From April 10th to 15th, MORESUPERHARD participated in the CIMT2023 China International Machine Tool Exhibition held in Beijing.
In this China International Machine Tool Show, MORESUPERHARD gained a lot of knowledge about cutting tools, let’s review it with MORESUPERHARD next!
This time, we mainly focus on the development of the cutting tool industry.
On the whole, among the cutting tool booths in this exhibition, the proportion of superhard material cutting tools is not very large. Most of the cutting tool booths are cemented carbide cutting tools, such as Tungaloy, which we are familiar with.
Regarding the superhard tool booths, most of the booths mainly display some standard turning inserts and some non-standard tools. The relatively large booth is Zheng Zuan's booth, which is very clear in terms of tool classification and industry application.
In general, we have seen
diamond rolling cutters,
diamond scribing cutters,
CVJ ball end milling cutters for processing universal joints, etc. And I saw some styles of
countersink drills that I hadn’t seen before. The overall length is long and there is a spiral groove in the front. It is a special form and is used for chip removal when drilling deep holes.
In addition, there are several new terms that have not been heard before, such as dagger-cutting tool and honeycomb-cutting tool. These two are cemented carbide cutting tools with a special shape, which is quite impressive.
The answer is that double feed means two sets of honing mechanisms, two honings are clamped at one time, and the honing machine is generally equipped with a measuring device, which is measured by the principle of a pneumatic measuring instrument. When the rough honing reaches the required size, the pneumatic measuring device will automatically stop according to the measurement results, start the fine-honing feed, push up the fine-honing base and finish honing, and stop automatically when the size is reached, so that the honed hole has high precision and high processing efficiency.
Of course, there are some unmissable lectures in the exhibition, such as the application cases of CBN cutting tools related to the wind power industry held by Valin, we can understand the difference between
solid CBN inserts and
Brazed CBN inserts. Brazed CBN Inserts have a longer life than solid CBN Inserts. The internal particles of the solid CBN insert are relatively large. When the temperature rises during processing, the binder is easy to precipitate, and the CBN particles will disperse, resulting in chipping.
The significance of adding a coating to the CBN insert is to insulate the heat to make the surface of the CBN insert smoother, and the processed surface quality is better.
CBN materials of about 1-2 microns are suitable for finishing, and the depth of cut is generally less than 0.3.
Inserts made of 4-10 micron CBN materials have strong impact resistance and are suitable for rough machining.
At the exhibition, we also saw some interesting products, such as
PCD micro-drills that can reach 0.01mm, which is only one-eighth the thickness of human hair. Another example is the
PCD ball end milling cutter that can process universal joints found at a small booth, which also surprised us at the current research and development speed of small manufacturers.
In this exhibition, we also paid special attention to CBN tool coatings, consulted a company specializing in CBN tool coatings, and learned some coating knowledge about CBN inserts. The picture below shows two different tool coatings:
Yellow: silicon titanium coating for processing hardened steel and other hard materials
Gray: chrome-aluminum coating for processing cast iron, stainless steel, and other common hardness materials
After a few days of running around the exhibition, although my body was exhausted, my knowledge was greatly enriched. I deeply feel that the thriving modern manufacturing industry is constantly improving the requirements for cutting tool materials and processes, and it also requires us to continuously improve our understanding of the industry.
A good design can reduce the cutting force, and lower the cutting temperature, thereby prolonging the service life of the tool; at the same time, a better application can maximize the performance of the tool.
For example, the emergence of multi-axis lathes makes turning operations more flexible, and more complex machining processes can be achieved through the simultaneous processing of multiple axes. The use of turrets can also reduce the footprint and cost of the entire machine tool, thereby increasing production efficiency. At the same time, some high-end machining centers adopt an automatic tool change system, so that the processing line does not need to stop to change tools, which improves the efficiency of automatic operation.
There are many aspects to consider when choosing a tool. First, the material of the tool, such as high-speed steel, hard alloy, PCD and CBN, and ceramics. Different materials have different hardness, toughness, wear resistance, and thermal conductivity. These properties determine the scope of application and service life of tool materials. When selecting tool materials, it is necessary to consider the required cutting speed, cutting force, thermal deformation, etc., as well as the suitable material and the material of the workpiece.
Cutting edge geometries of cutting tools are also different, each edge geometry has its scope of application, and different geometries can produce different effects in different applications.
Tool coating will also have a significant impact. Coating technology can improve the surface hardness, wear resistance, and reliability of the tool. These coatings can provide higher processing speed and life, and reduce the problem of stuck marks and cutting force in processing.
Participating in CIMT2023 this time can be said to be very fruitful and worthwhile. I have met many new and old customers, which has narrowed the distance between us and customers. For customers and friends who did not participate in CIMT2023, we also sincerely meet you at the next CIMT exhibition to participate in this industry feast!
