The increasing complexity of parts is driving an ever-rising demand for more efficient means of machining grooves. In short, more complex parts mean more grooves and the need for more intricate grooving operations to be undertaken.
As every industry and each material has its own unique characteristic grooving tool requirements, a wide range of diverse grooving solutions is needed to accommodate varied markets and material needs. Iscar’s standard range spans from widths of 0.5mm up to 51mm, internal bore diameters from 2mm and up, economic pressed inserts or precision-ground inserts, and a wide range of chip breakers and carbide grades.
Iscar’s grooving tools have a flexible design that allows the tools to perform side turning in both right and left-hand directions, enabling a more efficient machining process. This original Iscar innovation has become a world standard referred to as ‘Groove-Turn’. Iscar’s many years of experience in providing first-class grooving solutions has enabled an extensive standard range of highly efficient grooving tools to be launched, and for Iscar to now be recognised as a global market leader in this area.
Drawing on the company’s detailed knowledge of the subject and its in-depth understanding of both conventional and exotic materials, Iscar’s prolific R&D department has developed the most comprehensive range of advanced Groove-Turn tools.
Heavy industry
Iscar boasts two high-quality product families that are designed specifically for heavy duty grooving and groove-turn applications, Sumo Grip and Dove-IQ-Grip, with a range of 8-20mm. Both families share the main advantageous properties that are essential for high performance in this type of harsh application:
- The absence of an upper jaw across each range, enabling unobstructed chip flow.
- The effective delivery of a direct coolant supply to ensure the tools’ cutting edges remain effective, even while cutting the deepest of grooves. In addition to substantially extended tool life, efficient coolant delivery increases productivity and results in improved surface finish.
- A robust, rigid clamping system engineered to withstand heavy loads associated with heavy duty grooving environments.
- Convenient and reliable indexing.
Iscar understands that one size does not always fit all. Mindful that each industry has its own specific needs and complications, the staff of Iscar’s R&D department has worked closely with leading companies in all of the world’s main industrial sectors to ensure the delivery of highly efficient, industry specific grooving tools.
Bearings industry
The vital components produced by the bearings industry perform a critical role across an extensive and diverse range of applications, from machine tools to wind turbines. Consequently, the technical staff at Iscar are familiar with the unique grooving requirements of the industry. The solutions provided by Iscar accommodate the industry’s demanding precision and surface finish needs, in conjunction with boosting productivity.
Iscar continues to work closely with leading bearing manufactures to provide unique and innovative cost saving solutions such as profiling solutions based on V-lock inserts, and unique multi-corner solutions.
Swiss-Type machines and small lathe applications
Mindful of the precision requirements of Swiss-Type machines and small lathe applications, Iscar is continuously increasing its offering in this fast-growing market segment:
Based on the new SwissCut Innoval inserts, it continues to add grooving inserts with effective pressed chip-formers.
Iscar’s standard grooving tools have been upgraded by the application of an innovative side clamping mechanism, which is much more user friendly when used on Swiss-type machines.
Iscar’s Picco line for mini-internal grooving inserts enables the performance of grooves from a bore diameter of 2mm.
Aerospace
Over recent years, the effective reduction of global air travel costs has enabled ever-increasing numbers of passengers to fly. This passenger increase has been made possible by the unremitting reductions in the cost of manufacturing aircraft. The ongoing ‘cost-down’ pressure means that aircraft and engine manufacturers continue to demand that subcontractors produce the same high-quality components at ever-reduced prices.
The challenge of delivering cost-per-part reductions each year while maintaining profitability has encouraged subcontractors to search for more efficient tooling solutions that will release the latent productivity potential of their expensive machine tools. Increasing numbers of aerospace manufacturers are turning to Iscar to enable the required efficiencies and ‘cost-down’ savings to be achieved.
In addition to several other aerospace related sectors, Iscar has long and extensive experience in providing efficient machining solutions for jet engine parts that are made from titanium and a range of heat resistance alloys. In recent years Iscar vastly extended its standard products offerings that are aimed at the aerospace industry’s challenging grooving applications. To enable ever more efficiencies to be gained within the areas of aerospace grooving applications, Iscar provides:
- A huge range of modular adapters with JetCut pin-pointed coolant directed precisely to the cutting edge. The entire range can be used with high pressure coolant up to 340 bar.
- The effective delivery of coolant to the cutting edge extends tool life and enables doubling the cutting speeds.
- New IC806 & IC804 grades dedicated and optimized for the effective machining of Titanium and heat resistance alloys.
Automotive
Iscar’s groove-turn products are extensively used in the car industry. The main automotive applications that employ these products are gearbox components, synchronising rings, shafts, pulleys, brake systems, turbo chargers and others.
These applications run 24-seven and almost totally unmanned. Therefore chips must be smaller and controlled to enable smooth operation of the machines. Iscar’s GIMN inserts are especially effective in these cases. In most cases, following heat treatment, a finishing operation is also needed. Iscar’s GITM line of CBN tipped grooving inserts provide excellent performance in these hard operations of 50-68 Hrc.
Wheel alloys are made of aluminium with magnesium and silicon additives that provide far superior mechanical properties when compared to pure aluminium. Aluminium wheels have higher strength and are lighter compared with steel wheels, consequently saving energy. As a leading tooling supplier to the global automotive sector, Iscar now provides a range of leading solutions for the efficient machining of aluminium wheels. These include unique inserts with a front stopper for extra stability, and a new quick change system dedicated to the machining of aluminium wheels.