Sandvik Coromant Lets Technology do the Talking With Silent Tools

Sandvik Coromant has been manufacturing ‘Silent’ vibration damping boring tools for more than a generation. However, the new SilentToolsPlus introduces an entirely new concept in boring tools and embeds the technology of ‘Industry 4.0’ into the cutting tool and machining process.

Explaining the concept, James Rhys-Davies, the Strategic Relations Director For Sales Area North Europe of Sandvik Coromant says: “Silent tools have been around for decades and they are productivity boosters and tools for long overhang ratios to diameter and because you will always induce vibration, we have a damping stub that is unique and patented. This minimises vibration so you can run at higher speeds and feeds with better cutting data and better quality parts.”

“From SilentToolsPlus, we’ve actually added sensors into the boring bar, so you can get information in real-time when the bar is in-cut. That firstly gives you a true visualisation of what is happening in the bore. The other benefits really are sensors, so you can actually set the tools on centreline and visually see this on your tablet via Bluetooth transmitted data. This improves component quality, reduces setting times and improves tool life. This product is 100% unique to Sandvik Coromant. We are really taking steps forward with our Industry 4.0 offer here. Sensor embedded tools and connectivity and actually being able to have real-time data is truly unique.”

When asked how important the data is, James responded: “It’s not a gimmick, we have invested significant amounts into this technology through R&D. It’s really about increasing machine tool uptime, reducing scrap rates and having data you can analyse – especially as skill rates are diminishing and things are becoming more digitised. We need to bring tooling solutions to market to compliment the machines and the software, so you get the whole approach from end to end.”

“The standard range starts at 60mm diameter boring bars at 10XD but we can offer engineered solutions with SilentToolsPlus up to 300mm in diameter at 18XD, so you could bore up to 5.4m deep. The big industries we see for this technology is oil & gas and aerospace where people are manufacturing typically high value components with boring near the end of the operation, so the part is worth a lot of money at that stage. Now, you can extract real data and be more secure in your approach.”