Mikron Tool’s ‘crazy’ IMTS innovations

Eagerly awaited, IMTS is finally opening its doors again after a forced break due to the pandemic. And during the break, Mikron Tool's R&D department has been busy developing better ways to machine demanding materials in the micron range. Some of them are "crazy."

New products include:

Micro milling cutters The new CrazyMill Cool Micro with integrated cooling is a new type of high-performance micro-milling cutter for roughing and finishing difficult-to-machine materials. It is available in diameters from .008" - .039" (0.2 to 1.0 mm) with a milling depth of up to 5XD.

Thanks to material-specific cutting edge geometries, which were specially developed for the different machining behavior of materials, the new micro milling cutter combines excellent cutting ability with high stability. The result is a significantly higher removal volume with high shape accuracy and longer tool life. A "small" world sensation!

New drilling technology for titaniumThe high-performance material titanium is a machining challenge. In addition: not all titanium is the same. Pure titanium and alloyed titanium, for instance, both present different machining characteristics. That's why Mikron Tool has developed perfectly tailored drills for the various types of titanium: the CrazyDrill Titanium PTC for pure titanium and the CrazyDrill Titanium ATC for alloyed titanium, both guarantee ambitious cutting values and process reliability. This development offers enormous innovative power for the titanium processing industry. A drill for all types of titanium!

CrazyService Products' novel engineering services Mikron Tool expands its product portfolio and offers professional project management in the field of high-performance machining for demanding materials.

The offer includes tool evaluation, optimization or redefinition of a process or critical sequence, tool life testing, and even drafting of complete projects. Always under the condition that the preferred solution offers the customer clear added value.

Machining companies can now benefit from Mikron Tool's capacity and expertise when outsourcing their pilot projects. You can expect individual machining solutions from Mikron Tool for efficient component production with high added value and complexity.

Standard market requirementsFor the US market Mikron Tool provides tools with diameters in inches, from 1/64" up to 1/4" depending on the product line. Especially in the high-tech industries that are very relevant for the US market, such as aerospace, many dimensions are used in US standard units (inches).

The need for such dimensions is increasing and therefore Mikron Tool has introduced main dimensions in inches for a wide range of its drill and cutter families. The tool selection was based on the most used units in the industries concerned, with a special focus on tools for difficult-to-machine materials such as stainless steel, titanium, and superalloys.

Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.

Measure of length that is equal to one-millionth of a meter.

Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or "up" into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or "down" into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.

Loosely, any milling tool. Horizontal cutters take the form of plain milling cutters, plain spiral-tooth cutters, helical cutters, side-milling cutters, staggered-tooth side-milling cutters, facemilling cutters, angular cutters, double-angle cutters, convex and concave form-milling cutters, straddle-sprocket cutters, spur-gear cutters, corner-rounding cutters and slitting saws. Vertical cutters use shank-mounted cutting tools, including endmills, T-slot cutters, Woodruff keyseat cutters and dovetail cutters; these may also be used on horizontal mills. See milling.

Tough, difficult-to-machine alloys; includes Hastelloy, Inconel and Monel. Many are nickel-base metals.