coromant has delivered cost savings of around £350,000 to a carefully selected number of major customers. We now propose to extend the CVF process across a broader cross section where the new insert grade introductions are undoubtedly played a role in improved productivity and will continue to do so,” says Mr Wiliams.
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