Ceratizit Machining Inserts Improve Productivity
Ceratizit has revealed how its machining inserts and cutting tools are being put to use in the renewable energy sector. The company said it is working with many wind-turbine manufacturers and delivering improvements in productivity through the performance of its range of cutting tools. For example, a manufacturer of drive shafts for wind turbines, which are manufactured from steel forgings with high chrome and nickel contents, has seen cycle times reduce by 20 per cent and tool life increase by 15 per cent.
Ceratizit said these figures have been achieved through a combination of its experience and the development of carbide grades such as CTC1125, which have the properties required to satisfy these arduous applications. Using an SNMM 250724 square insert, this particular customer was able to run at 55m.min surface speed (up from 45m/min) at a feed rate of up to 1.5mm/rev and depth of cut to 18mm.
In another application, the customer was experiencing poor swarf control when machining large flanges for use in wind turbines. By switching to Ceratizit's CTC1135 grade and a CNMG 190624 insert with its RWX chipbreaker, the swarf problem has been overcome and tool life has doubled. In addition to turning, Ceratizit has a range of milling cutters that are proving productive when machining some of the larger components found in wind turbines. A recent example is the manufacture of yaw plates from flame-cut St52-3 tool steel.
These parts are produced in relatively large volumes (>10,000 per year) by the customer, which was reporting poor tool life from the existing milling cutter. After reviewing the application Ceratizit proposed its close-pitched A251 series milling cutter along with the free-cutting M31 geometry on some CTC5235 grade inserts. The result was an increase in tool life of 50 per cent and an overall improvement in productivity of 33 per cent.
Ceratizit said these figures have been achieved through a combination of its experience and the development of carbide grades such as CTC1125, which have the properties required to satisfy these arduous applications. Using an SNMM 250724 square insert, this particular customer was able to run at 55m.min surface speed (up from 45m/min) at a feed rate of up to 1.5mm/rev and depth of cut to 18mm.
In another application, the customer was experiencing poor swarf control when machining large flanges for use in wind turbines. By switching to Ceratizit's CTC1135 grade and a CNMG 190624 insert with its RWX chipbreaker, the swarf problem has been overcome and tool life has doubled. In addition to turning, Ceratizit has a range of milling cutters that are proving productive when machining some of the larger components found in wind turbines. A recent example is the manufacture of yaw plates from flame-cut St52-3 tool steel.
These parts are produced in relatively large volumes (>10,000 per year) by the customer, which was reporting poor tool life from the existing milling cutter. After reviewing the application Ceratizit proposed its close-pitched A251 series milling cutter along with the free-cutting M31 geometry on some CTC5235 grade inserts. The result was an increase in tool life of 50 per cent and an overall improvement in productivity of 33 per cent.
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