ACT Takes Credit at MACH

20 April 2014

With the launch of a number of new innovations from leading cutting tool manufacturer Nine9, Advanced Carbide Tooling (ACT) had one of its most successful MACH exhibitions to date. The level of interest on the ACT stand noted the company selling products and taking credit card details. This resulted in the Hinckley based company taking more paperwork back to its headquarters in the means of sales leads and credit card details than ever before.

This astounding success was partially credited to the UK exhibition premiere of the new I-Center indexable centre drill and the W-Spotting tool for spotting and chamfering tapped holes. The new I-Center is the world's first indexable centre drill that is capable of increasing tool life and process performance whilst eliminating re-sharpening and re-setting, resulting in improved cycle times and reduced downtime. With insert positional accuracy nailed to 0.05mm, tool length setting and repeatability is unparalleled. The I-Center toolholder is available in numerous lengths and diameter options to offer insert cutting widths for holes from 8 to 25mm diameters.

Appearing alongside the I-Center was the new Nine9 'W' spotting tool for spot drilling and chamfering holes in one operation. Eliminating the need for a spot drill and chamfer tool, the new 'W' spotting tool shortens cycle times, improves accuracy, hole position and consistency whilst reducing the customers' tooling inventory. By replacing two processes with one, the 'W' Spotting tool from Nine9 delivers a realm of cost reduction and cycle time saving possibilities for the end user. The benefits of this line were well received by MACH visitors and drew considerable attention.

Both the new developments from Nine9 appeared alongside the company's established corner rounding cutting tools. Whilst already a formidable product in the marketplace, Nine9 has now extended the corner rounding range to provide corner rounding inserts from 0.5 to 1mm in 0.01mm increments. This product extension was seen for the first time in the UK at MACH and it clearly made an impression with stand visitors.

Commenting upon the sale of products from its stand at MACH, ACT's Managing Director Mr Denis Houghton says: "We offered an extremely diverse line of products at MACH and this diversity combined with the renowned quality of the Nine9 line is what delivered unsurpassed results for ACT. A large amount of our product line is application specific and truly groundbreaking with benefits that far surpass that of our competitors. An example of this can be seen with our chamfer mill series."

This chamfer milling line has been extended to incorporate a 100 degree spotting and chamfering tool. This new concept is the result of ACT's research and development work with the UK's aerospace sector to meet the industry's demands for a tool that delivers a 100 degree cutter suitable for screw heads and rivets in the sector. As 100 degrees is the aerospace standard, ACT launched the industry's first tailored solution for efficiently machining countersinks and chamfers at MACH 2012. Its remarkable success combined with a rapidly expanding aerospace market enabled the chamfer line to build upon its success from the previous show.