Cutting Tools

The broad category of “cutting tools” includes all of the consumable tooling involved in milling, drilling, turning and other lathe and machining center operations.

Drills, end mills, taps, reamers and inserts are all included here. Consumable tooling used on certain other types of machine tools is included here as well. Also found here are toolholders and closely related accessories such as angle heads. Supplier pages, FAQs related to cutting and cutting tools can be found here, as well as essential reading on the topic and all of the latest Modern Machine Shop cutting tools coverage.

Briquetting Manufacturer Tools Up for Faster Turnaround Times
Cutting Tools

Briquetting Manufacturer Tools Up for Faster Turnaround Times

To cut out laborious manual processes like hand-grinding, this briquette manufacturer revamped its machining and cutting tool arsenal for faster production.

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Walter USA
Try TRIM® Cutting and Grinding Fluid FREE!
Horn USA
IMCO
T.J. Davies
Sumitomo
Horn USA

Latest Cutting Tools News And Updates

Cutting Tools

H.B. Carbide Grade Performs in Highly Abrasive Operations

The HB-3 grade is a submicron carbide well suited for wear parts and cutting tools being used in non-ferrous machining applications.

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Turning Tools

Tungaloy Modular Turning System Provides High Repeatability

The ModuMiniTurn tool system incorporates a specialized coupling mechanism between the modular head and tool shank.

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Holemaking

Walter Indexable Drill Inserts Provide High Wear Resistance

The WNN15 drilling grade features a hard substrate, which provides high cutting-edge strength and sharpness on indexable inserts.

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Turning Tools

Sandvik Coromant Grooving Tool Provides Stable Performance

The CoroCut 2 system features an improved clamping finger design, which offers a higher clamping force and better side stability.

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Milling Tools

Tungaloy Milling Inserts Enhance Cutting Performance

TungAluMill is designed for efficient machining of aluminum alloys and other non-ferrous materials at high speeds.

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Milling Tools

Walter Ceramic Inserts Enable Efficient Turning, Milling

Suitable turning and milling applications of the WIS30 ceramic grade include roughing, semi-finishing and finishing, as well as interrupted cuts.

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Z-Carb HPR | Series Z5
Ingersoll Cutting Tools
Iscar
IMTS 2024
Retention Knobs

Featured Posts

Holemaking

Custom PCD Tools Extend Shop’s Tool Life Upward of Ten Times

Adopting PCD tooling has extended FT Precision’s tool life from days to months — and the test drill is still going strong.

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Cutting Tools

High-Feed Machining Dominates Cutting Tool Event

At its New Product Rollout, Ingersoll showcased a number of options for high-feed machining, demonstrating the strategy’s growing footprint in the industry.

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Milling Tools

The Impact of Cutting Teeth Spacing on Machining Stability

Many cutter designs are available, and variable teeth spacing (or variable pitch) cutters can be used to influence milling stability. Let’s discuss why teeth spacing affects stability.

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Cutting Tools

How to Troubleshoot Issues With Tool Life

Diagnosing when a tool is failing is important because it sets an expectation and a benchmark for improvements. Finding out why gives us a clue for how to fix it.

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Holemaking

Form Tapping Improves Tool Life, Costs

Moving from cut tapping to form tapping for a notable application cut tooling costs at Siemens Energy and increased tool life a hundredfold.

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Cutting Tools

Considerations for Properly Implementing Advanced Tool Materials

Many shops incorrectly assume advanced tools are plug and play. The tools may fit into existing tool holders, or even into the same shell mill pockets or turning pocket as carbide inserts, but that’s where the similarities end.

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CHIRON Group, one stop solution for manufacturing.
The view from my shop.
MMS Top Shops
IMTS 2024
Walter USA

FAQ: Cutting Tools

Why is through-tool coolant valuable, and why are shops are seeing greater need for it?

Getting coolant to the cutting edge is critical for any manufacturing application. It helps in cooling the cutting zone, provides very needed lubrication, and can assist in breaking a chip. Many times, external lines are used to splash coolant near the work zone. Long Chips can easily interfere with this delivery method, possibly knocking the lines out of the way. Additionally, when tools need to be changed or indexed coolant lines might be moved for better access to the tool. Then when the line is put back it is never the same as it previously was. Often times there is a give-and-take methodology used to cover areas being machined with this coolant, so all tools get some cooling, but none of them get ideal cooling. A coolant-through tool allows pinpoint accuracy with a specific direction of coolant pointed exactly at the cutting zone.

Source: Q&A: Trends in Cutting Tool Application

Through-tool coolant is available on cutters that couldn't offer it before. What has changed in the technology of tool manufacturing to make this possible?

There’s been a big change is the ability to drill small-diameter holes very deep and do this in a production atmosphere. Part of this comes from the drilling machines being able to reach the necessary speeds and holders that provide superior clamping and runout. The other part comes from tools designed specifically for this drilling application.

On a coolant-through tool, material could be added in areas that may need additional strength, allowing for the intersecting coolant ports to be drilled accordingly.

Source: Q&A: Trends in Cutting Tool Application

What aspect of tool engineering is responding to greater cutting speed?

Machines and tools seem to have a back-and-forth dance in terms of which is leading. Coatings continue to evolve, with more layers, and different material being used. This is something all tool manufactures are playing with on some level. The changes in coating technology is somewhat more limited, and not as many are playing in this arena. One process that comes to mind is “HiPIMS,” or high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. This process uses microsecond timing of extreme-power pulses. This allows the metal to ionize to nano size particles to be deposited on the tools. This process allows for greater adhesion and coating hardness, while maintaining great lubricity. Additionally, this process has greatly reduced compressive stresses. This reduction allows for smaller edge preps to be used, thus resulting in sharper tools.

Why is diamond used as an industrial cutting tool?

Developments in polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cubic boron nitride (CBN) have allowed these materials to improve in ways that make them more versatile and cost-effective. Meanwhile, the machining speed and tool life of these tools continue to take machining processes to levels of performance where carbide cannot go.

Through long tool life and fast cutting parameters, the tools increase machine capacity by reducing the frequency of tool replacements and allowing machines to make parts at a greater rate. Meanwhile, the tooling increasingly figures into expert solutions tailored to more demanding applications in various industries.

Source: The New Rules of Cutting Tools - Rule #3: Diamond Shouldn't Be Rare

What are cutting tools made of?

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD), cubic boron nitride (CBN), ceramic, high-speed steel (HHS), cemented carbide or cermet.

Sources: What's Happening With Cutting Tools

Why Binderless CBN Inserts Turn Titanium Faster

Precision Components
Koma Precision
Z-Carb HPR | Series Z5

Cutting Tools Supplier Categories

Ingersoll Cutting Tools