3 New Ways to Maximize Your Steel-Turning Operations

By Chad Miller, Product Manager –Turning and Advanced Materials

When a new insert grade comes to market, it typically reflects a compromise between impact and wear resistance – toughness and hardness. The reason being is that cutting tool companies often develop grades to maximize performance in specific manufacturing conditions, but a grade made for one situation can prove less productive in another. 

For example, manufacturers that want to machine at fast cutting speeds usually choose an insert grade with high hardness and heat resistance, but these tools often break in interrupted cuts. And on the flip side, a tougher tool lacks the heat resistance necessary to withstand the elevated temperatures generated in high-speed machining.

There is, however, three new ways for shops focused on steel-turning applications to overcome this common conundrum: TP2501, TP1501 and TP0501. These three new insert grades, which feature our next-generation Duratomic® technology, achieve the elusive balance of toughness and hardness when machining steel alloys, stainless steels and even cast iron.

Plus, the application areas for our latest TP grades overlap to cover every possible steel-turning need, whether the goal is versatile, balanced or high-speed productivity. And as machining challenges continue to change, these grades provide shops with options.      

TP2501, for example, is the tougher, general-application grade of the trio. It provides the broadest working range and is a good starting point for those processing short runs of parts in various steel alloys. The operations may include rough machining and some interrupted cuts. The toughness of the grade permits with- or without-coolant application. Overall, the focus of the TP2501 grade is on reliably completing jobs and not so much optimizing operations for maximum output.

For higher-production situations where there’s time to optimize the machining parameters, the TP1501 grade provides a higher hardness for increased cutting speeds. Typical applications would be in the automotive industry, where a combination of maximum parts-per-hour production and solid reliability are goals. Because of the grade’s higher hardness and maximized edge toughness, it brings enhanced wear and deformation resistance in low-to-medium temperature, semi-interrupted cutting conditions. Coolant use with TP1501 is optional.

Engineered to perform well in turning operations that generate high temperatures, such as long, continuous passes at heavy depths of cut, the heat-resistant TP0501 grade can be run without coolant in many situations. A balance of high edge hardness and toughness boosts the wear resistance of TP0501 inserts, especially for more stable high-temperature, continuous cutting conditions. TP0501 is made to cut all types of steels, with a particular emphasis on high-alloy workpiece materials.

Overall, these new TP grades provide the often-unachievable balance of hardness and toughness to truly optimize machining operations. And in combination, they represent an integrated, efficient solution for steel-turning operations industry-wide.

If you have questions about these new TP grades, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can also sample one of these new grades for free by visiting freeduratomic.com and answering a few basic questions about your steel-turning application.

About the Author  

Chad manages Seco's turning and advanced materials product lines, including all CBN and PCD products. When he's not helping customers implement advanced metalcutting solutions, you can find him training for and running 5K, 10K and 1/2 marathon races and triathlons.