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Sandvik Coromant Company's IMTS exhibit (Booth 2604) will show new products that can cumulatively increase metalworking productivity by 40% in virtually any operation. The theme "Your Productivity Partner" will show how to increase feeds and speeds, reduce component costs, eliminate bottlenecks, increase output and optimize machine utilization.

Research-based product developments cover the full range of indexable inserts, solid carbide drills, toolholding solutions and even basic materials. Here are some highlights from the nearly 1,500 products Sandvik Coromant introduces every year:

New Turning Inserts
New ULTRASPEED GC4015, GC4025, and GC4035 grade steel turning inserts permit a guaranteed speed increase of at least 20% over existing grades for wet or dry finishing, semifinishing and roughing. Radical re-engineering of the tools' substrate and coating manufacturing technology increase productivity for steel turning jobs.
The substrate breakthrough applies an advanced gradient sintering process to vary the substrate tungsten carbide/cobalt composition along the tool's periphery. The flank is enriched with cobalt to provide toughness, assuring better edge security under demanding conditions. The nose area is enriched with tungsten carbide to impart hardness, resist wear, and minimize plastic deformation.

The patented coating breakthrough deposits a thick layer of aluminum oxide with columnar crystals oriented perpendicular to the surface and the substrate. The columnar orientation presents the most wear-resistant surface to the cutting face. Equally important, it provides a path for cracks to form and terminate in the substrate, leaving the basic insert intact. The combination of gradient sintering and coating crystal orientation creates inserts that can withstand higher cutting forces and temperatures without failing. Most applications have opted to increase cutting speed by 20% or more.

Nickel-Free Cermet Inserts
New CT5015 (uncoated carbide) and GC 1525 (coated carbide) turning inserts cut faster, permit fine finishing on parts with interrupted cuts, and improve productivity. Cone tests show 67% faster feed rates possible at equal tool lifetime. Radical re-engineering of the inserts' substrate material, replacing nickel with cobalt, increases productivity by imparting toughness to a cermet for the first time.

The new grades are the result of a reformulation of cermet material aimed at increasing impact strength and edge security. The cermet matrix binds the carbide material with cobalt rather than the traditional nickel binder. Sandvik Coromant applies proprietary additives and processing improvements to enable cobalt to bind to the surface of the ceramic particles.

Solid Carbide Drills
TwinGrade TM GC 1030 (patent pending) solid carbide drills for holemaking in stainless steel (ISO M) deliver up to twice the penetration rate of conventional carbide drills. Key to performance is the sintering of two substrate materials together at the drill tip. The grade at the tool center provides toughness, withstands tension and pressure on the drill point, yielding faster penetration at low surface speed. The grade at the tool periphery provides wear resistance at high surface speed, permitting higher feed rates and more productivity.

High Precision Chucks
Sandvik Coromant will also demonstrate toolholding solutions to dramatically reduce runout and increase machine utilization. CoroGrip TM high precision chucks offer twice the clamping force of shrink-fit chucks and three times that of ordinary hydraulic chucks, plus -more

20-second tool changes. The precision of cut is equal to shrink-fit holders but without the disadvantages of excessive inventory and complicated tool change.

Modular Toolholding System
Sandvik's Coromant Capto® is becoming the modular quick-change toolholding solution of choice. It has been installed on approximately 6000 machines worldwide to date, 70% turning and 30% milling. The quick-change toolholders minimize dead time for tool change from the machining cycle, thereby adding to machine utilization and productivity. Reductions in setup time typically add 50 hours per station per year of machine availability.

Coromant Capto is the only modular quick-change toolholding system that does not require the user to make any compromise in performance. It combines 30-second STOP to START changeout with fifty millionths repeatability and greater rigidity than most solid tools can offer. It is also the only system that covers both milling and turning applications, which makes it ideal for the new generation mill-turn machines.

Custom Tooling Via Internet
In the near future, Sandvik Coromant will introduce a new system that reduces time and cost in the creation of custom tooling solutions by ordering over the internet. This development will, for the first time, make custom tools almost as accessible, as affordable and as dependable as standard tools designed by an experienced tool design engineer. As an added benefit, these custom made tools will feature performance guarantees.

About Sandvik
Sandvik is an international group of materials-technology companies with 34,000 employees in 130 countries and over $5 billion in annual sales. Operations worldwide comprise three separate business areas: Tooling, Specialty Steels, and Mining and Construction. The Sandvik US group represents all three business areas, exceeding $1 billion in annual sales.

Products include cemented carbide and high-speed steel tools for metalworking; machinery and equipment for mining and construction; and stainless steels, special alloys and heating materials. Each company in the Sandvik group prides itself on large investments in research and development, a strong commitment to superior customer service and the willingness and capability to lead the way in technology.

For more information please contact, Thomas Carlberg, Sandvik Coromant, 1702 Nevins Road, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410; phone (201) 794-5000; fax (201) 794-5217; Email thomas.carlberg@sandvik.com.