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█ Laser Melting with Metals (LaserCUSING)

Leaves its mark.

The new speed benchmark for precision drills

Mapal relies on additive manufacturing for QTD-series insert drills

Lichtenfels (Germany), July, 20, 2015: The days when precision tools and additive manufacturing strategies could not co-exist are history. The new Mapal QTD-series insert drill prove this again. For the first time, the precision tool specialists from Aalen are manufacturing drills additively, with amazing results. Dr. Dirk Sellmer, Head of Research and Development at Mapal, explained the reasons behind this new development and the new geometric freedom for designing complex parts.

Once again, Mapal has emphasized its role as a think tank for high-tech drilling

solutions. While searching for new, innovative metalworking solutions, the company has

PR +Report 7-2015 Words: 3,195 | Characters: 17,173

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re-invented itself again and again in the 65 years since it was founded in 1950. In this

pioneering role, Mapal now relies on additive tool solutions with LaserCUSING systems

by Concept Laser.

Requirements in practiceHigh performance, long service lives and rapid tool changes are the central

requirements for modern tool concepts. The QTD insert drill excels with good chip

deformation and reliable chip removal thanks to its geometry. The insert is held in a

stable prism connection. These precision features make high cutting specifications and

drill quality possible. Mapal offers four types of the inserts for steel, stainless steel, cast

iron and aluminum.

New QTD insert drill developed with diameters from 8 to 32.75 mm The new Mapal QTD insert drill is certain to impress users. The drills have a lot to offer

in detail. Additive manufacturing from metal powder using laser melting systems by

Concept Laser makes entirely new design approaches possible. The QTD insert drill

was previously available in diameters of 13 mm and greater. One reason for this is the

coolant supply in the tool body. The smaller the tool body, the greater the adverse effect

the standard central coolant supply on the tool's performance. Central coolant supply

weakens the core of the drill and makes it unstable. In addition to this, the cooling

channels must be ever smaller. That reduces the flow of coolant to the insert. The new

steel tool body design with spiral cooling channels is not usually used for small

diameters. The new design now allows even solid drills to be produced in the 8 to 12

mm diameter range.



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New, spiral cooling conceptThe new QTD-series insert drill are manufactured using additive laser melting. These

are hybrid manufactured parts: The tool shank is machined conventionally and the drill

is laser melted with additive methods. This approach makes the manufacturing process

significantly more economical. Dr. Dirk Sellmer: "Hybrid strategies are the ideal method

of choice: Simple component parts are machined and more complex areas are then built

up additively." Unmanned manufacturing and a reduction of tooling-up times and

reworking in the digital laser melting approach are other aspects which improve the

economy. However, the greatest advantage of transitioning from a conventional

manufacturing strategy to additive manufacturing was that it facilitated an entirely new

geometry, increasing the performance of the tools. Dr. Dirk Sellmer: "The additively

manufactured insert drill has a cooling concept with spiral ducts, which improves the

cooling performance. Compared with the previous central coolant supply with y

diversion, a spiral coolant routing increases the coolant flow by 100%." It also increases

the core stability with coolant ducts which run parallel to the flute. The cooling is also

improved by the new coolant duct profiles which deviate from the usual circular form

with a slightly triangular shape. That optimizes the geometrical moment of inertia and

the flow rate. Tests found that choosing a cross section of this type increases the flow

quantity by 30%. Coolant profiles like this cannot be produced conventionally. The

coolant flows at a pressure of 1.6 to 3 bar.

Better performanceOverall, the new cooling concept means that better cooled drills are available for longer

drilling tasks. It also allows to expand the range with smaller drill diameters. Stainless

steel 1.2709 is used. According to Dr. Sellmer, the powder requirement is calculated

from the effective construction weights plus 10%, and the scrap material is easy to



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recycle. Internal tension in parts is critical for rotating tool solutions by Mapal. Tension

must be removed from conventionally manufactured parts after machining due to the

immense forces to which they are subjected. That is not the case for LaserCUSING.

The constantly changing exposure locations in the geometry mean that the tension is

removed from the part internally during the build process.

