Bromsgrove-based Walter GB
Ltd (
www.walter-tools.com) has announced the Walter Cut DX18 double-edged grooving and parting-off system; this features an ‘innovative’ lateral clamping that will be of particular benefit to users of Swiss-type autos and multi-spindle machines.
Suitable for parting off diameters up to 35mm, the DX18 features a positive engagement system that is said to be superior to conventional screw clamping; for the latter, the ‘characteristics’ of the cutting forces can mean that the clamping forces are insufficient, resulting in adverse effects on machining quality and process reliability.
The DX18 also uses Walter’s SmartLock system in its G4014 tool-holders, which simplifies insert change-over.
Rather than having to remove the entire tool (often in cramped and ‘oily’ machine conditions), SmartLock’s insert clamping screw can be used on either side of the tool for easy and quick insert change, with a blanking plug provided to protect the unused side.
Thanks to the positive engagement, a new insert — even a narrow one — will always locate correctly.
The potential of this system has been successfully proven in tests on a Swiss-type automatic, where the customer particularly liked not having to remove the tool for insert changing.
An outer diameter of 12mm was parted off from 1.4057 high-tensile martensitic stainless steel, using a cutting-edge width of 2mm. The DX18 more than doubled the tool life compared to the single-edged alternative — and with ‘maximum process reliability and productivity’.
Walter GB says that the trend towards miniaturisation of even more-complex component geometries is one of the driving forces behind the company’s ever-evolving range for tasks where users consider an alternative only when there are problems with process reliability, or when machining strategies are changed.
Typical problem areas — especially for machining operations when grooving deeper into the workpiece — are the stable fixing of the indexable inserts, chip breaking and cooling.
The company says that users often ‘play it safe’ by reducing cutting data to less than the recommended values; it is here that the Walter Cut range can make a difference.