Information
September 2009
Win £500 worth of tooling at MMlive 2009
Visitors to our stand B2 at the MMlive Exhibition in Coventry, 20th and 21st October will have the chance to win up to £500 of endmills and drills from UNION TOOL. Click here for the competition rules.
New KERN µ-view Tool Inspection System
With a zoom capability from 40 to 450 times magnification, the µ-view system is ideal for inspecting micro cutting tools to check for breakages and wear. The tool holding is either a HSK25 or HSK40 collet chuck and tools can be inspected from the side or on the endface. A special lighting system, different to conventional measuring machines, allows you to view a clear picture at even the largest magnification.
The Kern µ-view has a clear and defined potential for saving money when you are using micro endmills and drills. Specifically it assists in evaluating the wear on the cutting edges and the amount of tool life remaining which is extremely difficult with standard equipment. Come and see it for the first time outside of Germany at MMlive2009.
The endface of a 0.8 mm endmill, new tool and worn cutting edges.
New products in 2009
Leading the way UNION TOOL carbide endmills
AZS with polished flutes for aluminium (dia. Range 1.0 to 12.0 mm) - 3 flutes.
CBN ballnose endmills from 0.2 to 2.0 mm diameter for hardened steels.
HLS (4 flutes) for profile and slot milling in steels up to 60 HRC (dia. Range 1.0 to 6.0 mm).
CNRS 4 flute endmill with unequal tool spacing for better surface finish in TITANIUM and other HEAT RESISTANT STEELS (dia.range 6.0 to 12.0 mm).
CRRS with corner radius, 4 flutes, unequal tooth spacing (dia.range 2.0 to 12.0 mm).
CFB A 3 fluted ballnose endmill for high feed milling; unequal tooth spacing reduces potential for tool to "chatter" (dia.range 2.0 to 12.0 mm).
Short Shank Tooling - We can now offer all Union Tool endmills in short shank version to suit heat shrink toolholders - please ask for information
Trochoidal Machining - What's that?
It sounds like a robot's name in "Star Wars". In reality it's a method of removing chips quickly WITHOUT causing damage to your cutter.
Some of the CAD/CAM companies in the UK have Trochoidal add-on modules in their micro-machining packages, but what about using these with larger tools?. The attached press release from the USA shows how engineers machined a 12 mm wide, 20 mm deep slot using a 10 mm diameter endmill. This was achieved in 2 passes at a feedrate of 384 mm/minute - with minimal wear on the endmill. Click here to find out more....
March 2009 - Merging Micro Precision
We have now merged our two companies, Rainford Precision Machines, the UK distributor for Union Tool cutting tools and Deckel Grinders who offer the German produced Kern high precision machining centres and Deckel range of SO and SOE single lip cutter grinders and Centricators. This is under the banner of Rainford Precision Machines Ltd.
There is more to the restructuring than changing the company name to Rainford Precision Machines Ltd. As a company that works in the micro precision manufacturing sector, the amalgamation will see a closer relationship between the precision cutting tools and the high precision Kern machining centres. This will deliver a full service to the micro market with Kern machining centres that can guarantee an "on the workpiece accuracy" of +/-1 microns. This is complemented by the latest range of two flute Union Tool ball nosed cutters that offer diameters as small as 60 microns with a 2 micron radius tolerance. For drilling applications Rainford Precision Machines Ltd now holds a range of Union Tool drills from 0.1mm diameter up to 1.0mm in 0.01mm increments that are permanently in stock to service the immediate needs of the marketplace.
SEPTEMBER 2008
We are pleased to announce that payment can now be accepted by credit card:
SEE US IN OCTOBER 2008
- Micro Manufacturing Exhibition, October 21-22, Coventry
FEBRUARY 2008
- New HRRS four flute corner radius endmill
- HFB four flute ballnose endmill now available
DECEMBER 2007
SEE US IN OCTOBER 2008 - Micro Manufacturing Exhibition, Coventry
We are pleased to announce that RAINFORD PRECISION and UNION TOOL will be one of the main sponsors of the inaugural Micro Manufacturing Exhibition in Coventry, 21st and 22nd October 2008.
The growth in micro parts or micro features on components over the past 10 years has lead the call for a more focused exhibition to enable visitors to benefit from the expertise shown by each exhibitor.
With the UNION TOOL range of endmills and drills our focus has been the machining of micro features on components or the manufacture of mould tools for micro moulding.
The needs of the toolmaking industry wanting to eliminate extra operations such as EDM has meant the growth of tools with coatings to machine 65HRC steel with high surface finishes.
This expertise together with samples and moulds will be demonstrated at the MICRO MANUFACTURING exhibition.
For more information visit the exhibition website www.micro-show.com
FEBRUARY 2008 - New HRRS four flute corner radius endmill
Initially launched at the 2007 EMO Exhibition in Hannover and now available in Britain is UNION TOOL’s new HRRS four flute corner radius endmill.
The newly designed tool has unequal flute spacing to prevent chatter and vibration large corner radii (25% of the cutter diameter) and a slight back taper to improve tool life and increase the volume of metal removal.
The super micro grain based tools have UNION TOOL’s own HARD MAX coating which enables steels up to 65 HRC to be machined.
Union Tool’s new HRRS corner radius endmill
FEBRUARY 2008 - HFB four flute ballnose endmill now available
UNION TOOL’s new HFB four flute ballnose endmill is now available in Britain after being launched at the EMO Exhibition last September.
These are available in a diameter range between 4 and 12 mm. They are coated with UNION TOOL’s own HARD MAX coating to enable steels as hard as 65 HRC to be machined efficiently and with a high surface finish.
When grinding the endface particular attention has been paid to having larger gashing to enable deep cuts to be made together with unique 4 tip point grooves to prevent rubbing, which give excellent surface finishes combined with higher feedrates.
FEBRUARY 2008 - The weakening Pound
The exchange rate between the Euro and the Pound Sterling has seen some major changes over the past four months and in particular since the start of 2008.
For a long time the rate had been quietly bouncing around 1 Euro equals 68 pence but now we are looking at 1 Euro equalling 75 pence. This is a change in value of approximately 10%.
As a result we have to increase the cost of our tooling but will not implement a full price increase. UNION TOOL have not increased their price for over 30 months and do not have any immediate plans for such an action.
To our customers in the Republic of Ireland, this price change does not affect your buying prices which are in Euros.
DECEMBER 2007 - New models in CZS range
19 new models have been added to UNION TOOL’s CZS range of high feedrate endmills. All the additions give extra flute length capability.
To plunge in to material with a high feedrate the cutting tool needs a wide flute for chip evacuation and the ability to also reduce the size of the chips, hence the unique endface design (described as two slotdrills in one).
The tools are TiAlN coated and are available from 1 mm diameter up to 12 mm diameter.