System technologyTwo Concept Laser M1 cusing systems with a central material supply container are

used. The systems, from the medium performance range, have a build envelope of 250

x 250 x 250 mm. The QTD insert drills are created as 10x10 or 11x11 unit solution in

this build envelope. 100 to 121 drills are produced in one set-up. The build rates of the

400 W lasers are between 6 and 18 cm³/h. In order to avoid contamination, the M1

cusing operates under a nitrogen protection gas atmosphere as usual. During

processing, the laser heats the powder material to 60-70°C for fusing. The thermal

expansion in the build process has to be taken into consideration in the design.

However, after initial successes with series products, the demand for internal capacities

is also growing, even though clever organization results in production availability of 24

hours, seven days a week with unmanned production. According to Dr. Dirk Sellmer,

options include using multiple lasers in a system and/or a general expansion of capacity.

In 2014, Dr. Kress, owner of Mapal, mentioned a need for at least 5 systems in the

medium term.

Why Concept Laser?If you ask Matthias Schneider, an employee from the Dr. Sellmer's R&D department, the

reasons for choosing Concept Laser are handling, accessibility and user-friendliness.



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Matthias Schneider also mentions open variation of parameters for process design as

strengths of Concept Laser. Variable parameters are particularly interesting for tests and

new products to define an optional process. If we take a closer look, some things

Schneider mentions make it clear that he knows what he is talking about: The topology

options for LaserCUSING are among them. Concept Laser systems stand out due to

their stochastic control of the slice segments (also referred to as "islands"), which are

processed successively. This exposure strategy induces the lowest tension in the

component.

What's inside counts: Geometry and lightweight construction for balancingThe changes in the design are also apparent in other areas at Mapal. The Aalen-based

company's weight-optimized, laser-melted external reamers are new. The lighter the

external reamers are, the better they work. That is particularly true for machining small-

diameter shafts. Conventionally manufactured 8.5 mm steel external reamers already

weigh 400 grams. This weight and the resulting mass inertia severely restrict the

maximum step speeds. Additive manufacturing allows lightweight external reamers to be

built with integrated balancing potential. Dr. Dirk Sellmer: "The mass distribution of the

honeycomb structure of the external reamers is like balancing wheels. We call the

internal cavities balancing profiles. The balancing profiles enable us to achieve virtually

perfect concentricity of the rotating tools." A rib structure, specially designed for the

application, which has been registered for a patent, reduces the "new" 8.5 mm external

reamer's weight to 172 grams. That is a weight saving of 57%, which results in a better

performance for this rotating component: Machining is faster and precision is greater.



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New products on the horizonAdditive manufacturing strategies have been shown to boost competitiveness, economy

and value added. "In a broadest sense, we can say that the parts of the future are more

intelligent or complex, and also offer better performance," continues Dr. Dirk Sellmer,

and adds: "They also give us new design options. And that will result in new geometries

with new performance features. In general, additive manufacturing facilitates new

product solutions, which would be inconceivable with conventional methods. Every

project implemented is a learning experience. This knowledge is then used in new,

future projects. "Besides optimizing the quality, Mapal prioritizes process management,

to manufacture additively with better surfaces closer to the precision component. Both

cryogenic chip removal and the requests for closed cooling circuits and chambers make

new requirements of the technology.

Interview with Dr. Dirk Sellmer, Head of Testing and Development at Mapal:

Editorial team: You call the new QTD insert drill a world's first. What makes it so

innovative?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: The innovation is based on two aspects: On one hand, the use of

additive manufacturing technology for high-precision drills, and on the other an

innovative cooling concept.

Editorial team: What does that mean specifically?



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Dr. Dirk Sellmer: We can use a spiral cooling system with laser-melted insert drill. That

improves the cooling performance thanks to the higher coolant flow. And we succeeded

in offering smaller drills, i.e. expanding the product range downwards.

Editorial team: Please describe this cooling concept.

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: The changed cooling concept improves the cooling performance.

Compared with the previous central coolant supply with a Y diversion, a spiral coolant

supply increases coolant flow by 100%. This also increases the core stability via coolant

channels which run parallel to the chip flutes. As part of the development, we designed

new coolant channel profiles. They deviate from the usual circular form with a slightly

triangular shape. In tests, we found that choosing a cross section of this size increases

the flow quantity by 30%. The volume flow in the drill is 1.6 to 2 times greater than

conventionally manufactured tools. The ability to offer drills with smaller diameters was

almost a side effect.

