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.
Latest Cutting Tools Articles
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Sandvik Coromant Milling Insert Grade Enhances Cast Iron Machining
Sandvik Coromant introduces the GC1220 indexable milling insert grade, optimized for nodular cast iron with advanced coating technology for improved performance and reliability.
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5 Tips for Machining Nickel-Based Alloys
Choosing the right tools and processes can maximize tool life and reduce production time when machining these tough materials.
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Ceratizit Milling Cutter Line Enhances Superalloy Machining
Ceratizit USA Inc. updates the MonsterMill ISO-S series with a six-flute cutter for improved surface finishes and efficiency in nickel- and titanium-based alloy machining.
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Roughing First: New Strategies for Blisk Machining
Aerospace shops looking to cut cycle time and tool wear on integrally bladed rotors often focus on finishing. But rethinking the roughing stage can increase how much material can be safely removed while accelerating throughput.
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Seco Drill Provides High-Feed Performance
The Seco X-Tip Drill features a high-feed geometry provides faster, cleaner holes with less downtime, while its recyclable tips support sustainability goals.
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Erowa Giant Tooling System Enhances High-Precision Heavy-Duty Machining
Erowa Technology Inc. introduces the Giant Tooling System (GTS), designed for robust and efficient machining of large and heavy workpieces in demanding environments.
WatchLatest Milling Tools Articles
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How to Mitigate Chatter to Boost Machining Rates
There are usually better solutions to chatter than just reducing the feed rate. Through vibration analysis, the chatter problem can be solved, enabling much higher metal removal rates, better quality and longer tool life.
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IMCO Carbide Tool Inc. End Mills Provide Faster Part Cycles
The M936 Pow-R-Feed series is designed to make various toolpath moves without slowing down, providing faster cycle times and more production.
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Twin Spindle Design Doubles Production of Small Parts
After experiencing process stalls in the finishing stage of production, Bryan Machine Service designed an air-powered twin spindle and indexable rotating base to effectively double its production of small parts.
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New Modular Tool Options for Small Spindle Milling
Tooling options have been limited for small spindle milling applications. Now modular, indexable systems are available that provide broad flexibility to get the right cutter for the job with less inventory and at lower cost.
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A More Efficient Way to Cut Near-Net Parts
Choosing the right milling insert is important: This insert from Iscar is designed for finishing near-net shaped parts quickly, while another makes high-feed machining more accessible with existing machining centers.
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High Feed Rates or Deep Cuts - Which is Faster?
Comparing high-feed milling to other kinds, it is clear that the high feed and metal removal rates deliver on promises, but sometimes slowing down the feed and increasing the depth of cut will still end up faster.
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Heule Deburring Tool Designed for Micromachining in a Wide Range of Materials
The DL2 deburring tool is designed to provide high efficiency and process reliability on even and slightly uneven bore edges.
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How to Accelerate Robotic Deburring & Automated Material Removal
Pairing automation with air-driven motors that push cutting tool speeds up to 65,000 RPM with no duty cycle can dramatically improve throughput and improve finishing.
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Choosing the Right Drill Type
Specifying the right option for your application can save time and tools.
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Heule Cutting Tool Provides Chatter-Free Countersinks
PMTS 2025: GH-K tooling is well suited for conventional milling of chamfers around the perimeter of larger holes or entire parts.
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Monaghan Reaming System Provides Long Service Life
The Diatool Top Speed Ring modular reaming system features multiblade design with uneven spacing of cutting edges to create round and cylindrical bores.
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Increasing Productivity in Drilling Holes in Steel
A new three-fluted drill designed for high production can improve the speed of drilling holes in steel by 50% while improving roundness and accuracy.
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How to Choose the Best Drill Type for Your Next Job
Five questions to ask when deciding between solid carbide drills or replaceable insert.
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Toolpath Improves Chip Management for Swiss-Type Lathes
This simple change to a Swiss-type turning machine’s toolpath can dramatically improve its ability to manage chips.
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Modulated CNC Turning: How a Reversal in the Tool Path Can Deliver Greater Cutting Speed
UNCC researchers introduce modulation into the tool path. Chip breaking was the goal, but higher metal removal rate is an intriguing secondary effect.
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Video: Chipbreakers Are Not All the Same—How to Break Chips Effectively
Different chipbreakers are engineered for different parameters. Machining footage shows the difference in effectiveness between chipbreakers used in the right and the wrong applications.
