Catch up with WNT’s new developments
at MACH
MACH 2014: Stand 5641
The rate of change in the world of cutting tools will be highlighted by WNT on stand 5641 at the upcoming MACH 2014 exhibition at the National exhibition Centre, Birmingham. Visitors to its stand will see an extensive range of products that have been introduced in the two years since the last MACH exhibition, all aimed at increasing productivity and profitability for WNT’s customers.
Over the past two years WNT has introduced new and improved products across its range of cutting tools, toolholding and workholding 
systems. The turning range has seen many changes, key among which is the addition of a series of positive geometry inserts in the HCN 2125 range for machining stainless steel. These new inserts open up many more possibilities for productivity improvement and tool life improvement. Available in two geometries for fine finishing and medium roughing applications the inserts can operate at feedrates between 0,06 – 0,35 mm/rev at depths of cut up to 4,8 mm. HCN 2125 inserts can deliver these significant gains thanks to a new carbide substrate and Dragonskin PVD tool coating, which provide exceptional wear resistance at elevated cutting data, which is a major benefit for customers machining stainless steel, austenitic, ferritic, martensitic or duplex materials.
The majority of new developments in the WNT range have been seen across the solid carbide and indexable insert milling ranges, where major gains are being seen by customers. A case in point is the MCR Monstermill solid carbide endmill, which is generating significant performance gains when compared to existing cutters. These gains include up to four-times the feed rate and three times the tool life of WNT’s standard cutters. MCR Monstermill forms part of WNT’s high performance HPC range and are designed for rough milling utilising a highly evolved roughing profile and special cutting geometry. This combines with irregular pitched flutes to create the optimum cutting performance and an extremely soft cutting action that creates smaller chips and less stress on the machine tool, which is of particular benefit when used on machines with lower spindle power.
The ideal application for MCR Monstermill is for dry machining of steel and cast iron, where the TiAlN tool coating significantly enhances tool life. However, the MCR Monstermill can also be applied to machining stainless steel if coolant is applied; it is also proving to be an exceptional cutter for Vortex milling strategies, which result in cycle time reductions of up to 50 per cent for rough milling. MCR Monstermill cutters are available from 1 mm diameter through to 20 mm diameter, with three flute lengths available in certain sizes, the cutters are capable of slot milling to 1.5 x diameter.
Innovative design has led to the creation of the SCR Torus cutter, which combines the advantages of WNT’s existing solid carbide SCR (Steel Cutter Roughing) High Performance Cutters (HPC) and High Feed Cutters (HFC). SCR Torus combines the roughing strategies of HPC and HFC cutters to create a cutter that is capable of full slot milling to 1xD and other conventional milling operations, such as ramping, profiling and pocket milling, and also be capable of high feed (waterline) type milling. This reduces the number of tool changes needed to complete these two rough milling strategies, saving cycle time and also reducing the tool inventory.
The key to SCR Torus’ success is the geometry both of the end face and radii, and also of the cutter flutes. The cutter is ground with two large ‘actual’ radii and one theoretical radius on the cutting edge. The first, larger radius provides the SCR Torus cutter with its high feed capability, while the smaller radius generates extended tool life by protecting the cutting edge from premature wear, when conventional milling. These two combine to create the theoretical radius (R3D) for use when programming the cutter path in a CAD/CAM system. The high feed capability of the SCR Torus cutters is aimed at reducing cycle times during rough milling strategies, but can be used for finishing vertical surfaces using the outside diameter of the tool.
SCR Torus cutters are generating significant cycle time reductions when compared to indexable insert button tools, with one example where machining a mould tool showing a cycle reduction of 2.5 hours on a mould tool. With the indexable insert tool the operator had to be available by the machine to change inserts when they became worn and the cycle was 3.5 hours. Running the SCR Torus cutter at a typical 160 m/min at a federate of 0,12 mm/tooth and depth of cut of 0,3 mm, the component was completed in a cycle time of one hour, without the need for a toolchange, so the operator was free to undertake other duties.
WNT’s range of indexable insert milling systems have also seen change, and example of which is the introduction of 
its new HFC06 milling cutters. Typically high performance milling with indexable as been restricted to diameters above 25 mm, with the development of the HFC06 inserts and cutter bodies users can now benefit from the performance and cost savings delivered by indexable inserts down to 16 mm diameter.
