• January 28, 2023
  • Machine Tools
  • Cutting Tools
  • Software
  • Metrology
  • Accessories
  • Mechatronics
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • REGISTER
  • SIGN IN
www.cnctimes.com logo
  • News
  • CT+
  • Webinar
  • Knowledge Center
    • INDUSTRY UPDATES
    • INTERVIEWS
    • VIDEOS
    • TECHNICAL ARTICLES
    • CASE STUDIES
    • PRODUCT SHOWCASE
    • BLOGS
    • SUCCESS STORIES
    • NEWSLETTERS
  • Start Your Subscription
  • Register
  • Sign in

Information

Please login to give the feedback.

Subscription Plans

Subscription Type
Duration
Months
News
Articles
Blogs
Case Studies
Videos
Product Updates
Webinar
Amount
CT
Lifetime
Lifetime
Full Access
Limited Access
Full Access
Limited Access
Limited Access
Limited Access
No Discount
INR 0.00
CT+
6 Months
6 Months
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
5% Discount
INR 599.00
CT+
Annual
12 Months
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
10% Discount
INR 999.00

Subscription Plans

Subscription Type
Duration
Months
News
Articles
Blogs
Case Studies
Videos
Product Updates
Webinar
Amount
CT
Lifetime
Lifetime
Full Access
Limited Access
Full Access
Limited Access
Limited Access
Limited Access
No Discount
INR 0.00
CT+
6 Months
6 Months
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
5% Discount
INR 599.00
CT+
Annual
12 Months
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
Full Access
10% Discount
INR 999.00
Successfully registered. Please check your email to activate account.

Registration
  • Sign In



Sorry Captcha Unsuccessful!!

Sign In


OR
If your not registered user first Register
  1. Home
  2. Technical Articles
  3. Tale of two cutting tools – Rotary vs. Indexable

Tale of two cutting tools – Rotary vs. Indexable

07 September, 2016
  • Tweet
  • share via email
Your comment has been posted.
We have sent you a verification email. To verify, just follow the link in the message.
Some technical error. Please try again.

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-09-07 11:49:00

In the early industrial days of cutting tool development, metalworking was very limited. It was a slow task until the nineteenth century when the industrial age brought the availability of machine power from the steam engine and, later, electricity.
Machine tools developed considerably in response and with the introduction of High Speed Steel (HSS) in the twentieth century, the modern metal cutting era began.

Today, there are two types of cutting tools, rotary and indexable. Rotary, also known as solid round tools, forms one entire piece made up of the cutting edge and shank. It is typically associated with drilling, threading and milling applications.
Indexable tools are predominantly made of inserts or tips, where the cutting edge is a replaceable shaped piece which is welded or clamped on to a tool body. These are generally used for turning, milling and hole-making operations.

Fabio Sala is product manager for round tools and Lukas Pavlis, product manager for indexables, at global manufacturer Dormer Pramet. Both discuss the key elements which make up the differences between the two types of cutting tools, including the material, performance and versatility.

Material – indexable
At the beginning of the twentieth century, cutting tool material was sometimes only slightly harder than the material being cut. Therefore tool-life was poor and cutting speeds had to be kept very low.
As cutting tool materials developed, they allowed for increased machining parameters and the ability to withstand higher temperatures while maintaining hardness.

The harder the tool substrate the more wear resistant the cutting tool, resulting in longer tool life. The compromise here is that harder tool substrates are more brittle and more likely to fracture or break under adverse operating conditions.
Softer tool substrates mean the tool will be tougher, allowing successful machining even under adverse conditions. Although, tougher substrates are less likely to fracture or break, they operate at lower performance parameters and so tool life is not as long.

An ideal cutting tool material should resist flank and point wear, as well as deformation, be tough to resist breakage, does not chemically interact with the work piece material, resist oxidation and diffusion and have good resistance to sudden thermal changes.
Inserts are made from tungsten carbide, which is the most commonly used material for indexables. Other available material used for inserts includes cermet (CT), ceramics (CC), cubic boron nitride (CBN) or polycrystalline diamond (PCD). CT has good flank and crater wear resistance and is not prone to built-up-edge. Because of this, the cutting edge maintains its sharpness over a longer time.

