New NTK Insert Grade For High Speed Milling Of Inconel

1 April 2014

For the high speed milling of difficult to cut materials, NTK has now developed its new SX9 insert grade, the company's toughest milling grade to date. The remarkably tough insert grade has been launched to offer high speed and feed machining beyond 800m/min, which compared to carbide grade tooling from alternate vendors offers significant productivity benefits.

Created for the machining of Inconel 706, 713 and 718 as well as additionally difficult aerospace materials and ductile cast irons, the extremely tough grade permits machining at high feeds and heavier depths of cut than previous ceramic grades. The composition of the new SX9 also makes it well suited for machining materials with tough and difficult to cut scale on the billet. The SX9 also demonstrates exceptional flank wear resistance that makes it the best suited grade for rough machining.

The development engineers at NTK have developed a number of insert designations that enable the SX9 to be utilised in turning toolholders with positive and negative round inserts. For milling, the round RNGN and RPGN inserts can be used as can square SNGN, SNEN and SNGF inserts and rectangular LNX and APCW geometry inserts for shell, face and end milling cutters.

For high feed roughing, NTK recommends its XTM face mill cutter body that is available in diameters from 25 to 160mm with two to 20 insert pockets depending upon the diameter of the cutter body. The 6.35mm wide LNX inserts for the XTM cutter body are available with corner radii of 0.8 or 1.2mm. For higher speed and feed milling, the QTS shell mill is available with diameter options from 40 to 125mm with four to nine insert pockets depending upon diameter selection. The APCW inserts for the shell mill are available with either a corner radius of 0.8, 1.2 or 2mm or alternately with a wiper for improved surface finishes.
The APCW insert type is also suitable for the new QTE end mill that is available with a 16mm shank. The more diverse end mill cutter is offered with diameters from 25 to 40mm with 2, 3 or four insert pockets. The end mill can be chosen with an overall length of either 100, 110 or 125mm for robust and rigid applications or additionally for longer reach demands. To accomodate the round RNGN and RPGN inserts, NTK is delighted to offer its RNIW shell milling cutter body. The RNIW shell mill is available in diameters from 32 to 125mm with three to twelve insert pockets.

The diverse availability of insert types, geometries and cutter bodies ensure that NTK can provide the marketplace with a comprehensive range of milling applications that deliver productivity and cycle time reductions far beyond that of conventional insert tooling.