Walter Tiger.tec Silver grooving inserts boast beefed up PVD coating
Walter GB's Tiger.tec Silver inserts are now available in PVD grades – initially for grooving. According to the company, this will allow performance increases of at least 30%. The new-style inserts will eventually be available for milling and turning.
WSM23S and WSM33S grades cover most general grooving applications. A third grade, WSM13S, is suitable for applications with very stable machining conditions, while the particularly tough WSM43S grade is recommended for unstable conditions or interrupted cuts.
Walter reports that in a benchmark test, the WSM33S grade was compared with competing conventional PVD tool materials in the production of a groove in ball bearing races on 100Cr6 material. The Tiger.tec Silver PVD produced 950 components – more than double that of any other product.
Tiger.tec Silver inserts benefit from a further improvement in Walter's PVD aluminium oxide coating. The hardness of the aluminium oxide has been increased and the coating surface's microstructure has been enhanced to provide a particularly smooth rake face with extremely low friction.
