Materials

New materials and improved part manufacturing help maintain and upgrade aging military aircraft.

When SRL Nano Corp. developed carbide-grade tools that use a patented binder material with a melting threshold similar to that of carbide—about 2,870º C, naturally the Rosemead, Calif., company dubbed the new material Hyper-Carbide. And once you view the video below that captures a series of cutting tool tests, it's easy to see why.

END USER: Cryogenic Institute of New England Inc.; (508) 459-7447; www.nitrofreeze.com. CHALLENGE: Increase cryogenic treatment processing capability while reducing processing time and costs. SOLUTION: A cryogenic thermal cycling system that also heat treats parts and avoids oiling steel parts for processing. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Durable Metal Products Co.; (915) 351-8500

Get With The Program column for the March 2011 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering looks at software that can handle material problems as they arise.

CTE Editor Alan Richter covers a unique insert clamping mechanism and seating configuration in his April 2011 Look Ahead column.

Shop Operations column from the April 2011 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine offers tips for efficiently storing raw materials.

Advancements enable ceramic inserts to tackle difficult machining applications.

Cold forming is a fast, chipless way to make parts.

Composite toolholders and boring bars.

The use of plastic medical parts is growing, and in certain applications machining them is advantageous and even essential.