Editorial team: What are the main requirements for a precision drill?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: The ideal drill is very hard outside and somewhat flexible inside.

Laser melting makes it possible to generate selective thicknesses and then harden the

surface with heat treatment and to create a cellular or honeycomb structure inside if

necessary. That makes ductile lightweight solutions and e-modules possible, which we

cannot produce conventionally. In detail, manufacturing based on the hull/core principle

is immensely important for us. First, the core of an insert drill is built with the cooling

system, which is added to the conventional shaft. In a second additive run, the outer hull

is built up with higher densities. This is almost the perfect drill - hard on the outside and



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soft on the inside. We combine ductility with high tensile strength and hardness. Of

course, the finished component is then hardened, i.e. heat-treated. We use a vacuum

hardening process for this.

Editorial team: Mapal uses additive construction for external reamers. What

advantages does that have in practice?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: For these rotating tools, the weight and imbalances determine the

performance characteristics due to the mass inertia. External reamers manufactured

additively can be roughly 50% or more lighter. In particular, they can be made with

cavities, which we call balancing profiles. That permits lower imbalances, higher speeds,

higher precision and greater economy. This is based on a honeycomb structure which

facilitates lightweight construction and balancing potential. In general, we assume that

we can also optimize the honeycomb structure bionically. FEM analyses allow us to

optimize these honeycomb structures to increase the rotating potentials. Our patent for

solutions like this gave us the foundation we needed. But that is not the end of the story.

Process-appropriate design allows us to implement new ideas constantly as a "work-in-

progress".

Editorial team: When did you start using additive manufacturing?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: First, we explored the market on the supply side and evaluated the

different system concepts for our applications. We soon found that all of the concepts

would enable us to change our previous machining environment. Just 12 months after

choosing the Concept Laser technology, we put the first series-ready products on the



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table, in spring 2014. Our boss, Dr. Dieter Kress, is so impressed that he often carries

an additive part to show visitors these minor miracles.

Editorial team: Why Concept Laser?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: When making decisions like this, there is a lot to think about as,

fundamentally, all three main providers offer good solutions on the hardware side.

However, there are certain nuances in the details which can be important. We soon

found that Concept Laser has a special approach to topology. In the exploratory

negotiations, Concept Laser also focused on our applications and showed us how

additive manufacturing is currently used by other processing companies. That meant

that we soon knew everything a user needs to know. Concept Laser offers open

parameter intervention. That was also an important point for us in the R&D department,

enabling us to make specific developments. In my opinion, the M1 cusing system is

designed very customer-specifically and easy to operate. It's not an "off the rack"

system, it's highly customized with a few soft factors. Our cooperation is one between

equal partners.

Editorial team: Was the investment a difficult decision for Mapal in terms of

profitability?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: Of course it was the subject of debate. And it did involve a certain

amount of risk initially. Dr. Kress, an owner highly interested in technology, also realized

that something special happens when geometries are created from powder, as if by



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magic. The process has a special charm, even in unmanned manufacturing.

Manufacturing: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He also knew that we in the

Development department would support an entrepreneurial decision like this with a

great deal of commitment. That meant 15 engineers and technicians, along with 10

technical assistants, who were convinced they should break new ground. We defined

specific goals and were given a lot of freedom when we went to work. Looking back, the

owner's decision was spot-on and points the way to the future. I am very happy that we

took this step as early as possible. The experience we are collecting gives us some

competitive advantages, where others are still plucking up their courage. The initial

investment decision should not be left up to the Controlling department alone. The

production solutions possible, unmanned manufacturing and many other factors of an

additive strategy really characterize competitiveness, economy and value added

immensely.

Editorial team: Do you think this will be a trend?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: The industry is highly conservative overall, which means that

innovations take a long time to catch on. But as you can see here, additive strategies

shift the design principles towards product solutions which would have been

inconceivable previously. The products offer obvious positives for us and our customers.

There is no other way if you want to be successful in future. Both for us, in our

manufacturing costs and range of performance for our products, and for our customers

when it comes to quality, availability and unit prices.



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Editorial team: Wouldn't titanium as material for the external reamer have been an

alternative with a classic strategy?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: Traditionally, that would be the right solution. Just use titanium

instead of steel. That reduces the weight by approx. 35%. But the material is expensive.