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Latest Cutting Tools News And Updates
Tungaloy Round-Insert Cutter Enhances Stability in Steel Machining
Tungaloy-NTK America Inc. expands its RoundSplit series with serrated cutting edge inserts and wear-resistant PVD grade AH3135 for improved surface finish in steel and stainless steel applications.
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Heule Holemaking Tool Enhances Precision on Uneven Surfaces
Heule Precision Tool’s Comp V3 is designed for drilling and countersinking uneven surfaces without marking, well suited for aerospace and others where critical finishes are required.
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Allied Machine Drill, Chamfer Holders Reduce Tool Changes
The T-A Pro product line now includes drill and chamfer holders, giving users the ability to drill and chamfer a hole in a single operation.
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Tungaloy Milling Tools Optimize Wear, Fracture Resistance
The AH3225 grade features Tungaloy’s “Triple Nano Coating,” offering a combination of wear resistance, fracture toughness and oxidation resistance.
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Platinum Tooling Lineup Provides Machining Flexibility
Platinum Tooling’s premium lines include live tools and angle heads from Heimatec, Swiss-type collets/guide bushings from Tecnicrafts, mechanical, air and motor spindles from Henninger and Quick knurling and marking tools from Hommel + Keller.
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Seco Tools Face Milling System Provides Flexible Finishing Performance
The .38 Finishing Face Mill / SNFX1204 system features three cutter variants — fixed pocket, hybrid and adjustable — each tailored to different levels of control and performance.
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Featured Posts
Understanding Process Damping in Milling Operations
Despite the advances in modeling machining operations over the past decades, process damping remains a topic of interest, including new tool designs that increase the effect.
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New Possibilities from Process Consolidation, Customization, AI and More at MT Technology Series East 2025
When do broadening capabilities outweigh specialization (and vice versa)? In our recap of MT Technology Series East 2025, find out how the latest generation of machines, tooling and software answers that question.
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A New Frontier in Surface Finish Control
What if your machine tool could measure surface roughness as it cuts? This article explores how in-process metrology is advancing from concept to reality, enabling real-time feedback, immediate detection of anomalies and new levels of control over surface quality. Discover the technologies making this possible.
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Picking the Right End Mill
Kennametal global product manager Katie Myers explains how cutting tool features can impact machining strategies for different materials.
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Inside the Process of Cutting Tool Recycling
Global Tungsten & Powders, part of the Ceratizit Group, sheds light on the processing steps that convert a shop’s used inserts into new tools and other applications.
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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.
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.
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
Cutting Tools Supplier Categories
- Deburring Tools (Machine Tool Spindle-Mounted)
- Collets, Solid & Master
- Milling Cutters
- Tap Drivers & Attachments
- End Mills
- Tool Presetters
- Boring Tools & Heads for Machining Centers
- Spline Rolling Tools
- Tooling Materials, Ceramics
- Drills
- Drill Bushings
- Diamond Tools
- Mass Finishing Media & Compounds
- Spline Inserts
- Shear Blades
- Threading Tools - Cutting
- Facing Tools/Heads
- Tool Storage & Handling Systems
- Thread Chasers
- Boring Tools
- Punching Tools/Dies
- Collets for Toolholding
- Gear Cutting & Rolling Tools
- Cut-Off Tools/Attachments
- Grooving Tools
- Inserts, Indexable (Carbide, etc.) & Tool Inserts
- Tool Repair, Coating & Treatment Services
- Thread Whirling Tools
- Key Seating Tools
- Tooling Materials, Carbides
- Broaching Tools
- Taps
- Grinding Wheels & Belts
- Tooling Systems, Modular and/or Quick-Change
- Slotting Saws
- Thread Milling Cutters
- Endworking Tools
- Tool Blanks
- Burnishing Tools (Roller)
- Grinding Wheel Dressing Units
- Retention Knobs
- Drilling Heads/Attachments
- Threading Tools
- Honing & Lapping Tools
- Serration Tooling
- Protective Sleeves & Coatings (for Cutting Tools)
- Milling Heads/Attachments
- Tool Conditioning & Monitoring
- Form Tools
- Gundrills
- Burnishing, Honing & Lapping Tools
- Saw Blades
- Die & Mold Components
- Buffing & Polishing Supplies
- Knurling Tools
- Arbors (for Cutters)
- Counterbores/Countersinks
- Abrasive Compounds & Slurries
- Marking Tools
- Shaving Tools
- Boring Tools for Turning Machines
- Reamers
- Drill Chucks
- Toolholders
- Chamfering Tools
- Thread Rolls & Dies
- Threading Tools - Forming