Thomas Industrial Library

ADVANTAGES OF POLYCRYSTALLINE

TOOLS

The advantages that PCBN tools offer industry more than offset their initial higher cost, Fig. 3-1-16.

Fig. 3-1-16 The main advantages of PCBN cutting tools. (Kelmar Associates)

Long Tool Life that consistently outperforms conventional tools from 10 to 700% and reduces tool wear, resulting in less machine downtime and dimensionally accurate workpieces.

High Material Removal Rates that allow higher cutting speeds to be used because tools can withstand the heat and excessive wear encountered.

Cuts Hard and Tough Materials including materials of Rc35 hardness and higher and, in some cases can replace grinding, which is a relatively slow material-removal process.

High Quality Products that are produced faster and at reduced costs, that reduces the need for frequent inspections.

Uniform Surface Finish, often in the single digit microinch range, because of reduced tool wear.

Lower Tool Cost per Piece because tools stay sharp longer and cut efficiently, producing longer production runs.

Reduced Machine Downtime that results in more machine time spent producing parts and less time spent
changing and resetting cutting tools.

TYPES OF MATERIALS MACHINED WITH

PCD (COMPAX®) TOOLS

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools are used for turning and milling nonferrous or nonmetallic materials, especially where the workpiece is hard and abrasive. The largest group of nonferrous metals is generally soft, but can have hard particles in them, such as silicon suspended in aluminum or glass fibers in plastic. These hard abrasive particles destroy the cutting edge of conventional tools. PCD tools often have a wear life of 100 times more than cemented carbide tools in such an abrasive machining application.

The materials most successfully machined with PCD tools fall into three general categories: nonferrous metals, nonmetallic materials, and composites, Table 3-1-3.

Table 3-1-3 The materials best suited for machining with PCD cutting tools. (GE Superabrasives)

TYPES OF MATERIALS MACHINED WITH

PCBN (BORAZON®) TOOLS

Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools are used for turning and milling operations on abrasive, and difficult-to-cut (DTC) materials. PCBN tools can remove mate rial at much higher rates than conventional cutting tools, with far longer tool life. Wherever PCBN cutting tools were used to replace a grinding operation, machining time was greatly reduced because of the higher metal-removal rate.

The best applications for PCBN cutting tools are on materials where conventional cutting-tool edges of cemented carbides and ceramics are breaking down too quickly. Their long-lasting cutting edges are capable of transferring the accuracy of computer controlled machine tools and flexible manufacturing systems, thereby producing accurate parts, increasing productivity, and reducing expensive machine downtime. Table 3-1-4 lists some of the common metals that are machined efficiently with PCBN cutting tools.

Table 3-1-4 PCBN cutting tools are best for machining ferrous metals. (GE Superabrasives)

Compax® is a registered trademark of GE Superabrasives of Worthington, Ohio.

Borazonz® is a registered trademark of GE Superabrasives of Worthington, Ohio.