Major product launches by Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal at recent international machine tool shows in Japan, Germany and the USA featured developments in Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) and poly-crystalline Boron Nitride (PCBN) for hard turning, along with new milling inserts and drill range extensions.

Developed using a totally new direct-conversion sintering method, Sumitomo’s Sumiboron NCB100 is said to offer a breakthrough for turning high-specification hard-to-cut materials by giving up to 50-times greater insert life than traditional carbide inserts.

The high-stability NCB100 features an ultra-hard ‘binder-less’ PCBN that is produced using grains – just a few tens of nano-metres in size – that are directly bonded to each other.

Also featuring Sumitomo’s binder-less technology for turning applications was its NPD10 and DA90 inserts.

NPD10 is targeted at the high-precision machining of tungsten carbide, as well as hard and brittle materials.

DA90, which has greater levels of stability due to its larger poly-crystalline diamond particles, is designed for rough machining cemented carbide, as well as other hard and brittle materials.

For more information contact Carbide Solutions and Innovations on TEL: 011 392 2000