Talking Tech: Tooling for Aerospace
In discussion with Mark Radcliffe, Business Development Manager (Aerospace) at MAPAL, Technical Editor Steed Webzell learns there is far more to this innovative tooling company than many are aware. FLYING HIGH
Although historically a renowned market leader in the automotive sector, tooling expert MAPAL is also a significant player in the aerospace industry following a concerted effort to infiltrate this segment over
of simultaneously machining materials with very different properties, while still delivering impressive tool life.” Accuracy is another important factor. Here, MAPAL tools can perform the one-shot drilling of multi-stack materials within tolerances of 50-60µm. “The point geometries and how we
the past 15-20 years. Today, the company’s tooling is in use at most major aerospace OEMs and MAPAL is now targeting greater penetration at tier one and tier two supply chain manufacturers. Tooling solutions from MAPAL are available for aerospace structural and engine materials that include aluminium, CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic), titanium, stainless steels, superalloys and more. Many structural parts are single materials, but some assemblies feature multi- stack materials involving aluminium- CFRP-titanium or CFPR-stainless steel, for example. Tool geometries and coatings therefore demand high levels of design innovation. “Diamond-coated tools work well on abrasive CFRP, but are not ideal for titanium,” explains Mark Radcliffe, Business Development Manager (Aerospace) at MAPAL. “We use advanced geometries and coatings to overcome the challenge
use the margins ensures successful drilling to tight tolerances without delamination” he adds. “We’re currently involved in a project that requires reducing the burrs on aluminium exit to less than 100µm.” Today, MAPAL has a standard tool catalogue for its aerospace customers dedicated to titanium and superalloy workpieces. Its pages include information on the latest high-feed milling cutters, indexable inserts and high-speed drills, for instance. A similar catalogue is available for aluminium parts, covering different types of carbide and PCD tooling. R&D is ongoing. A case in point is MAPAL’s new (released at EMO 2023) OptiMill-Alu-Wave solid- carbide roughing cutter for aluminium workpieces. This exciting new cutter can achieve staggering metal removal rates of up to 21 litres per minute on structural parts such as wing ribs and
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