The automotive industry is increasingly striving to reduce the weight of individual engine components in order to improve fuel efficiency, which has led to the increasing use of non-ferrous materials such as aluminium alloys.

Accordingly, there is a growing demand for lightweight tools that operate under high-speed conditions and can also be used on smaller machines to improve machining efficiency.

To satisfy these market requirements, Sumitomo has developed its ANX-type PCD milling cutter for aluminium alloys.

The series includes shank-type cutters with diameters of 32 and 40mm and shell-type cutters with diameters of 40, 50, 63, 80, 100 and 125mm. The company has also included an insert with a 0.8mm corner radius to support the machining requirements of different industries such as automotive, aircraft and industrial machinery.

Meanwhile, the ‘unique’ mounting method of the blades means Sumitomo has been able to introduce a multi-tooth design with up to 28 teeth that can provide ‘high-efficiency machining’ with feed rates up to 30,000mm/min.

In addition, radial blade displacement due to centrifugal force at high speeds is minimised, allowing the ANX-type PCD milling cutters to achieve high levels of dimensional accuracy. Also thanks to an ultra-light aluminium milling cutter body (it weighs a maximum of 1.0kg, even for 100mm-diameter milling cutters), they can be used on smaller machines.