Modular reamer PCD

Many routine machining jobs can be done with standard tools. To significantly improve system performance however, special tools are needed. A manufacturer who recently approached LMT Belin with the goal of producing fuel pumps more efficiently did just that.

The biggest challenge when reaming a component made of aluminum alloy with twelve percent silicone content is the close manufacturing tolerances. The following properties were required:

Tolerance: 12 micrometers
Surface quality: 5 micrometers (mean surface roughness)
Cylindricity: 0.01 millimeters
Rectangularity: 0.01 millimeters

The user was mainly interested in increasing the tool life and optimizing the entire process. To achieve this goal, the LMT Belin project team decided to pursue an approach of integrating roughing and finishing into a single work step. The specialists at the French LMT Tools subsidiary constructed a reamer with cutting edges made of polycrystalline diamond (PCD). The new reamer replaces two other tools and allows a highly increased feed rate while the rotational speed and cutting speed remain unchanged. In addition, tool life was increased by 25 percent. The user now needs only one tool instead of two and was able to reduce costs by 40 percent. As a result, the costs per piece were also reduced significantly. The new special tool by LMT Belin has since become standard in the customer’s production process and is regularly produced in the required quantity in Lavancia.