Lightweight Sandvik Cutting Tool Employing Topology Optimization Now Available
Additive manufacturing aids “subtractive” CNC machining. We first saw this tool in an early version last year. See the video in this post.
CNC machining cutting tool maker Sandvik Coromant has now introduced its CoroMill 390 milling cutter made possible thanks to additive manufacturing (AM). The tool was developed in cooperation with Sandvik Additive Manufacturing.
I saw an early version of the tool at last year’s Formnext show in Germany, as I describe in this video:
The tool combines a complex geometric form generated through topology optimization for weight reduction—resulting in a form too complex to be made except through 3D printing—with a material choice unusual for milling cutter bodies, titanium alloy. These weight-reducing measures result in a tool less prone to vibration during long-overhang milling. The design improvement enabled by additive manufacturing is in this way enabling more efficient machining.
Other machining cutting tool makers employing additive manufacturing to make tools include Komet and Mapal.
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