Sliding-head inserts tackle tough tasks

Avalable with ultra-precise tip radii of either 0.08 or 0.015 mm, the design also incorporates a shearing edge of up to five microns to enable the sharpness of the insert to be maintained over extended periods of running. The combination of the 5 micron Nano-X PVD coating on the insert followed by grinding and polishing, rather than being subjected to the normal honed finish, ensures a very sharp edge and the maintenance of a 0.1 mm radius.. This makes the insert ideal for profiling and finishing free-cutting steel at up to 200 m/min with up to 0.15 mm/rev feed; aluminium between 200 and 800 m/min, and up to 0.3 mm/rev feed; titanium up to 90 m/min; and up to 0.15 mm/rev feed; and brass machined up to 500 m/min, with a feed rate up to 0.3 mm/rev. Two recent trials on shafts made from Inconel and titanium on sliding-head lathes, running with soluble oil coolant, gave 20 and 30 per cent increases, respectively, in the 'in-cut' life and number of parts produced between changes. The Inconel 600 shaft component was run at 50 m/min, with 0.3 mm depth of cut and 0.02 mm rev feed rate, and this saw LMT's application engineer able to improve the number of components produced from 600 to 800 per insert. A further trial turning a titanium shaft at 30 m/min, with 0.5 mm depth of cut and 0.015 mm/rev feed led to the insert being changed at 3,000 parts, an increase of 500 parts.