Carbide Endmills, Quality Initiative

Toolmex has introduced to the machine tool market their newest solid carbide endmill product line as well as their quality assurance lab (QAL). The SharC high performance solid carbide endmill product line is stated to deliver 50% to 200% increased productivity. Toolmex's QAL is dedicated to new product innovation and manufacturing consistency.

Toolmex's Tooling Division General Manager Alex Lorenz commenting on the importance of the launches says, "This is a major step forward for Toolmex as a quality-driven company focused on increasing customer productivity especially in demanding markets such as medical, aerospace and power generation with high performance, precision products and solutions with consistent dependability."

The SharC - C for Carbide - product line of high performance endmills feature advanced geometries, coatings and flute polish not commonly found on other products in the market today. SharC endmills are geared to highprecision and performance-driven cutting applications to enable high speed operation without having to slow down to cut corners, faster feed times, single-pass floor axial finish, longer tool life, and reduced machine stress for as much as 50% to 200% greater customer productivity.

The SharC line features three product families. First is Mako, which is the "fastest, most agile" tool for cutting straight and corners in non-ferrous and aluminum metals. Next is Tiger, the multipurpose "eats anything" tool for roughing, slotting and semi-roughing ferrous metals and high temp steels. Then there is the Megamouth for finishing and semirough profiling of the "toughest" steel and nickel-based alloys. In addition to the three endmills, custom angles can be manufactured upon request.

The SharC offers a variable helix with advanced geometry to run smoother with reduced vibration. There are two long teeth on centerline and two short teeth off centerline. A changing helix - beginning flute of 35° and ending flute of 45° allows the endmills to cut faster and run smoother with less chatter, even in corners, because of the increased flute. The wiper delivers 5rms finish in a single pass. Gash rollout produces better chip flow when slotting for extended tool life - the chips flow up the center of the tool easier, avoiding chip recutting while the polished flutes offer better chip flow for longer tool life.

Dedicated QA Lab

The new QA Lab occupies dedicated space at Toolmex headquarters to support product research & development and manufacturing delivery of consistently high quality products to improve customer productivity. The QA Lab contains state of the art measurement and inspection equipment representing an initial capital investment of approximately $100,000 and staffed with quality technicians. The Lab's equipment will enable Toolmex to test virtually any aspect of tooling precision, durability and performance including hardness, outside and inside dimensions, chuck runouts, thread accuracy and dimensions, and many other criteria.

As part of a corporate-wide initiative to focus on quality the company is enhancing the processes, procedures and policies for assuring customers that product quality is documented and certified with verified tolerances and performance on an ongoing basis.