Data-Feeding Cutting Tools Win IMTS Award
In addition to internal vibration dampers, Sandvik Coromant’s Silent Tools Plus cutting tools feature embedded sensors for real-time insight into the machining process.
Awarded first place in a pre-IMTS product innovation contest, Sandvik Coromant’s newest Silent Tools actually have a lot to say. Named for their vibration-damping capabilities, the toolholder line’s latest additions act as a machinist’s eyes and ears within the workzone by communicating cutting-condition data in real time.
Judged by members of AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology, the IMTS 2018 Exhibitor Product Innovation Competition awarded extra promotion in print and digital media for winning products. This is said to further the show’s overall goal of connecting sellers and buyers. Products were evaluated on their degree of technical innovation; their benefits for industry, environment and society; ease of implementation and implementation readiness; cost-efficiency; and test results from industrial applications.
The Silent Tools line consists of toolholders for turning, milling and boring. All feature a passive mechanical damper inside the tool body that reduces vibration to facilitate long-overhang machining, improved surface quality and improved productivity. The award-winning Silent Tools Plus (see a video here), part of the company’s CoroPlus platform of interconnected technology, offer additional capability: real-time monitoring of tool deflection, cutting forces, tool load, temperature and more. Via Bluetooth, data are transmitted from sensors embedded near the damper mechanism and cutting tip to a digital dashboard. This facilitates better real-time decision-making, easier setups, improved machining performance and prolonged tool life.
Divided into bronze, silver and gold tiers, contest winners received extra promotion, ranging from feature stories in the IMTS Insider e-newsletter to print ads in promotional materials and signage on the floor.
Rounding out the top three winners were OTT-Jakob’s Power-Check Magazine, a toolholder that automates pull-in force measurement to reduce waste, downtime and damage; and Logic Supply’s CL200 single-board computer (SBC), a system for sensor implementation and data collection on industrial equipment designed for shop-floor-level durability. A full list of Honorable Mention products is available at imts.com/visitor/productinnovation2018.html.
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