"We Specifically Request CemeCon Coatings"

For sophisticated high-tech products, only turned parts that are perfect are good enough. As one of the market leaders in Europe, Grieshaber GmbH & Co. KG in Schiltach (Germany) is the preferred supplier when aluminum or stainless steel turned parts with the highest quality, precision and optics are required. The manufacturer uses form drilling tools with premium coatings from CemeCon for production.

Particularly with medium and large batch sizes up to several 100,000 units, the service life of the tools is crucial for economic production when processing aluminum and copper-based alloys. Longer service life not only cuts tool costs, but also reduces production interruptions. "Therefore, we are continuously searching for opportunities for improvement. The optimal coating for each processing case and material is a decisive factor. CemeCon coatings are at the front of the pack," says Ludwig Hoferer, technical planning employee with a focus on multi-spindle production at Grieshaber.

In its own tooling shop and the tool grinding department, Grieshaber develops production concepts and special tools for prototypes and preproduction, such as form drilling tools. The company also tests various coatings for the tools. Ludwig Hoferer says, "With InoxaCon® on drills with a diameter of 4 to 25 mm, we were able to increase service life by a factor of 6 to 8 compared to traditional TiAlN coatings for the processing of stainless steel (1.4301, 1.4305). Especially in the machining of fine contours, we achieved excellent results with the HiPIMS coating."

InoxaCon® results in tremendous increases in service life compared to other coatings, especially with our high-precision form drilling tools."

Ludwig Hoferer, technical planning employee at Grieshaber

With form drilling and profiling tools for aluminum, AluSpeed® resulted in significant improvements. The coating proved itself in particular with "soft" types of aluminum with their typical long chipping behavior. The formation of built-up edges was significantly decreased, and the service life was increased by a factor of 3 to 4. "But it's not just the coatings from CemeCon that are first class. Their service is also just right. CemeCon is very flexible and does not have any minimum order quantity requirements. So we can have two or three tools coated for our tests and this allows us to achieve the optimal result," continues Ludwig Hoferer.

If the turned parts are included in a series, Grieshaber usually orders the tools for their production from external partners. "Since we have achieved such good results with AluSpeed® and InoxaCon® in our own tool workshop, we specifically ask for these coatings from our external suppliers, particularly with form drilling tools," says Ludwig Hoferer.