The Austrian manufacturer of hard metals and precision tools Boehlerit from Kapfenberg relies on a high level of vertical integration. With a CC800 HiPIMS coating system from Cemecon as one of the key components, the company is setting new standards in the machining of high-performance materials, according to the Aachen-based system manufacturer.
HiPIMS brings competitive advantages in machining
High-performance impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) increases the quality and performance of coatings: Coatings applied using this process are very smooth, hard and tough at the same time. They have excellent adhesion and provide wear protection for the tool thanks to the uniform coating thickness distribution.
Boehlerit also benefits from the flexibility of the coating systems. This means that coatings can be individually adapted to the requirements of special applications and, for example, coatings with adapted residual stresses can be produced.
Boehlerit has developed new indexable inserts for machining unalloyed titanium grades such as Ti (ASTM1-11), α alloys or α+β alloys (e.g. Ti-6Al-4V). In practice, these achieve up to 40 percent longer tool lives than conventional tools. According to André Feiel, Head of the Machining segment at Boehlerit, this is due to a combination of carbide, chip former geometry and a 3 µm thick HiPIMS coating based on Alucon (TiB2).
The low affinity to non-ferrous metals and the high hardness make the TiB2 coating so suitable for machining titanium with sharp cutting edges. The HiPIMS coating material protects against built-up edges, the smooth surface helps with chip removal and the lower friction reduces the temperature in the machining process. The result is longer tool life. The adhesion, coupled with the hardness of up to 5,000 HV0.05, enables high performance.
Best results when milling stainless steels
High abrasive wear, poor chip breaking, built-up edges - milling stainless steels is one of the most demanding tasks in machining technology. "Such high demands require a sophisticated tool concept," says Feiel. With this in mind, Boehlerit has developed the BCM35M and BCM40M grades for milling stainless steels.
Both milling grades consist of ultra-fine grain carbides with an optimized hardness-toughness ratio - i.e. abrasion resistance paired with fracture toughness. Boehlerit determined the chip formers and edge finishing after simulations and application tests. Feiel explains: "We are breaking new ground with the coating and have developed a multilayer HiPIMS coating: it consists of alternating AlTiN and AlCrN individual layers." The multilayer structure results in good abrasion resistance, even at higher temperatures, combined with good fracture toughness. It also delays the formation of cracks. Smooth layer surfaces minimize built-up edges and ensure very good machining results when milling stainless steels.