Cost efficient insert blanks for advanced cutting tools

Many areas of the metal cutting tools market have become highly competitive. Low cost suppliers flood the market with low cost tools with quality that is good enough for some applications. The price erosion of these often high volume products has forced made tool suppliers to look for new ways to stay competitive. Modernization of the machine parks at component manufacturers with increasingly capable multi-task work centers and numerical control also enable the use of new types of machining modes to increase productivity.

To stay competitive and profitable, premium tool makers have recently focused on new types of cutting tools with significantly more advanced geometries. Many of the new tools are rotating tools with multiple cutting edges that enable high productivity and with a high market value.

The complex geometries however comes with new challenges. Traditional cutting tools are essentially flat since it is easy and cost efficient to manufacture flat carbide insert blanks. When moving into more complex three dimensional shapes on the other hand, the cost often increase dramatically. Manufacturing complex geometries through extensive grinding operations is time consuming and costly.

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