EMO 2023: Crazy Tools in full action!

Profitability using efficient tools, process acceleration through dynamic machining strategies while maintaining the best component quality, and the associated benefits for users: This is the top priority of Mikron Tool’s development work.  

Once again, the innovative and technology-driven machining specialists from Ticino have developed some pretty “crazy” tool ideas and integrated manufacturing solutions aimed at the high-end market. Visitors to this year’s world’s leading trade fair for production technology, the EMO in Hanover, taking place from 18 to 23 September 2023, will have the chance to attend LIVE presentations right at the Mikron Tool booth and get a first-hand impression of what the Crazy Tools can do with difficult-to-machine materials. 

Machining requirements of different titanium grades

This year, the spotlight will be on the challenging material titanium. There is more to titanium than meets the eye, claims Mikron Tool. Titanium – a dream for designers, but rather a headache for machinists. If you want to machine titanium economically with the highest process reliability, you won’t get far with universal tools. What works for pure titanium reaches its limits with its alloys, and vice versa. That is why the design of a new high-performance tool requires a detailed analysis of the different titanium grades and the specific characteristics of their composition, which result in significant machining differences. 

For each titanium its drill

Mikron Tool has considered these differences in the design of the latest generation of titanium drills and has identified a material-specific cutting-edge geometry as the current best solution for the design of such drills. The result is the new CrazyDrill Cool Titanium ATC/PTC, available with ATC geometry for titanium alloys and PTC geometry for pure titanium.

The company will present the entire range of its new titanium drill series in action for the first time at EMO. A medical technology workpiece made from grade 2 titanium, unalloyed pure titanium, will be machined on a 5-axis DMP 35 high-speed machining center made by DMG MORI. This is where the exceptional features of the PTC-type bring their exceptional properties to bear. 

The second “ATC” version will demonstrate its capabilities in drilling the demanding grade 5 TI6AIV4 titanium alloy – 10 x d in one shot. This has never been done before.  

Get a first-hand experience of medical device manufacturing strategy

Mikron Tool does not stop at tools. The company also utilizes its extensive machining expertise to develop highly dynamic manufacturing strategies for complex components – including medical technology. The experts at the Technology Center explore all potential savings opportunities for customer projects, focusing on cost and time. Savings of over 50% are not unusual. At the same time, the specialists keep a close eye on the strict quality requirements of workpieces while constantly optimizing them. Visitors will be able to experience this first-hand at the Mikron Tool booth. The Technology Center team will demonstrate an eight-minute production run of an anterior cervical bone plate made ofpure titanium grade 2 (3.7035 – EN Ti 2 / ASTM B348), which is not without its challenges and is considered the benchmark for all medical implant materials due to its high corrosion resistance and excellent biocompatibility.  

The medical device component will be machined by the machining specialists in a single clamping process from the solid using a total of ten tools (including catalogue tools held in stock, as well as special tools). The supports will be reduced to a minimum to minimize the need for post-machining. The production cycle was significantly reduced, considering the strict surface quality requirements. The result speaks for itself. Mikron Tool has managed to reduce the machining time by 70% using fewer tools, which boast a long tool life. The component is virtually burr-free, and the surface quality revealed excellent values: R_a = 0,13 μm (R_z = 0,93 μm). 

Another reason to visit the creative machining specialists from the canton of Ticino at EMO. Hall 3, Booth I05

For more information, please visit: https://www.mikrontool.com/en/News-Events/News