New milling grade inserts take the heat

With an extremely high temperature resistance grade HCN 5235 is particularly suited to the conditions encountered when machining tough and abrasive materials such as CrNi and stainless steels. HCN 5240 is capable of surface speeds up to 120 m/min for titanium and 80 m/min for titanium alloys. The combination of the new carbide grain structure of HCN 5235 and 5240, along with a new innovative coating, provide significant productivity gains when machining difficult-to-machine materials. For example, when face milling a CrNi ((X15CrNiSi20-12) material without coolant using a 80 mm diameter face mill, the cutting data was 210 m/min at a feed of 0.15 mm/tooth. This represented an increase in surface speed of 75 per cent, resulting in a reduction in cycle time of 40 per cent, while tool life increased by 50 per cent when compared to the previous method, reports WNT (UK). The new inserts are currently available in SDHT, XDKT, RDHX, RPHX, LDFT and APKT styles of inserts, making them suitable for a wide range of milling applications, including face milling, shoulder milling, trochoidal milling and roughing. Thanks to the new coating they are also suitable for use in dry or minimal lubrication applications.