Major product launches by Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal (www.sumitomotool.com) at recent international machine tool shows — in Japan, Germany and the USA — featured developments in Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) and poly-crystalline Boron Nitride (PCBN) for hard turning, along with new milling inserts and drill range extensions.

Developed using a totally new direct-conversion sintering method, Sumitomo’s Sumiboron NCB100 is said to offer “a breakthrough for turning high-specification hard-to-cut materials” by giving up to 50-times greater insert life than traditional carbide inserts.

The high-stability NCB100 features an ultra-hard ‘binder-less’ PCBN that is produced using grains — just a few tens of nano-metres in size — that are “directly bonded to each other”.

Also featuring Sumitomo’s binder-less technology for turning applications was its NPD10 and DA90 inserts.

NPD10 is targeted at the high-precision machining of tungsten carbide, as well as hard and brittle materials.

DA90, which has greater levels of stability due to its larger poly-crystalline diamond particles, is designed for rough-machining cemented carbide, as well as other hard and brittle materials.

For greater stability when turning heat-resistant super-alloy materials, Sumitomo now offers its latest Absotech Bronze PVD coating technology, which uses “heat-resisting ultra-multi-layers of ALTiSiN thin-film edge coating” for its AC5000-series tooling.

Sumitomo’s AC5015S was launched for more-general applications, while AC5025S is for heavier roughing cycles.

The inserts are configured to offer improved resistance to cratering and notch wear.

For turning cast iron, Sumitomo’s latest AC400K coated inserts have particularly thick CVD coatings, thereby allowing cutting speeds up to 700m/min to be used — even when machining grey and nodular materials.

Meanwhile, the company’s latest DGC 45deg face mills have 16 cutting edges and can machine to a depth of 3 mm. The inserts feature Sumitomo’s patented ZX coating technology for extended tool life.

On the drilling front, Sumitomo’s SMDT indexable-head (and regrindable) carbide drills now feature alternate layers of TiAlCr and TiSi, which form the company’s high-performance DEX coating.

SMDT tools are now available in smaller and larger length-to-diameter ratios — 1.5x and 12x respectively — in addition to its existing 3x, 5x and 8x.

The drills feature hardened steel bodies that accept multiple-diameter tips in four different styles to maximise performance when drilling stainless steel, super-alloys and cast irons.