Five-Axis CNC is Ideally Suited for Solid PCD End Mill, Drill Production
The ANCA EDGe machine is capable of creating complex 3D cutting tool forms, including the company’s new generation of solid PCD helical end mills and drills.
PCD helical ballnose cutting tool. Photo Credit, all images: ANCA Inc.
According to ANCA Inc., used in the right application, a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutting tool can last up to 20 times that of an equivalent carbide tool. The company unveils a new generation of solid PCD helical end mills and drills made on ANCA’s EDGe machine to further extend this advantage, tooling solutions that can ultimately deliver improved productivity and quality when having to tackle tough machining requirements and complex geometries like those found in the mold and die industry.
Solid PCD-tipped tooling offers greater flexibility to create unique geometries specific to various cutting applications, in the same way this is done for conventional carbide tools. This applies not only to the cutting profile, ANCA notes, but also to flute and gash geometry that are critical to chip formation and evacuation. Moreover, these tools can be made 6 mm or smaller — the EDGe is capable of producing drills down to 0.3 mm and milling cutters under 3 mm — and can be readily resharpened many times, effectively extending the tool’s usable life.
Solid PCD-tipped drill examples produced via the ANCA EDGe machine, including drills under 1 mm (right).
As a five-axis CNC machine, the ANCA EDGe with its rotary EDGe process, is ideally suited to create complex 3D cutting tool forms. Incorporating ANCA’s ToolRoom software, customers are able to manufacture helical end mill (square, corner radius and ballnose) forms, in addition to helical drill points, with cutting properties that ANCA says are optimized compared to equivalent tools with brazed planar PCD inserts.
ANCA EDGe is a highly versatile machine that uses rotary erosion to effectively create flute or gash forms while maintaining a low cost. EDGe has electrical discharge machining and carbide grinding capability for different material removal choices. ANCA says this is an important consideration given these solid PCD-tipped tools will naturally require the flute and OD form to extend into the carbide. EDGe also performs equally well in other applications such as conventional brazed PCD shear tools and solid carbide grinding.
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