Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) will be showing the most recent developments in cutting tool materials from its Industrial Materials Division at the forthcoming 27th Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF 2014) which will be held in Tokyo from October 30 to November 4, 2014.

One of the most significant breakthroughs is a new sintered diamond cutting tool insert with a 3D chip breaker designed into the tip of the insert which has been specifically developed for the machining of aluminium alloys Designated Sumidia Break Master LD Type and GD Type, the sintered diamond inserts are produced from Sumidia DA ultrafine diamond particles sintered to a high density in order to deliver excellent wear resistance and fracture toughness. The LD Type insert is designed for finish machining whilst the GD Type is for semi-finishing.

SEI will also show its new CVD coated AC6030M and PVD coated AC6040M cutting tool inserts developed for turning stainless steels. Stainless steels are not easy materials to machine as the material’s surface can harden which tends to chip the edge of the insert. Also the low thermal conductivity of stainless steel can cause high temperatures in the insert resulting in plastic deformation.

The new AC6030M and AC6040M coated inserts are claimed to have resolved these problems. SEI states that the AC6030M inserts are CVD coated using a newly developed boron-titanium compound, whilst the AC6040M inserts use a TiAlSiN coating on a newly developed super-multilayered thin substrate structure in the cemented carbide combined with enhanced surface control technology between the substrate and the coating for improving thermal resistance. The PVD coating is also said to provide chipping resistance more than twice that of conventional coatings.

Earlier this year SEI began operating a tungsten refining and scrap metal recycling business at Niagara Refining LLC, a joint venture between SEI’s North American subsidiary Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc. and New York Tungsten LLC, a subsidiary of Buffalo Tungsten Inc. The new company will produce tungsten trioxide (WO3) which is a primary raw material for carbide tools and other products. With the start of operations at Niagara Refining and the tungsten carbide powder manufactured from tungsten scrap at SEI subsidiary A.L.M.T. in Japan, SEI is far less reliant on imported tungsten powder.

The SEI Group’s Industrial Materials division, which in addition to carbide and diamond tools also produces structural PM parts, is forecasting its sales to rise by 9% to Yen 330 billion ($3.12 bilion) in the current financial year ending March 31, 2015.