C UTTING T OOLS AND

A CCESSORIES

O ver the past three to four decades industry in the United States has been affected by intense global competition from industries using the latest technologies in their manufacturing methods. Superabrasive tooling, designed to increase productivity, produce better quality products, and reduce manufacturing costs, can cut and grind the hardest materials known.

The fundamental cutting processes in machining - those of bringing the work into contact with the cutting tool - should remain mainstays of the industry. One of the most important components in the machining process is the cutting tool and its performance determines the efficiency of the operation. Modern tooling systems that can accommodate increased spindle speeds, higher feed rates, increased radial loads, modular adaptability, and profitable short part runs are required by manufacturers to stay competitive.

T HRILLER ® C OMBINATION T OOL

(Steve Krar, Consultant – Kelmar Associates)

The Thriller® combination tool is a new concept in threaded-hole production that can greatly increase the productivity of machining centers while improving thread quality. It can drill, chamfer, and produce a right- or left-hand thread in a blind or through hole in one operation, Fig. 3-4-1. In comparison to conventional internal threading procedures, the Thriller tool saves at least two tool changes and at least two positions on the toolchanger, while giving complete program control over threading operations.

Fig. 3-4-1 The one-step drilling/chamfering/threading tool reduces machining center cycle times for threaded holes. (Turchan Technologies)