CAD use in custom cutting tool design
 By Rob Lemmen
Rob Lemmen, is senior designer at the Korver Engineering Ltd. division of E.M. Precise Tool Ltd. (korver.ca).
Do you find it strange that, in a world of powerful yet inexpensive CAD tools, so much design work still gets done on bar napkins? (It used to be cigarette packs, but those are quickly disappearing.) That was the way it was in the tooling company I now work for until a few months ago.
At one time, only major manufacturers had the design technology and manufacturing equipment to offer customized cutting tools. Even with the advent of lower-priced CAD systems and increased local manufacturing capabilities, the limited number of custom tooling orders during the slower economy of the early 2000s didnít seem to merit investment in new technology. But now that large manufacturers have started ordering custom tooling for new production lines, this CAD technology is showing our customers a whole new world.
Modern metal cutting tools are mainly made up of cemented carbide REPLACEs (cutting tips) that are held in tool steel cutter bodies. At the low end, we are now using pre-designed blanks and standard REPLACEs to do simple angle and step type cutter designs, complete with drawings, in as little as 15 minutes using SolidWorks mechanical CAD software. The program includes a drawing and model communications tool called eDrawings that includes its own viewer. We email the customer an eDrawing that allows them to examine the dimensions and tolerances or to rotate the cutter around on their screen to see how the clearances work out. Changes to the basic dimensions are as simple as double clicking and adjusting a value.
At the high end, we are designing cutting tools for complex profiles and multiple operations. We position REPLACEs with rake and clearance angles, as well as design pocket profiles to help evacuate cuttings. Complex profiles can be designed along the edges of custom carbide REPLACEs and manufactured using electrical discharge machining (EDM). Using basic finite element analysis software capabilities inside SolidWorks, we can analyze the body for stress concentrations. With the assistance of 5-axis CNC machining centres, we can cut even the most demanding REPLACE pockets, flute designs and edge geometry quickly and precisely.
Even smaller customers are seeing the benefits of ordering customized tooling. Using communications software and drawing viewers like eDrawings, we can quickly show them how we can create the geometry of their cutters. With the basic layouts done, detailed quotations can be delivered the same day.
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