Are Coated Tools Worth the Added Cost?
Coating can add 20 to 50% to an uncoated tool’s price. With this added cost you would naturally expect at least a 20 to 50% increase in the number of holes or inches in tool life. It’s a pretty straight forward comparison if you have the time to run an uncoated tool and a coated one under the same conditions. Since that rarely happens most rely on the recommendation of the tool manufacturer.
Regal Cutting Tools has been involved with enough tests and applications to offer some general recommendations. We are confident, however, that if you select the appropriate coating and run it within the norms for the application, the cost of the coating will be justified. In most cases the combination of tool life and faster production rates will demonstrate a cost savings greater than the cost of the coating.
The key to success is selecting the best coating for the material and then running the tool to achieve the result desired…greater tool life or faster production or a combination of both.
As Coatings Evolve, So Does Regal
For years we had a coating center to provide quick turnaround for our customers. But as multi-layer coatings became more sophisticated and customers requested various new processes, we recognized keeping up with the technology was a full time business. Our conclusion was to concentrate making high quality cutting tools and use the services of experts. We have been fortunate to find local coating specialists dedicated to the latest technology and who can provide us quick reliable service covering all the normal coatings and more. In house, we continue to offer Nitride, Steam Oxide and a combination surface treatment to improve tool life at minimal cost to the customer. Nitride adds case hardening to the surface of the tool and steam oxide adds lubricity. Both are features that improve tool life. Coatings we offer include but are not limited to:
- Titanium Nitride: Increased surface hardness and adhesive resistance.
- Titanium Carbo Nitride: High heat resistance and abrasion resistant in harder materials.
- Titanium Aluminum Nitride: Increased surface hardness and oxidation resistant at high temperatures.
- Aluminum Titanium Nitride: Abrasion and adhesive resistant in non-ferrous materials.
- Chromium Nitride: High toughness and corrosion resistant in aluminum and other cast materials.
Many of our high performance SuperTuf tools are kept in inventory with a variety of coatings and all of our standard and special tools will ship in three to ten days depending on the coating. Not sure what coating is best for your needs? Contact us with any questions.