It is also difficult and expensive to machine. Instead of titanium, we get by with stainless

steel 1.2709. Besides, the density would be evenly distributed in an external reamer.

Figuratively speaking, we would stop thinking innovatively halfway to the goal. From a

certain point, it makes no sense to optimize old strategies to the max. You have to try

something new.

Editorial team: Which other approaches do you take with an additive manufacturing

strategy?

Dr. Dirk Sellmer: New products and new options: Take retrofitting, for example. An ISO

tool has a certain number of lifecycles based on the workload in the user's processes.

This wear is normal. However, today, taking sustainability and resource saving into

account, we have discovered that ISO tools do not have to be discarded, as they still

have potential for retrofitting. In short, additive structures offer many ways to restore the

ISO tool surface to an as-new condition. Of course, now that the technology is available,

we are checking all of our products to assess the viability of design adjustments. There

will be a range of new products and features.

Editorial team: What developments do you expect in the future?



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Dr. Dirk Sellmer: We can assume that the build rates of laser melting systems will

increase significantly. Stronger lasers are not necessarily at the top of our wish list, as

our parts are generally relatively delicate. But I believe multi-laser technology would

increase the performance. That would allow either faster or more selective processing,

i.e. varying the layer thickness. The quality level will also increase. Together, this

increases the economy and the performance parameters of parts. I also expect the

range of materials available to grow, which will allow us to adapt components even

better to their tasks in terms of performance or service life. Fundamentally, I could

envision designing powder materials to suit the process and application optimally. Our

design options will also change. And that will result in new geometries with new

performance features. In general, additive manufacturing facilitates new product

solutions, which would be inconceivable with conventional methods. The process is

doubtlessly ideally suited to increasing the imagination and creativity.

Editorial office. Thank you for the interview.

Product description - QTD insert drill (world's first) with diameters from 8 to 32.75 mm

- Laser-melted drills from 8-12 mm



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- 100% increased coolant flow rate, particularly thanks to the deviation from the circular

cooland duct profile

- Increased core stability due to coolant channels which run parallel to the flute

- Mount in 1.5xD, 3xD, 8xD and 12xD

- Inserts type 1-4 for steel, inox, cast iron and aluminum

The QTD insert drill was previously available from a diameter of 13 mm. One reason for

this is the cooling channel routing in the main body. The smaller the main body, the

greater the adverse effect the standard central coolant supply on the tool's performance.

Central routing weakens the core of the drill bit and makes it unstable. In addition to this,

the cooling channels must be ever smaller. That reduces the flow of coolant to the

cutter. Steel main body with spiral cooling channels, standard in the full hard metal

sector, have not bee usually used for small diameters.

Laser melting permits optimal cooling duct design

Laser melting allows main bodies with spiral cooling ducts in diameters from 8 to 12 mm

to be manufactured using 3D printing methods. Compared with the central coolant

supply with diversions, this design increases coolant flow 100%, in particular thanks to

the coolant channel profiles which deviate from the circular shape. The QTD insert drill

for small diameter ranges has been registered for a patent and is available as standard.

The Mapal Group - key information at a glance:



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Precision tools for all applications in metalworking (e.g. reaming, precision drilling,

drilling, milling, turning)

Highly individualized manufacturing: Specific, high-precision solutions in small and

medium batch sizes (roughly 95% of the turnover comes from batch sizes of 3-5

units)

Industries: automotive, mechanical, tool and plant engineering

4,500 employees worldwide, 3,120 of whom are located in Germany

Turnover 2014: EUR 510 million

Subsidiaries with regional production, sales and service in 21 countries

Sales offices in 25 countries

Author: Guido Radig, Provvido, Bergkirchen (D)

Reprint permitted – Copy requested

Captions █████████████████████████████████████████████

Caption 1: Dr. Dirk Sellmer, Head of Research and Development at Mapal: "In detail,

manufacturing based on the hull/core principle is immensely important for us. First, the core of

an insert drill is built with the cooling system, which is added to the conventional shaft. In a



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second additive run, the outer hull is built up with higher densities, which is close to the ideal for

a good drill bit - hard outside and soft inside."

Caption 2: Lighter and already evaluated: Weight-optimized, laser-melted external reamers:

Caption 3: QTD insert drill with new cooling duct profiles, which deviate from the usual circular

shape with a slightly triangular shape. That optimizes the geometrical moment of inertia and the

flow rate. Tests found that choosing a cross section of this type increases the flow quantity by

30%. Coolant profiles like this cannot be produced conventionally.

