Developed for the fine finishing of a wide range of materials on CNC sliding head lathes, Decotec LC415X is a totally new range of polished and ground inserts providing a choice of ultra-precise tip radius of either 0.08 or 0.015 mm. Available through LMT (UK) of Coventry, this range of inserts with its special design of radius also incorporates a shearing edge of up to five microns that enables the sharpness of the insert to be maintained over extended periods of running.

Said LMT's managing director Trevor Tolley: "The right combination of the radius, coating and edge sharpness was important in the development of this insert because so many of these sliding head lathe operations are subjected to long periods of limited or totally unmanned running. This means a predictable ‘in-cut' performance is vital."

Indeed, two recent trials on shafts made from Inconel and titanium on sliding head lathes running with soluble oil coolant gave 20 and 30 per cent increases respectively in the ‘in-cut' life and number of parts produced between changes. The Inconel 600 shaft component was run at 50 m/min with 0.3 mm depth of cut and 0.02 mm rev feed rate from which LMT's application engineer was able to improve the number of components produced from 600 to 800 per insert.

A further trial turning a titanium shaft at 30 m/min with 0.5 mm depth of cut and 0.015 mm/rev feed rate led to the insert being changed at 3,000 parts - this achieved an increase of 500 parts.

The combination of the five micron Nano-X PVD coating on the insert followed by grinding and polishing rather than being subjected to the normal honed finish ensures a very sharp edge and the 0.1 mm radius is maintained.

This makes the insert ideal for profiling and finishing free cutting steel at up to 200 m/min with up to 0.15 mm/rev feed, aluminium between 200 and 800 m/min and up to 0.3 mm/rev feed, titanium up to 90 m/min and up to 0.15 mm/rev feed and brass machined up to 500 m/min with a feed rate up to 0.3 mm/rev. 

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