CC has a wide application area in cutting hard materials (45-55 HRc) and has high resistance to abrasive and thermal conditions. CBN is an excellent cutting tool material and offers extremely hard high thermal resistance. CBN is utilized in materials such as hardened steels and cast iron.
PCD exists in two types (natural diamond or industrial diamond) and is utilized for non-ferrous materials, such as high silicon aluminium due to its high resistance to wear. As PCD is extremely hard and brittle, it is not a good choice for high hardness or impact applications.

Material – rotary
Round tools are traditionally made from High Speed Steel (HSS), High Speed Cobalt (HSCo or HSS-E) or Solid Carbide.
Carbon, Chromium, Tungsten, Molybdenum, Vanadium and Cobalt all make up the main alloy elements used within high speed steel cutting tools.
HSS is a medium alloy that has good machinability and performance. It offers toughness and is a cost-effective option for a wide variety of large scale drilling and threading applications in multiple materials.

However, it is not very wear resistant and so not suited to demanding, difficult conditions.
Cobalt high speed steel offers a good combination of toughness and hardness, providing good machinability and wear resistance. This makes the material suitable for drills, taps, milling cutters and reamers.
Solid Carbide is the most widely used and wear resistant cutting tool material today and is suitable for both round tool and indexable applications.

Performance & versatility – indexable
From a cost perspective, indexable inserts and tool holders represent a significant investment, however, they have the potential to last for longer periods of time. Also, when a replacement is needed, this is more time and cost efficient because of the need to only rotate or change the insert.

To support the long-term investment of indexable inserts, they are also interchangeable and versatile. Machinists have the ability to keep the cutter (or tool holder) in place while easily switching the inserts with varying alternative grades more suited to machining different work-piece materials.
Indexable cutting tools offer greater versatility in terms of performance than rotary tools, providing stable results even in adverse conditions and are able to perform multiple operations.

For example, the operational versatility for milling inserts includes plunging, helical interpolation, profiling and enlarging a hole. Indexable cutting tools can also offer much larger diameter capability than round tools.

Performance & versatility – rotary
Although round tools generally involve a large initial investment compared to inserts, this investment can be spread over the long-term with the added possibility of regrinding. This is not an option with inserts.
The geometry, substrate and coating of a round tool determine performance. Application specific tools have the potential to produce greater accuracy than general purpose tools. Also, the overall design allows the machine operator to achieve much smaller diameters.

The four-facet Split Point geometry, for example, used on rotary drills, was originally developed for deep oil holes in automotive crankshafts. Today, it is used on many drill designs for a wide variety of hard and soft materials. It can be applied to a variety of drill point angles, the most common being 135°.
This highlights the evolution of round tools where key features, developed for specialist and unique applications have, in time, expanded for use in a wide number of applications and materials.

A key benefit of the split point is easier and more precise self-centering and to prevent the tool from “walking” before penetrating the work-piece. The web thinning or split point greatly reduces thrust and adds a positive rake cutting edge that extends to the center of the drill.
In many materials the point will also act as a chip breaker to produce small chips which can be ejected more efficiently through the flutes. This is a distinct advantage in most applications, but especially when portable drilling or in a drill press where bushings cannot be used.

Summary
Both round tools and indexable tools have their own distinct advantages based on material, operation and user requirements. Each one continues to see on-going developments and improvements, including new geometries, coatings, substrates and manufacturing processes, such as edge preparations, surface finishing and other treatments.

As cutting tools, they present a collective offer to end-users by providing an overlap in diameters and applications, so that tooling engineers can assess and advise where and when it is appropriate to apply each.
Dormer Pramet has a range of support services, including printed publications, an E-shop and product selector tool, as well as face-to-face advice, to help make choosing the right cutting tool simple.

 

  • Follow @CNCTimes

Captcha is required.
Sorry Captcha Unsuccessful!!

Latest Technical Articles

  • 27 September, 2022

    Chapter 3: Importance of water-cooled bearing housing in turbocharger assembly

  • 26 September, 2022

    Chapter 2: Importance of brake calliper housing and calliper bracket in automotive braking system

  • 23 September, 2022

    Chapter 1: Importance of brake caliper housing in automotive braking system

  • 23 September, 2022

    Chapter 2: Importance of water-cooled bearing housing in turbocharger assembly

  • 15 September, 2022

    Chapter 1: Importance of water-cooled bearing housing in turbocharger assembly

  • 12 September, 2022

    Chapter 2: Importance of Fixed seal master cylinder precision machining in automobile braking system

  • 08 September, 2022

    Chapter 1: Importance of Fixed seal master cylinder precision machining in automobile braking system

