Available in the UK from Baldock-based sliding-head lathe tooling specialist Floyd Automatic Tooling Ltd (www.floydautomatic.co.uk), the latest series of Applitec Eco-Line inserts features a new coating technology that is said to improve performance in face grooving, internal grooving, threading, internal threading and general turning operations.

According to Floyd Automatic, early users of the AP302 grade are reporting increased tool life and consistency, along with better surface finishes and swarf evacuation compared with previous-generation grades.

For particularly difficult materials that generate high levels of wear, such as stainless steels and titanium, the coating is applied to a µK10-grade hard-substrate carbide.

The same carbide grades and coatings are being made available throughout the Applitec Top-Line programme.