Milling

Significant developments in CAD and CAM functionality in the latest release of VISI, from Vero Software, give users additional speed and quality throughout their design and machining processes. VISI Brand Manager Massimo Vergerio says CAD updates in VISI 2017 R1 are focusing on the user experience and adding enhancements to allow customers to speed up their design process.

For 10 years, FANUC Corp.'s highly accurate ROBONANO automated milling machines have been in use in Japan's semiconductor industry. Now the newest iteration of the machine is in the U.S. to help researchers studying emerging materials and manufacturing processes.

HELLER says it offers new levels of flexibility and precision with its FP 4000 5-axis horizontal machining center with twin drives in the Z-axis. The FP 4000 is a practical choice for a variety of industries, including tool and die or contract manufacturing where 5-axis milling is needed for productivity and process dependability.

With the FIGHTMAX, tool manufacturer Inovatools, based in Kinding-Haunstetten, Germany, is sending a well-trained HPC fighter into the ring to instill fear into its opponents. The tool is something of a powerhouse when it comes to machining steel, showing barely any signs of wear even in extended bouts, and demonstrates impressive endurance, according to the company.

As automakers strive for increasingly fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles, they're turning away from traditional iron favorites such as gray and ductile iron (GCI and DCI) to compacted graphite iron, or CGI. Also known as vermiculate graphite iron, CGI's mechanical attributes meet or exceed its counterparts, sometimes drastically so.

Introducing the Pramet Econ LN square shoulder milling cutter from Dormer Pramet. Its positive axial geometry reportedly allows for lower cutting forces and smoother machining.

RÖHM Products of America introduced the lightweight, compact AGILIS power-operated cartridge mandrel clamping system. This new mandrel provides consistent, rigid workpiece ID clamping of small diameters for grinding, turning, milling, drilling and measuring applications.

Tebis America has announced the release of its Version 4.0 Release 3 software. The highlights of the new launch include: toolbars and menu panels that can be easily docked to the edge of the application window; software interface that allows a user to learn to operate it more quickly and easily and with less effort; and a new project dialog with the most recently used files is displayed immediately after the program is started.

MAPAL offers a broad portfolio of ISO tools for milling operations. A new series of cutting materials has been developed especially for the milling of the whole bandwidth of cast iron grades – GJL, GJV and GJS.

Tungsten ToolWorks offers seven micro-endmill geometries in an "infinite" variety of diameters, lengths, end conditions and coatings, including diamond, based on customer inputs. Cutting diameters as small as 0.005" (0.127mm) can be configured from an array of fractional or metric carbide blanks.

Mil-Tec Inc. says its HV5HD series endmills are ideal for machine shops and other manufacturing facilities that require flexibility and value. With a full range of cutter bodies and precision-ground carbide inserts, the tools can reportedly handle any application and material.

Midwest Industrial Tool Grinding Inc. has released the newest edition of the standard tool catalog. The largest edition published by MITGI, the catalog includes more than 8,700 tools, an increase of 57 percent over the 2015 offering.