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WWW.AERO-MAG.COM 34 AEROSPACEMANUFACTURING | MARCH 2013
KEEPING THE
CUTTING EDGE C
The new Heli-Flute router gives maximum flexibility in tool design
Aerospace’s Manufacturing’s John Helm looks at what steps composite materials cutting tools specialist Exactaform is taking to maintain its leading market position.
oventry-based Exactaform was set up by John Inglis in 1979, originally to manufacture carbide
polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cubic boron nitride (CBN) special form inserts. It started diversifying into the rotary tooling business some ten years ago, with aerospace now accounting for around 90% of its composite tooling side, which is mainly for the UK market. “We’ve just placed three new
revolutionary edge of part routing tools on the market,” begins general manager Peter Raynor. “These are the Maxi-Maxi Flute Router, the Heli-Flute Router, and the Exactaburr Solid PCD Burr Tool. They are the result of several years’ extensive research carried out by our own in-house R&D unit.” Sales manager Gavin Cresswell elaborates: “The Maxi-Maxi is the only twelve flute router on the market. Running at 2,000mm/min, it is a high speed finishing tool capable of up to
1,000m of composite finishing. It has a higher feed rate, takes smaller radial finishing cuts, but its superior performance offsets the additional expense. “The Heli-Flute Router – marketed
as the Solid PCD Helical Mill – has full helical geometry and represents the next generation of roughing tools. It combines the advantages of constant helical edge geometry with a solid PCD head, and can be used as either a roughing or finishing tool. It has a high feed rate and high stock removal, and gives a much better finish. “The Exactaburr Solid PCD Burr, like
the Heli-Flute Router, is a dual purpose tool. It represents a big improvement over existing models, being more complex and having a greater number of flutes. By comparison, a three flute tool for example may be ideal for low volume non-composite machine shop work, but these new products offer large savings
when carbon fibre is being intensively machined with multiple spindles. A company can save money on a machine tool simply by spending a bit more on an advanced cutting tool.” Adds technical manager Jamie White:
“The Exactaburr is the kind of tool the market has long waited for. It has a solid PCD head, but one which is available at a reasonable price.”
All done in one All three products are now available on the market, though Exactaform is building up inventory levels as they are not currently stocked. ‘One shot tooling’, i.e. using just one tool instead of two for both roughing and finishing processes has long been a goal of the cutting tool sector. “However, achieving this is not just
a question of cost,” asserts Raynor. “Much depends upon the availability and suitability of both machines and
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