The current market situation puts pressure on companies that rely on carbide tools: Rising raw material costs, volatile supply chains, and limited planning capabilities burden the industry. FETTE Werkzeugtechnik, a member of the LMT Tools family and a specialist in gear cutting tools, offers the SpeedCore cutter as a powerful and economical alternative. The innovative gear milling cutter is made from a specially developed high-performance high-speed steel and allows for up to 50% higher cutting speeds compared to conventional PM-HSS tools while maintaining high process reliability.
Carbide tools offer high performance but are closely tied to critical raw materials such as tungsten and cobalt. For users, this means: Tool costs and availability are currently difficult to calculate due to the tense raw material and procurement situation. Especially in series production, this uncertainty can become an economic risk. Therefore, cutting material concepts that combine high productivity with better cost and supply stability are coming into focus. One answer is the SpeedCore from FETTE Werkzeugtechnik.
Innovative Material Concept
The gear milling cutter is made from a specially developed high-performance high-speed steel and bridges the gap between classic PM-HSS (powder metallurgical high-speed steel) and carbide. Its special properties arise from specifically adjusted intermetallic phases that improve the hot hardness and thermal stability of the cutting material. This allows the SpeedCore to withstand higher thermal loads and enables higher cutting speeds than conventional PM-HSS tools. At the same time, the cutting material provides the necessary toughness for a process-reliable application. Users can significantly increase productivity on existing machines while simultaneously reducing piece costs without having to invest in new machines.
Process Know-How as a Key Performance Factor
In addition to the material, process know-how also determines whether the SpeedCore fully exploits its technical and economic potential. FETTE Werkzeugtechnik views machining as a complete system of tool, workpiece, machine, and processing strategy. The process parameters are individually tailored to the material, component geometry, machine kinematics and stability, as well as the thermal and mechanical boundary conditions. 'In contrast to generic parameter recommendations, the design at LMT Tools is material- and application-specific. The goal is to exploit the most economical process window without compromising process reliability,' emphasizes Raphael Lienau, Managing Director of FETTE Werkzeugtechnik GmbH & Co KG.
Processing Time Reduced by About 50%
In an application for manufacturing a gear with module 9 for a planetary gearbox in mining machines, a SpeedCore cutter with Nanosphere-2.0 coating was compared to a TiN-coated tool made of EMo5Co5, a cobalt-alloyed high-speed steel (HSS-E). The result: The processing time decreased from 50.9 to 26.2 minutes. This corresponds to a reduction of about 50%. Thus, the SpeedCore penetrates performance ranges that were previously reserved for multi-part tools with carbide cutting edges. The one-piece design offers additional advantages in terms of accuracy, tool costs, and effective tooth count.
Efficient Gear Manufacturing
The SpeedCore is a powerful and economical alternative for applications where carbide is not always the optimal solution due to cost, availability, or process reasons. The gear milling cutter also demonstrates how materials science innovation and sound process competence can help address current challenges such as cost pressure, raw material dependence, and limited planning capabilities in gear manufacturing. 'The decisive strength lies not only in the material itself but in the ability to specifically transfer it into application-specific processes. Only through this integration does the actual added value for the user arise,' says Raphael Lienau.
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