Cutting Tools

Tooling manufacturers, coating centres and reconditioning companies should exploit wet blasting as a powerful method of edge honing and face processing cutting tools to within a few microns, says Tim Berry, application specialist.

Cutting tools, used in the latest generation of machining centres, have to conform to ever higher standards of performance and accuracy.  To achieve this, tooling manufacturers and reconditioning companies need to exploit the best methods of achieving a precise cutting edge, for optimum accuracy and longevity.  Today, wet blasting is offering a powerful method of creating precise cutting edge profiles to within a few microns, says Tim Berry, application specialist.

I would imagine that when people think of Thailand manufacturing is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind.

It certainly wasn’t for me…

That was until we decided to look into the market opportunities that the ASEAN region could bring for providing wet blasting solutions.

Vapormatt is to open a new sales and technical support centre in Thailand, extending its service to customers in Southeast Asia.  The new office will bring Vapormatt closer to companies within the region who require advice, systems and services from the global leaders in wet blasting technology, including all the latest knowhow and specialist maintenance to help keep their machines in optimum condition.

Increasingly cutting tool manufacturers are coming to Vapormatt as they want even greater control over their edge preparation processes.

With EMO only a few weeks away it seems timely that I shed some light on the importance of control when it comes to applying more challenging radii that are commonly known as “waterfall” or “trumpet” hones.

Vapormatt has redesigned its high performance wet blasting system, the Jaguar, to further enhance performance.

The Vapormatt Tiger+ processing centre - a fully automatic, in-line wet blasting, cleaning and drying system - saves time and money for users by combining several processes in one automated unit.  Vapormatt’s Tiger+ Processing Centre uses sophisticated process control and monitoring to deliver exceptional performance, helping manufacturers of cutting inserts to improve productivity and quality.

CVD coatings are applied at considerably high temperatures, normally between 925-1075 degrees centigrade. With the amount of energy that is required to apply the coatings can make failure at this stage an expensive mistake to correct.

With the nature of high temperature coatings, when applied to a cemented carbide surface, the process can create cooling cracks and particularly high tensile stresses; caused by the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion between the two.

On show for the first time at this year’s EMO exhibition is the latest wet blast innovation from Vapormatt, which will help tooling manufacturers improve productivity still further.  

As part of its ongoing development programme, Vapormatt, the leading manufacturer of wet blast systems for edge preparation, has invested in the latest precision measuring system from Alicona. The new IF-EdgeMaster is an optical 3D surface measurement system that plays a crucial role, helping Vapormatt with its ISO9001 quality control procedures and enabling the company to demonstrate to customers the repeatability and accuracy of results that are achievable from its range of