SumoCham, the complete line of drills with exchangeable carbide cutting heads, is one of Iscar’s most innovative and successful products. SumoCham’s history started at the turn of the century, and this family is known for being one of the significant developments in Iscar’s product range.

The SumoCham line is intended for high-speed drilling and is well regarded for its productivity, reliability, usability, and versatility. It addresses a common challenge in drilling operations: the time-consuming process of changing the entire drill. With SumoCham only the drilling head needs to be replaced, which can be done quickly, without regrinding, and without any additional setup procedure. This No-Setup-Time design concept allows for the replacement of the head without withdrawing the drill from the machine spindle, significantly reducing machine downtime.

Over the years, Iscar has continued to expand and upgrade the S SumoCham line and its derivatives, introducing new features and innovations to further improve performance and productivity. Therefore, it is understandable that the LogiQuick campaign could not overlook the continued development of such effective and popular drilling tools. Predictably, the new designs that enhanced the company’s holemaking portfolio were of interest to manufacturers involved in metal cutting.

Fig 1

Iscar’s assembled drills with exchangeable three-flute heads have already received enough space for discussion. Hence, we can limit ourselves to mentioning that this concept has enabled Iscar to create a family of counterboring tools, which seems promising. Combining the SumoCham with a MULTI-MASTER connection substantially expands the product range providing new options for finding optimal tool configurations.

In addition, the development of the line can be seen in various directions. One of them is QuickDrill – a family of drills with exchangeable carbide heads designed primarily for machining under challenging conditions, such as entering or exiting slanted surfaces, drilling through cross holes etc. Each drill in this family features a robust head securing mechanism that incorporates the SumoCham self-clamping principle and a side lock screw (Fig. 1). The drill body is made from high-grade steel and includes a specially shaped flute to optimise the strength characteristics of the body’s cross-section. Dual nozzles deliver a large volume of coolant directly to the cutting zone, maintaining uninterrupted coolant flow. Additionally, the head’s specially designed geometry significantly enhances the drill’s ability to withstand unfavourable machining conditions. Moreover, the nearly straight and polished flute facilitates the use of the drill on lathes as a stationary tool, allowing for smooth chip evacuation.

Fig 2

ModuDrill, a family of modular hole-making tools, has expanded with new replaceable heads designed for relatively large diameters ranging from 30mm to 40mm. These products feature two fully effective cutting edges: one SumoCham head at the centre and two trigon-shaped indexable inserts on the periphery (Fig. 2). In the modular assembly, the newly introduced replaceable heads enable stable and productive drilling up to an 8:1 hole-depth-to-diameter ratio without the need for a pre-drilled hole.

One more interesting development relates to the ongoing evolution of the miniature-part-machining sector and the growing demands for improved performance of small-sized tools. Iscar’s PICCO products, which are specifically designed for various micro-machining operations providing high accuracy and fine surface quality, are well known on the market and have received good marks from manufacturers. According to the design concept, a typical PICCO tool comprises a steel holder and a carbide cutting part that is inserted into the holder. The major application range of these product relates to turning and parting, grooving and threading, and this explains the popularity of PICCO as an efficient tool for Swiss-Type machines and small CNC lathes.

The LogiQuick campaign has unveiled intriguing additions to the PICCO line that show great promise. The primary focus of these new additions is to make the carbide insert suitable for holemaking operations. One of the new products is a solid carbide drill equipped with a shank designed for PICCO connections. The drill’s internal channels facilitate direct coolant flow to the cutting edge, improving cooling and lubrication effects, and chip removal. Additionally, its slim design enhances accessibility, allowing for machining in hard-to-reach areas.

Fig 3

The next new development integrates SumoCham and PICCO into one advantageous solution. It is represented by a durable body with the PICCO connection that mounts an exchangeable SumoCham drilling head (Fig. 3). The internal coolant supply, exceptional dimensional repeatability during head replacement, and high versatility due to the body’s compatibility with a wide range of heads make this product worth mentioning.

The third PICCO enhancement is aimed at improving performance in internal turning (boring) and chamfering operations. It introduces a new insert for PICCO holders that includes three effective cutting edges. Like the previously discussed products, this insert also utilises internal coolant channels to improve chip control and extend tool life.

In holemaking, the Multi-Master concept of an assembled tool with exchangeable solid carbide cutting heads, secured in the tool body with a threaded connection, has especially attracted attention when drilling at shallow depths. The efficient three-flute design of the LOGIQ-3-CHAM drill geometry, coupled with the exceptional robustness of the Multi-Master approach, has resulted in a new productive solution for shallow-depth drilling applications (Fig. 4), specifically when machining materials that generate short chips.

Fig 4

Continuing the review of the latest LogiQuick products, other new developments in the holemaking field should also be mentioned. These include slim hydraulic chucks that enable high rotational speeds and feature impressive runout repeatability, double-chamfer guide pads for deep-hole drilling tools to ensure smooth entry and improve surface finish, and extra-long solid carbide drills for machining cast iron (ISO K application group).

The digital component of a drilling tool has expanded its offerings with a new function for e-catalogue users: the Geometry Checker, which allows for quick and easy selection of the correct drilling heads for various operations.

Summarising the above, it is evident that the new LogiQuick development in holemaking not only continues the advancement of the company’s successful lines. It reaffirms Iscar’s distinctive hallmarks: a commitment to enhancing customer profitability through the creation of highly versatile tools that utilise high-performance cutting.

For further details contact Iscar South Africa on TEL: 011 997 2700 or visit www.iscar.com