Leuco PCD cutting tools enable high surface quality with long tool life

Precision tools supplier Leuco’s (Villa Rica, Ga., U.S.) polycrystaline diamond (PCD) milling and drilling tools are said to be ideal for machining carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components due to their long tool life despite the challenges of cutting abrasive composite materials.

Specifically, Leuco’s PCD tools are designed for the production of thin-walled components with complex shapes. Features include high tooth density and sophisticated geometries for smooth running to enable suitable dimensional accuracy when producing parts. Milling out pockets and functional surfaces, as well as drilling holes, are said to be easily done with this tool, and the material’s sharpness largely eliminates defects such as delamination or fiber tearing. Leuco says the sharpness and durability of its pure PCD tools outlast carbide and diamond-coated carbide tools.

In practice, Leuco says its combined milling and drilling tools are ideal for machining the large CFRP battery boxes produced for electric vehicles (EV), and a customer in the aircraft industry recently used Leuco’s PCD tools to produce CFRP fuselage stringers. The stringer manufacturer had already been machining stringers with PCD tools, but the existing tools showed unsatisfactory edge life for the low surface roughness value (Ra) requirements of the CF/PEEK (polyetheretherketone) parts. The company worked with Leuco on a solution, and ultimately used a combination of PCD roughing and finishing tools to meet requirements for both tool edge life and part surface quality. Benefits included very high sharpness, slight shear angle of the cutters for smoother running and lower cutting force and availability in diameters as small as 4 mm.