With an insert edge length of just 6 mm the HFC06 cutters fill the gap nicely between the economical 16 mm size of solid carbide and the more usual 25 mm start range for indexable insert cutters. Performance has not been compromised with HFC06 still capable of achieving feedrates of up to 1.5 mm/tooth, with a maximum 0.8 mm depth of cut. At their smallest diameter HFC06 cutters feature twin flutes, with three flutes available at 20 mm diameter, four flutes at 25mmm, and five flutes at 32 mm. Shanks styles can be either screw shank or cylindrical and all feature through tool coolant as standard.
The inserts are available in two geometries, one for steel, and one for heat resistant materials and they sit in the cutter body in a positive presentation to the workpiece, with the insert geometry designed to provide an extremely soft and quiet cutting action that results in a stable and vibration free machining process.
When it comes to drilling, WNT has the popular C900 High Feed Drill in its portfolio. These indexable drills make use of a single, universal carbide grade, with the centre and peripheral insert being identical in design, with four cutting edges per insert.
These features dramatically reduce tooling cost and simplifying the drilling process. Now, the C900 High Feed Drills are being made available in diameter to length ratios of 3x, 4x and 5x as standard. The design of the drill body and insert geometry ensure maximum stability and performance at these extended lengths.
Changes to the extensive range of toolholders from WNT include the extension of the Modifix® range of driven tooling. These toolholders address the cost of replacing driven tooling, which can prohibitive, WNT’s Modifix® system eliminates the need to purchase new spindle units as the adaptors will fit any standard ER collet-type driven tooling system.
Modifix® adaptors provide a low-cost route to enhancing or replacing existing stocks of driven tooling for engineering companies and
have the added advantage of being available with sidelock and shell mill fittings, as well as the conventional collet chuck, extending the versatility of driven tooling units. The simple interchangeability of the Modifix® system means that tools can be pre-set in a separate holder and quickly interchanged when required, with the accuracy of the units giving greatly reduced setting times and increased machine run time. The rigidity of the tool setup is also enhanced by the short distance between the tool and the spindle bearings of the driven tool unit. Further versatility is provided by the fact that Modifix® units are available with either an internal and external thread connection to suit the ER system, to install the adaptor the operator simply removes the ER collet nut and attaches the Modifix® adaptor, tightening it as they would the ER collet.
WNT is also a leading supplier of technical workholding solutions recent additions to its already extensive portfolio of vices and fixturing are attracting significant interest.
The H5G and the ESG Mini vices sit at opposite ends of the scale.
The H5G system offers clamping forces of up to 40kN and, depending on the configuration, a gripping width of up to 499 mm, while the ESG Mini is designed for smaller components and has a maximum gripping force of 12 kN, making it ideal for multiple clamping set-ups using zero-point pallets.
A key feature of the H5G series is its pre-set clamping force feature, eliminating the risk of over or under tightening the component in the vice, making it suitable for heavy-duty to thin walled components. To lock and unlock the vice the mechanism only needs to be moved through an arc of 160 degrees, meaning clamping can be completed in under one second. Other design features of the H5G series include a low vice height of 125 mm making it practical for smaller machine tools, the clamping mechanism is fully sealed to protect against swarf and other contaminants and prolong the life of the vice, while the location of the clamping spindle ensures minimal deflection of the clamping jaws, even at maximum gripping force.
ESG Mini vices feature a small, 40 mm, jaw width as standard with a 100 mm option being available. It also features a wide variety of vice jaw types that feature a several helpful features that help with machine/component set-up. For example, jaws are available with precision ruled marks and stops on them, or with indentations to allow quick positioning of components. This also allows the removal and repositioning of components for inspection part way through machining. As with the larger H5G vices the operating mechanism of the ESG Mini series is completely encapsulated
Other benefits of the ESG Mini series are its design that has the fixed jaw manufactured from the same block of material as the vice base, making it much stronger and resistant to deflection. The vice jaw system is fully modular allowing great variations in clamping options and the clamping mechanism can be specified as a manual or hydraulic system. Both systems feature tenon or zero point location points making them suitable for most machine tools or set-up applications. In particular the ESG Mini series is perfect for multiple vice applications on base plates or tombstone-type fixture blocks.
WNT’s extensive catalogue of over 45,000 items are available ex-stock for guaranteed next day, before noon, delivery if ordered before 18:30. WNT’s investment in logistics and warehousing is enabling customers to benefit from the productivity gains that its tools generate within hours of them placing an order. In addition, its team of technical sales engineers is available to offer applications and tool selection advice when required.
