The growth in demand and supply of two-wheelers and three-wheelers requires cutting tool makers to not only offer precision tools but also improve the machining strategies for complex cutting processes. In such deals, the cutting tool manufacturers are focused on service and ensure that the applications are perfected, which helps the two-and three-wheeler companies to be more productive while seeing that the quality of the manufactured part has significantly improved. Enhanced machining is the mantra of the present and future and this is how the cutting tools industry is supporting the speed in change.
The machining components of two-wheelers and three-wheelers have very little difference except for the structure, and because of this, the tools used are the same. These days, the engine parts of two-wheelers and three-wheelers have more aluminium and light-weight material alloys.
Talking on the subject, Jay Shah, MD, Tungaloy India, said, “PCD tooling for aluminium machining is very common for both custom-made tools and standard tools, to be used in the crankcase, cylinder head, clutch housing, etc. Cermets are very popular for finish boring and turning of all transmission and steering components and CVD coated tools are popular for machining cast iron components like wheel hub and cylinder block.”
Shailendra Chamoli, product manager, Walter Tools, said, “Walter has come up with excellent solutions in hole making, milling & grooving. In the recent past, we have introduced new geometries and coatings, which gives an enormous advantage in chip breaking, tool life and process reliability which is the prime requirement for BS-VI norms. Walter’s new coating known as Tiger▪tec Gold is a universal grade for drilling and milling applications. It helps in achieving performance improvement of up to 75% in different materials.”
Recent Developments
These days customers are often at crossroads when it comes to choosing between price and availability vs value and service. They are keener on getting value rather than price, and service instead of availability. Offering major developments is also aligned with the customers’ needs.
Shah explained that the industry is moving specifically towards managing the resources well. As the component processing is moving towards the near net shape of forgings and casting, smaller inserts for turning and milling is growing in popularity. In milling, it is also helping in increasing the feed rates with design accommodating a greater number of inserts on smaller cutter bodies. Multilayer PVD is growing in acceptance, with better control over the edge preparation for machining all kinds of material. This is true of all applications, including indexable tools. This change has also helped in reducing the cutting forces, thus giving an option of increasing the feed rates.
“Importance of throw away inserts (indexable/modular) is felt more than ever before. With a focus on productivity, reducing non-cut time and controlling parts per million rejection, the need has been felt in drilling and end milling applications too and is being well accepted,” he further added.
Customization of tools for maximizing gain in productivity and tool life, thus reducing overall machining costs, is well accepted by customers. There is a stress on increasing the reliability and stability of insert seating. Dovetail seating, V-Bottom seating and serrated insert seating, are helping to improve parameters and delivering reliable tool life.
Chamoli said in the recent past, Walter has come up with an innovative drilling solution for Aluminium machining in the form of the DC166. This tool with through coolant is specially designed for minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) or cooling with emulsion. The DC166 will be of interest to all manufacturers who make products in large batches, especially those in the automotive industry. “Walter has launched a few new grooving systems – MX and DX with a wide range. DX grooving system has smart lock insert clamp and form fit which is having an advantage in low vibration. MX system is known for multiple cutting edges and rigid clamping. These grooving systems are the new evolution in Walter grooving range,” he explained.
Launching Exceptional Products
Cutting tools industry focuses on providing an overall solution and working on the process instead of one single tool. This helps in cost optimization. To launch excellent products, they have a dedicated team of engineers who work on the process and productivity improvement exercises. They also look at the ways and means to provide a customized solution for reducing the cycle time for high volume components.
Shah stated that along with this they also provide value-added services like tool management which is in line with Industry 4.0 and provides warehousing solution to the customers. “OEM’s, while launching new models, work on – Right First Time-Quality, stick to the schedule – timing the launch, delivering value for money-maximising market share,” he added.
Chamoli asserted that Walter has around 45000 standard products in turning, hole making, milling and threading which gives the advantage to cater to various machining requirements of OEMs. At the same time, Walter has well equipped local engineering team and technology centre to support OEMs for component development for their new models frequently.
Coolants and Lubricants
While cutting tools are very important to the manufacturing industry, their performance completely depends on coolants and lubricants. Due to the pandemic and unplanned lockdown, the coolant and lubricant industry has been facing several challenges and the brunt, in some cases, have been passed on to the customers, but nobody is complaining, with things slowly and steadily moving back on track. For some, the lockdown was a blessing in disguise while others faced several difficulties before they could get back on track.
Explaining how the lockdown turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Munish Garg, CEO & founder of See Lubes Technologies, said, “The lockdown was for around 40-60 days for most companies. Around May 31, many companies had started their operations. If you don’t operate the coolant for 2-3 days, it gets spoilt. However, our customers, who were using our high-end products didn’t need to change it. They started their machines several days later and it worked as if it had been switched off a day before only. There was no foul smell. Nothing was destroyed and nothing was spoilt. Post lockdown, we are operating at 130-140 per cent of our capacity as compared to 70-80 per cent before the lockdown.”
Due to the lockdown, there was a hike in price that the industry had to face and in turn, this was shared with the customers, as well. Ravi Chawla, MD & CEO, Gulf Oil, explained, “We generally increase prices when the raw material goes up. From April to September, we have had a favourable raw material cost. However, now we are seeing some increase and hence, some pricing will go up. But customers these days are looking for value. We have been able to provide products with differentiated USPs in some cases and some cases, they are of higher quality, which results in some premium charges because it also costs more.”
Yatendra Kumar, business head at Motultech India, said that the lockdown has affected every industry except food and pharmaceuticals industry. The special metalworking and machine industry had the worst impact as there was a lot of unplanned maintenance. The current situation is forcing most people to increase the price because there is an increase or variation in input cost. “They are not passing on their losses to the customers but the hike in prices is due to the change in input cost. This has forced most of the companies to pass on the impact of this increase to the customer,” Kumar added.
The situation seems to be getting back to normal with the cutting tools, and coolants and lubricants industries gaining momentum they had lost due to the pandemic and subsequent unplanned lockdown.