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In the July issue of the MTD magazine, we reported on the Ceratizit Group, the arrival of its \u2018Team Cutting Tools\u2019 brand and how group amalgamation, investment and a collaborative marketing strategy are driving the company\u2019s ambitions to become the world\u2019s third-largest cutting tool manufacturer. In this issue, we conclude the round-up of our trip and introduce some of the new technologies that will be promoted at this month\u2019s EMO exhibition in Hanover.
Following visits to Ceratizit Group manufacturing sites in Stuttgart and Balzheim that were previously KOMET, Klenk & Gunther Wirth facilities, the touring group ventured to Kempten \u2013 the logistic centre that is the beating heart of the pan-European next day delivery service. The final stop on the tour was the Reutte factory. The Austrian facility can trace its roots back to 1921 as the birthplace of Metallwerk Plansee. With the production site approaching its centenary, it was quite apt that the site was where journalists would finish their trip with an introduction to new technologies that will certainly take centre stage at EMO this month.
The Ceratizit Reutte site is home to the company\u2019s tungsten carbide insert and rod production and it is the starting point for all things tungsten carbide \u2013 manufacturing tens of thousands of indexable inserts a day. At any one time, the site holds up to 1200 tonnes of stock material on-site with over 4000 press tools available to press out the inserts.
The vast scale of the site nestled in the picturesque Austrian Alps can only be truly appreciated when quoting facts such as energy consumption comparable to Innsbruck, a nearby town with over 130,000 residents that would be familiar among \u2018Ski Sunday\u2019 viewers. Carbide processing is energy-intensive and the environmentally-conscious company is only one of the very few carbide manufacturers that uses water in its carbide mixing plant as opposed to the industry standard acetone. This may increase the cost and processing time in the mixing department, but environmental consciousness takes on an entirely new perspective when your workplace is nestled at the foot of the Alps in such beautiful surroundings.
The carbide drying process is conducted 24/7 in four silos, each with a throughput capacity of 250kg per hour. In line with the company's aggressive growth strategy, a new building has been erected with a newly installed silo offering additional capacity when required. Factoring in the long-term growth strategy, the additional carbide drying facility has the infrastructure in place for an additional two silos to be added. The tungsten carbide silos are where a host of base materials are added to the powder to offer differing characteristics to the inserts. Such is the industrial-scale precision, the additive materials are stored in smaller containers that are measured, mixed and delivered to the silos with an astounding precision of just 10 grams.
From the silos, through the mixing and drying process, the inserts are then pressed and sintered at temperatures up to 1450 degrees C for up to eight hours. An additional, eight hours of cooling is required prior to entering the coating plant. The Ceratizit plant offers up to 18 different coatings that incorporate both CVD and PVD coatings. With multi-layer technology available from Ceratizit, the options are extremely vast. Equally vast are the halls full of coating and treatment chambers, the banks of grinding and polishing machines and the rows of robotic inspection technology. Among the impressive production facility, the Ceratizit Group has still found space to expand.
FreeTurn Dynamic Turning System
The congregation of journalists on the press trip were also treated to technical presentations and demonstrations of the new High Dynamic Turning line among other innovations. The High Dynamic Turning system was initially introduced at the AMB exhibition in 2018 where it won the most innovative product award in the \u2018Tools\u2019 category. In essence, users only require one dynamic tool for all external turning operations. Utilising the milling spindle, the 360\xb0 rotation clearance angle allows the FreeTurn tool to be positioned at any angle to a workpiece, which has a positive effect on chip breakage and component quality, optimising production processes.
When the idea first came up, the High Dynamic Turning concept was initially restricted by an era where machine tools had limited capability, but as importantly the CNC control systems and CAM software vendors also had technology constraints that have now dissolved.
So, Ceratizit has revived the concept by working with machine tool and control system manufacturers and also the CAM vendors. This pursuit of finally bringing the concept to life by working with industry partners was recognised at the AMB 2018 exhibition when the Ceratizit Group were recognised for their development with a prestigious award. For 12 months, the Ceratizit Group has been strenuously evolving the process, working behind the scenes with machine tool, CNC and CAM vendors; and at the EMO exhibition this month; the company will be introducing the first fruits of its labour.
So, what is Ceratizit's FreeTurn High Dynamic Turning system and what do you need to benefit from the technology? To benefit from the Ceratizit Group's FreeTurn system, manufacturers require a turning centre with X, Y, Z, B and C-axis with a HSK or Capto milling spindle and cutting edge compensation in the Y-level. At the time of print, the system can be used with the Mazak Mazatrol, Siemens 840D and FANUC CNC control units. This criterion currently lends the process to many Hermle, DMG MORI, Grob, EMAG, Emco and Index multi-purpose machines. However, new announcements will be made at EMO 2019 as the cutting tool manufacturer continues to work closely with CNC control and CAM vendors.
Ceratizit claims that its FreeTurn technology will reduce tool changes by up to 100%, reduce tool positions in the turning centre by up to 90% and reduce non-cutting toolpaths by up to 90%. Furthermore, the system is claimed to increase feed rates by 40% and reduce the number of inserts required. This is possible by machining almost any OD contour with a single tool that utilises adjustable feed rates in-process from a variety of approach angles that can be changed during the cycle. The development is available with a selection of toolholder and insert geometries and designations that incorporate both a rough and finish machining geometry in a single insert for each different material type.
At the Ceratizit press event, the new FreeTurn system was demonstrated on an Emco turn-mill centre with a series of live demonstrations whilst finished components for bicycles were presented at the event. The Ceratizit Group has a long and established relationship with cycling. The Ceratizit cycling team, WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling, ride bikes manufactured by Orbea and the bike of current ladies world champion, Kirsten Wild, consists of precision parts manufactured with Ceratizit tools. Parts for the Orbea bike such as chain rings, cassettes, cranks and hubs are machined by EDR CNC, exclusively for ROTOR, a globally renowned manufacturer of high-end cycling components.
Demonstrating the benefits while machining an aluminium bicycle wheel hub with the FreeTurn system, the Emco turning centre in the Ceratizit demonstration area tore across the profile of the hub at pace. With a HSK-T63 tool and a Ceratizit F15 28P insert, the hub was rough machined at a surface speed of 1500revs/min with a 2mm depth of cut and a feed rate of 0.4mmper/rev. This was followed up by a finishing pass of 1mm DoC with a feed rate of 0.25mm per/rev. Compared to existing methods, the FreeTurn slashed cycle time by 27% from 2mins 10 seconds to 1 minute 35 seconds. The Ceratizit Group will be promoting the High Dynamic Turning system at EMO and in the run-up to MACH 2020 where MTD magazine will be reporting on this \u2018dynamic\u2019 new technology.