Caption 4: Matthias Schneider, Research & Development employee at Mapal

Caption 5: Additive manufacturing: M1 cusing systems by Concept Laser at Mapal

Caption 6: QTD insert drill

Caption 7: QTD insert drill

Image sources: MAPAL Fabrik für Präzisionswerkzeuge Dr. Kress KG

Concept Laser trade fair appearances █████████████████████

MSV, Brünn (CZ) 14.09 – 18.09.2015WESTEC, Los Angeles (USA) 15.09 – 17.09.2015Dental-Expo, Moskau (RUS) 28.09 – 01.10.2015TCT, Birmingham (UK) 30.09 – 01.10.2015



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Contacts ████████████████████████████████████████████████████

Concept Laser GmbHAn der Zeil 8

D-96215 Lichtenfels

Germany

Phone +49 9571 1679 - 0

Internet: www.concept-laser.de

Press contacts:Daniel Hund

Telephone: +49 9571 1679 - 251

E-mail: [email protected]

MAPAL Fabrik für Präzisionswerkzeuge Dr. Kress KGObere Bahnstraße

D-73431 Aalen

Germany

Telephone: +49 73 61 / 5 85 - 0


Internet: www.mapal.com

Press contacts:



http://www.mapal.com/

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.concept-laser.de/

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Andreas Enzenbach

Telephone: +49 (0) 7361 / 585-3683


Background info on LaserCUSING® █████████████████████████████████

Keyword: LaserCUSING®

The LaserCUSING® process is used to create mechanically and thermally stable metallic

components with high precision. Depending on the application, it can be used with stainless and

tool steels, aluminum and titanium alloys, nickel-based superalloys, cobalt-chromium alloys or

precious metals such as gold or silver alloys.

ProceduresWith LaserCUSING®, finely pulverized metal is fused using a high-energy fiber laser. After

cooling, the material solidifies. Component contour is achieved by directing the laser beam with

a mirror deflection unit (scanner). Construction takes place layer by layer (with each layer

measuring 15-150 μm) by lowering the bottom surface of the construction space, then applying

and fusing more powder.

Concept Laser systems stand out due to their stochastic control of the slice segments (also

referred to as "islands"), which are processed successively. The patented process significantly

reduces tension during the manufacture of very large components.

Overview of Concept Laser ███████████████████████████████████




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Concept Laser GmbH is an independent company based in Lichtenfels, Germany. Since its

founding in 2000, it has been a leading innovator in the field of laser melting with the patented

LaserCUSING® technology across many industries.

The term LaserCUSING®, a combination of the C from CONCEPT Laser and the word FUSING

(to fully melt), describes the technology: The fusing process generates components layer by

layer using 3D CAD data.

The method allows the production of complex component geometries without tools to create

parts that are difficult or even impossible to achieve through conventional manufacturing.

With the LaserCUSING® process, conformal cooling can be used to create tool inserts as well as

direct components for the jewelry, medical, dental, automotive and aerospace industries. This

applies to prototypes and series parts.

The company offers both standard systems and custom concepts for metal laser melting. With

Concept Laser, full-service as an option means that customers can either purchase their own

metal laser melting systems or rely directly on service and development services.

Laser machining systems from Concept Laser process powder materials made from stainless

steel, hot work tool steels, cobalt-chromium alloy, nickel-base alloy as well as reactive powder

materials such as aluminum and titanium alloys. Precious metals such as gold or silver alloys for

jewelry making are also an option.

LaserCUSING® offers new perspectives in terms of cost and speed for efficient product

development in industries such as:

• Jewelry



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• Medical and dental technology

• Aerospace industry

• Tool and mold construction

• Automotive and motor sports

• Mechanical engineering

The systems reduce development time and costs substantially while offering much greater

flexibility in product development.

The high quality standards, level of experience and successful track record of Concept Laser

guarantee reliable and cost-effective solutions with proven performance in everyday production,

with a particular focus on unit cost reductions.

The art of LaserCUSING® by Concept Laser

Ideas for laser melting with metals in the following areas of application: automotive and motor sports, aerospace, medical and dental technology, tool and mold construction and machine engineering.



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