  • 07 September, 2022

    Chapter 2: Importance of Tandem Master Cylinder precision machining in automobile braking system

  • 02 September, 2022

    Chapter 1: Importance of Tandem Master Cylinder precision machining in automobile braking system

  • 29 August, 2022

    Compressor housing Aluminum optimized process sequence

  • 25 August, 2022

    Chapter 2: Steering knuckle physical machining process op20

  • 24 August, 2022

    Chapter 1: Steering knuckle physical machining process op10-Operation 1

  • 22 August, 2022

    The detailed machining process for Cast Iron Steering knuckle

  • 17 August, 2022

    How to reduce the manufacturing cycle time of Turbocharger Compressor Housing

  • 11 August, 2022

    How to reduce cycle time for machining Steering Knuckle by 70%

  • 19 July, 2022

    Parametric Modelling

  • 28 June, 2022

    Journey from being a busy man to an efficient man!

  • 23 June, 2022

    Cool man knows how to manage work with cool mind

  • 20 June, 2022

    Satellite Man? All about easy documentation

  • 14 June, 2022

    Scheduled Man: All about forecasting and scheduling skills

  • 06 May, 2022

    Choose CNC jaw sets of right material

Previous Next

Related Technical Articles

  • 29 March, 2022

    Micro view of the cutting edge

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 17 February, 2022

    Look at the CUTTING EDGE!

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 15 February, 2022

    Can metal be 'cut' on machines?

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 15 February, 2022

    Look at the CUTTING EDGE!

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 07 February, 2022

    Can metal be 'cut' on machines?

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 19 February, 2019

    Group Technology: Operational Excellence in the Industry 4.0 Era

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 30 June, 2018

    Robotic Fettling for Iron Castings- A revolution in the foundry industry

    Category: Cutting Tools
  • 22 February, 2017

    How an insert is made

    Category: Cutting Tools

TESTIMONIALS VIEW MORE

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2019-11-19 17:57:22We would like to express our sincere appreciation for your service to us.You have provided us best marketing platform through CNCTime...

Mr.Adil Atar, Ass.Mng.Technical Sales & Service: Precision Machinekraft

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-10-21 09:00:00Dedication and determination is key to success and CNC Times team is evident to it - FARO Business Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd

Ms. Amrita Gokhale , FARO Business Technologies

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-08-25 00:00:00Seminar was really very good, please let us know about future seminars. we would like to attend the seminar on "Machining of the mate...

Roshan Deshmukh, Design Engineer - Ashvini Magnets Private Limited

FOLLOW US

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

    Machine Tools

    • CNC Lathe
    • Boring Machines
    • Drilling Machines
    • Spark Erosion
    • Wire Cut
    • Vertical Machining Centers - VMC
    • Horizontal Machining Centers - HMC
    • Grinding Machines
    • Gear Cutting Machines
    • Additive Manufacturing - RP
    • Multi-Axis Machines
    • Multi-Tasking Machines
    • Welding Machines
    • Presses
    • Laser Cutting
    • Others
    • IIoT

    Metrology

    • CMM
    • VMM ( Vision Measuring Machines )
    • PCMM ( Portable CMM )
    • Measuring Instruments
    • Probing Technology
    • 3D Scanners
    • Roundness Measurement
    • Surface Roughness Measurement
    • Contour Measuring Machines
    • Others

    Accessories

    • Workholding
    • Toolholders
    • Spindles
    • Coolants
    • Others

    Software

    • CAD
    • CAM
    • CAE
    • ERP
    • Inspection Software
    • Reverse Engineering Software
    • MES
    • Others

    Mechatronics

    • Robotics
    • Automation
    • CNC Controllers
    • Others

    Cutting Tools

    • Turning Tools
    • Milling Tools
    • Grinding Wheels
    • Drilling
    • Others

INDUSTRY VERTICALS

  • General
  • Automotive
  • Aerospace
  • Healthcare
  • Healthcare Engineering
  • FMCG
  • Consumer Durable
  • Defence
  • Electronics
  • Oil & Gas
  • Heritage
  • Heavy Engineering
  • Die & Mold
  • Plastic
  • Footwear
  • Jobshop

PROFILE

  • About us
  • Contact us

Terms of use

  • Privacy Policy
  • Payment Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Follow us on:

Download CNCTimes App:

Play Store
2023 © www.cnctimes.com  | Payment Policy   |   Terms and Conditions
Developed & Maintained by Deven Infotech