b'Ceramic Surprises ceramic tools are more expensivecan be justified by savings in cut-than their carbide counterparts.ting time and throughput increases When it comes to tools with inserts,at shops that use them.faster than those made of carbide,he said this is because ceramic in- Even if shops arent put off by the CBN or PCD when cutting mostserts require a good deal of grind- higher cost of ceramic tools, shops materials, Howard said. He noteding while carbide inserts are easilymay be unable to make proper use that while carbide tools cut heat-re- mass-produced. of the tools because their equip-sistant alloys at 125 sfm, for exam- Depending on the amount ofment cant match the speeds for ple, ceramic tools can cut them atmaterial needed to make an insert,which ceramic tools have the ca-anywhere from 800 to 1,500 sfm. ceramic inserts could be anywherepacity. Or shops actually may be Speed takes time out of a cut, sofrom 1.5 to four times more ex- afraid to reach those speeds.you can make more parts in a day,pensive than inserts made of moreCeramics run so much faster he added. commonlyusedmaterials,saidthan carbide, Howard said. And Onthedownside,HowardMartin Dillaman, global managerwith that comes a lot of fear. Peo-pointed out that the hardness ofof engineering and applicationsple say, Wow, I cant control this ceramic materials makes them brit- at Greenleaf Corp. in Saegertown,thing because I dont have enough tle, so those who make tools out ofPennsylvania. Dillaman added thatknowledge or skill.ceramics cant put very sharp edgessolid-ceramic tools probably cost on them. As a result, he said, ce- two to four times as much as theirLesser-Known Applicationsramic tools dont cut as efficientlycounterparts made of more widelyIngeneral,Howardbelieves as carbide tools. used materials. He added, however,theres a fairly widespread lack of Inaddition,henotedthatthat the higher cost of ceramic toolsknowledge about ceramic cutting SX9 RNG45 inserts mill a part made of Inconel 718.WG-300, WG-600 & WG-700Achieve proven productivity gains with Greenleafs whisker-XSYTIN-1 reinforced ceramic technology the \x1frst choice worldwide Elevate your productivity and experience outstandingfor complex turbine machining operations.predictability with XSYTIN-1, a revolutionary phase-toughened ceramic insert grade.Carbide InsertsSpecial Engineering Excel in precision \x1fnishing of thin wall sections with Take your machining to new heights with Greenleafs innovativeGreenleafs TurboForm carbide inserts with built-in chip special tooling solutions for unique applications. control. Experience remarkable wear resistance to high-speed machining of abrasive and di\x1ecult-to-machine materials with G-925 & GA5026 coated carbide inserts.Greenleaf CorporationGreenleaf gets you where you need to be from concept to completion. Greenleaf Corporation | 18695 Greenleaf Drive | Saegertown, PA 16433 | 800-458-1850 | 814-763-2915 is ISO 9001 Certified. [email protected] | www.greenleafcorporation.com 2021 Greenleaf CorporationCeramics.indd 38 8/17/22 10:59 AM'