Huot’s safety tool covers provide an extra measure of security for proprietary CNC tooling and confidential manufacturing processes. The CNC DCMT Insert safety covers allow the operator to select the correct tooling while visitors or personnel are touring non-secured manufacturing areas. For tooling identification, covers WNMG Insert can be written on with a dry-erase marker.The safety covers protect valuable CNC tooling from damage that can occur when retrieving or storing tooling. The covers also keep staged tooling clean and ready for fast setup. When reaching in to retrieve tooling, workers’ arms are protected from being cut, thus minimizing time and costs from accident injuries, the company says.The safety covers are held in place with keyhole slots molded into their base and shoulder bolts installed on the ToolScoot. A simple twist releases the cover for tooling retrieving, and another twist locks the cover back in place. The tooling covers are built for use with tapers 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, HSK 63A or HSK 100A.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/lathe-inserts/

Heimatec’s U-Tec flexible changing system — now offered on all live tools and angle heads —  enables various tools to be fixtured in a single base, using adapters and a collet nut, thereby significantly reducing inventory requirements and changeover time for a busy shop.

The system enables a standard ER output live tool to accept various adapters for different applications. This gives users the ability to make quick tool changeovers on almost any lathe or mill — using a single tool — without having to commit to a quick-change system on the initial purchase. 

A facemill adapter, for example, can be quickly positioned into the standard holder, without the need for a new tool purchase.  This significantly reduces inventory costs as well as changeover time for the busy shop.  

The system is now available on all live tools in the company’s product line. Platinum Tooling is Machining Inserts the exclusive North American importer for this system. Heimatec plans to include its U-Tec flexible changing system on all live tools and angle heads, according to Preben Hansen, Platinum Tooling Technologies president.

The system design offers the benefits of quick change, while maintaining exceptional rigidity. “[It] represents a real improvement in lathe live tooling design. U-Tec allows great user flexibility and ensures a solid connection due to the polygon design built into both the tool and the adapter,” Hansen says. “This polygon connection helps guarantee the proper position and alignment of the adapter inside the tool. Once the insert is properly positioned and the collet nut is clamped, the cutting tool will have excellent rigidity and torque transmission.”

The collet nuts on the U-Tec CCGT Insert system have internal threading for clamping stability with the new tool adapter system enabling the actual cutting tool to be brought into closer proximity to the bearing, thus further improving performance.  

Every adapter in the U-Tec system is furnished complete with the necessary clamping nut and holding wrench. U-Tec adapters are available in various outputs such as arbor, Weldon, ER extension and blank styles.        

The system is now available for all major turning machines on the market today. Heimatec currently manufactures over 10,000 live tool types.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.cuttinginsert.com/product/rdkt-insert/

Hexagon’s Edgecam program has helped international firm West Pharmaceutical Services produce molding tools, pharmaceutical packing components and delivery systems CCMT Insert to support the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

West produces its mold tools in Bodmin – a small town in Cornwall, U.K. – on a range of 24 Makino V80S five-axis vertical mills; Haas VF, VM and mini mills; and Ingersoll V5 CNC machines. Interim production manager Chris Tamblyn says all programming at the facility goes through Edgecam.  

Demand from both existing customers and new ones looking to develop COVID-19 solutions has kept business busy. “There’s been a recent upsurge in products required for the fight against COVID-19, including vials, stoppers, plugs and plungers,” Tamblyn explains.

Customized routines play an important role in the manufacturing of West’s steel tools. Tamblyn explains that the company produces pieces of Shoulder Milling Inserts tooling that are often similar, and pre-constructed routines saved to Edgecam streamline machining sequences.

Graphite tooling, however, does not allow this reuse, and only uses solid model CAD data for full five-axis machining. Instead, West needs to design each electrode uniquely for each tool.

Tamblyn says Edgecam helps here with a custom postprocessor, which allows West to manufacture a single-impression electrode, then use a repetition command to replicate the part onto a larger piece of graphite as many times as required. 

West also relies on Edgecam’s inspection module, which reuses the CAD data from the cutting stage. The module creates on-machine measurement cycles for in-process and end-item part inspections, measuring geometric features like surface points, bores, bosses, pockets, webs, widths and heights. It also evaluates the relationship between features such as roundness, flatness and straightness.

After inspecting the mold tools for final approval, West ships them to its manufacturing plants in Europe to producing millions of pharmaceutical packaging components and delivery systems.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.cuttinginsert.com/product/snmx-insert/

Mastercam has collaborated with Sandvik Coromant for the integration of Sandvik Coromant’s CoroPlus Tool Library Add-in into the release of Mastercam 2024 CAD/CAM software. The integration of the CoroPlus Tool Library enables Mastercam customers to save significant time searching for desired tools and building 3D tool assemblies that can be brought directly into Mastercam.

The CoroPlus Tool Library makes Cutting Inserts tool recommendations based on material, operation and tool type. The ability to import tool assemblies directly into Mastercam 2024 saves time and effort because users can quickly and easily find and use the right tools. By utilizing 3D tool models and recommended cutting data, users can also optimize the machining process and achieve better results.

Mastercam developers worked closely with Sandvik Coromant product management to enable users to import 3D tool assemblies directly into Mastercam’s toolpath operations. In addition to the time savings, users of Mastercam benefit from having the correct tooling for the material and type of machining operation, as well as an accurate 3D model that can be used for visualization and collision checking.

“In the past, customers had to search through thousands of VBMT Insert catalog pages and cross-reference multiple sources to create the tool assemblies needed to machine their parts,” says Dave Boucher, Mastercam chief product officer. “Now, they have access to cutting data and tooling recommendations directly from within Mastercam, making it easier for them to select the best cutting tools for their specific applications, optimize their machining operations and improve productivity.”

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/indexable-inserts/apkt-insert/

Seco’s new TK1501 and TK0501 insert grades incorporate the latest developments in next-generation Duratomic coating technology. The new dedicated cast iron turning grades reach a new level of toughness and wear
resistance, as well as reduce Shallow Hole Indexable Insert tool waste and process more parts per edge.

With the latest Duratomic coating technology, these new grades have a wider application range and an overall increase in tool life and productivity. Seco’s exclusive Duratomic process manipulates aluminum and oxygen at the atomic level to create insert coatings with unmatched toughness and abrasion resistance. Their balance of
toughness and hardness meets the highest performance demands consistently and reliably.

TK1501 and TK0501 integrate Seco’s EDGE INTELLIGENCE concept that combines extensive high-performance insert experience and knowledge in every cutting edge for every application requirement. Chrome Used-Edge Detection makes it easy to tell if an insert’s cutting edges have made contact with a workpiece. The inserts are optimized to
provide APKT Insert the highest possible contrast to make it easy to instantly identify when an edge has been used, even in low-light environments. TK1501 and TK0501 grades’ Chrome Used-Edge Detection contributes to a potential 30 percent decrease in waste due to prematurely discarded inserts.

The inserts’ ability to increase productivity through higher speeds and feed rates reduces lead times as well as run-in and setup times. This results in a decreased chance of encountering production bottle necks on a shop’s turning machines. The new grades are available in a comprehensive selection of geometries—from roughing to finishing—to give end users a desirable surface finish in any application.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.cuttinginsert.com/product/16er-insert/