Charles Eames the famous US designer once said: ‘Recognising the need is the primary condition for design.’ Observing this wise maxim, Iscar employs a team of industry specific machining experts who are able to act as a bridge between companies involved in all aspects of metalcutting and Iscar’s research and development team. This invaluable, continuous feedback enables industry’s diverse and ever evolving needs to be recognised and to be acted on.
In addition to the intelligence received from industry, our staff work closely with the world’s major machine tool manufacturers to ensure that the company is kept aware of all new technical developments. Last but not least, Iscar’s metallurgical experts constantly monitor advances across all classes of materials.
This unceasing flow of high-grade information ensures that, rather than launch a cutting tool solution then look for a machining problem to solve, each of Iscar’s products are painstakingly researched and when launched constitute highly-efficient, cost-effective solutions to real-world machining problems.
As many of our recent R&D programs were nearing completion at the same time, and as each new product series represented a major advance in a particular aspect of machining, rather than launch every cutting tool range separately, the obvious synergy between each new Iscar product suggested that a major, mass launch was the way forward.
Applying Logiq
Why Logiq? Iscar has taken the company’s very successful ‘IQ’ concept of machining intelligently even further by applying a wide range of logical developments to cutting tools. The application of Logiq has allowed the creation of innovative new Iscar ranges; it has enabled existing product lines to be further upgraded and has also inspired many new product series’ that assist users in maximising equipment utilisation and optimising performance.
When the Logiq range was launched in the UK earlier this year, the subject of productivity was near the top of the political agenda. Logiq’s focus on boosting output, increasing efficiencies and improving machine tool yields, chimed perfectly with the Government’s push for increased productivity.
Also, immediately after launch, the Logiq range made its MACH 2018 debut. As the high-profile Logiq launch had prompted many potential users to visit the stand, our staff was kept busy throughout the exhibition explaining the multiple benefits of the new range and making appointments to visit potential users.
Industry 4.0 supply
In an age when sophisticated process monitoring and instantaneous acquisition of machining data is becoming increasingly important, the availability of state-of-the-art manufacturing consumables, such as advanced cutting tools is equally vital.
To ensure the most appropriate cutting tool is always available when needed, tools can be stored in our range of ‘smart’ Matrix vending machines that can be integrated into customers’ tool management systems.
The installation of a vending system is motivated by users need to guarantee the instant availability of tools that will ensure that production is uninterrupted. In addition, businesses see the implementation of a vending machine system as a way to minimise the cost and risk of stock ownership by optimising stock levels.
Since the end of the MACH exhibition – and to help prove the spectacular machining efficiencies that can be achieved by the use of Logiq cutting tools, Iscar sales engineers have performed multiple machining trials in existing and potential customers’ premises in all parts of the UK. This has resulted in many users of other cutting tool brands converting to Logiq products. As further cutting trials are due to be made in the near future, it is anticipated that many other users will soon switch to the use of these new cutting tools.
The overwhelmingly positive feedback we have received from Logiq users indicates that in all cases, the promised machining performance improvements have been realised, and in many, exceeded. Impressed by their early experiences, customers are now investigating other machining processes that could benefit from the efficiencies already delivered through using Logiq technology.
The many advantages gained can be illustrated by a recent turning trial conducted within the UK on an application related to the machining of stainless steel. The customer was using a premium grade carbide tool provided by a major global cutting tool manufacturer.
With the use of the recommended Logiq 4 Turn cutting tool, cutting speeds were able to be raised from 114m/minute to 134m/minute and feeds boosted from 0.2mm/revolution to 0.22mm. In addition, the depth of cut was increased from 0.75mm to 2.15mm and the number of passes needed was reduced from three to just a single pass. As the hardwearing Loqiq product resulted in the production of 9,000 parts per cutting-edge, compared to a previous 3,000, not only were far fewer cutting tools needed for production runs but much less time was lost in stopping to change tools.
As well as producing comma/helical chips rather than the previous tangled chips and also enhancing the part’s surface finish, the Logiq 4 Turn tool improved many other machining parameters such as raising metal removal rates from 16.04 cm³/minute to 53.69cm³/minute. The impressive trial data, verified by the staff of the company concerned, proved that a highly significant saving of 72.3% would be achieved through use of the latest Iscar product.
The success of the Logiq product range and the subsequent boost in sales means that Iscar UK is currently looking to employ several additional sales engineers, to help us cope with the considerable increase in business. The great success of the Logiq range and the continuing rise in demand means that there has never been a better time to join our sales team.
Iscar www.iscar.co.uk
