Five Trends Shaping Carbide Tooling
A look at coating, micro-grain grades and near-net-shape manufacturing.
Five Trends Shaping Carbide Tooling
Where the market is moving
Coating development, finer grain sizes and near-net-shape manufacturing are the three levers that most affect tool life and cost today. Together they shift the balance from regrinding towards longer first-life performance.
- Thicker multi-layer PVD coatings for heat resistance
- Finer micro-grain substrates for edge sharpness
- Near-net-shape pressing to reduce grinding allowance
- Digital process monitoring for batch consistency
- Growing demand for custom geometries over catalogue items
The five trends
We discuss these trends with customers when selecting grades for a new application.