PCBN Grades increase tool life 100%.
Press Release Summary:
KB9640 aluminum oxide, chemical vapor deposition coated PCBN is for roughing to semifinishing of hardened steels, sintered cast iron, and gray, ductile, and malleable cast iron. It is offered in negative styles only including round, square, triangles, and 80°, 55°, and 35° diamond shapes. KB5625 titanium aluminum nitride, physical vapor deposition coated PCBN is for finish turning of hardened steels with moderate to heavy interruptions. It comes in negative rake and screw-on positive rake inserts.
Original Press Release:
New Coated PCBN Grades Offer 2X Higher Life on Hardened Materials
(Latrobe, PA; February 28, 2003) -- Kennametal has introduced two new coated polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) cutting tool grades that can increase tool life 100% or more compared to conventional uncoated PCBN cutting tools. KB9640 is the industry's first aluminum oxide chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coated PCBN and is designed for roughing to semifinishing of hardened steels, sintered cast iron, and gray, ductile, and malleable cast iron. KB5625 is a titanium aluminum nitride physical vapor deposition (PVD) coated PCBN designed for finish turning of hardened steels with moderate to heavy interruptions. "These two new grades provide dramatic improvements over ceramics and uncoated PCBNs because the coating resists chemical reactions that are the normal failure mode with these materials," said Randy Stas, Product Specialist for Kennametal. "In a typical example, KB9640 machined a cast iron roll with a highly abrasive, high silicon outer layer in two to three hours, eliminating the need for rough grinding and turning operations that used to take an entire day."
"Usage of PCBN cutting tools is growing at double-digit rates because of the outstanding performance they offer in machining hardened parts," said Al Gates, Kennametal Staff Engineer. "While PCBN is an extraordinarily hard material, Kennametal materials engineers recognized that it normally fails through crater wear due to a chemical reaction of the workpiece with the boron or nitrogen in the tool. We've managed to greatly improve its tool life by applying a relatively inert coating that serves as a barrier to chemical reactions. The considerable challenge involved in making the coating adhere to PCBN helps explain Kennametal's substantial lead in this field. No competitive PVD-coated PCBN grades have come close to matching the performance of KB5625 and no other company has even introduced a CVD alumina-coated PCBN cutting tool."
KB9640 is an aluminum oxide coated high-content solid PCBN grade that is available only in Kendex negative styles including round, square, triangles, and 80 degree, 55 degree, and 35 degree diamond shapes. This new material saved a hard cast iron roll manufacturer $67,500 per year by increasing tool life from 36.3 minutes to 97.5 minutes, saving 167 hours per year in tool changes. In another application on a cast iron truck brake disk, the new material reduced tool change downtime by 36%, saving the manufacturer $8,666.67 per year.
KB5625 is a low-content PCBN tip that is brazed into a pocket in a carbide substrate ground to specification and coated with titanium aluminum nitride. This product is available in Kenloc negative rake and screw-on positive rake inserts. It is also offered in a specially designed wiper geometry that smoothes out feed marks on the workpiece surface. In a typical example, KB5625 saved $12,122 per year for a manufacturer of 4320 steel heavy equipment side gear by providing a 118% increase in tool life, which saved nearly 14 hours per month in indexing. In another application, this grade reduced downtime on an 8620 steel heavy truck transmission counter shaft, saving $6735 per year.
For more details on these and other Kennametal products, please call 800-446-7738 or visit www.kennametal.com.
