Ceratizit has introduced a newly developed combination tool for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) freeze plug/water plug boring.
The new system reduces cost and increases performance when producing the holes in cylinder blocks and heads, the company says. These improved results are possible because the tool roughs, chamfers, and reams/fine finishes holes in a single operation – including in grey cast iron with EN-GJV450 vermicular graphite.
The tool’s Ceratizit R84 fine boring indexable inserts feature a new reaming geometry designed for hole finishing. The new positive geometry generates low cutting forces and includes a new chip breaker that improves chip control, allowing for higher feed speeds while producing better surface quality. Ceratizit says the new inserts provide a much longer tool life as compared to their predecessors.
Compared with conventional machining approaches that use two tools (one for roughing and chamfering, one for finishing), the Ceratizit tool reduces tool changes to one, shortening cycle time by at least 20 percent. As Alfred Briegel, application manager at Ceratizit, stresses, “The savings potential of our new water plug drilling tool is huge. The shorter cycle time saves around 25 seconds on a component with 12 holes.”
Briegel also says the new tool reduces cost per part, while also reducing tool costs by about 20 percent, as only one tool holder is required. The single-tool strategy also means that having to adjust the different tools precisely in relation to each other is now eliminated.
Briegel also says the four-edge indexable inserts have associated advantages. “Many users will also benefit from getting the tool for the entire machining process from a single source. Plus, a separate cutting insert for chamfering is already integrated. Previously used roughing inserts can be used for this purpose, as only up to about 45 percent of their cutting edge length is used when roughing.”
The ‘plug and play’ system of the new water plug machining makes reconditioning of a worn tool easier than it is with the previous two-tool approach. While users still have to remove the cutting inserts and clean the base body, the accurate insert seat and the precise indexable insert mean that no resetting is required. Users simply rotate the four-edge insert and screw it back in position, recalculate the length dimensions and print the label or download the latest tool dimensions to the (optional) integrated chip.
The new HGV water plug machining tool from Ceratizit is available in diameters ranging from 25 to 65 mm. The tool holder is designed and manufactured as a special tool in line with the customer’s length and diameter requirements. The indexable inserts for roughing and fine boring are standard stock products.
