Walter Introduces WNN15: High-Performance Inserts for Aluminum Drilling Efficiency

Walter has expanded its range of indexable insert drills by incorporating the low-adhesion WNN15 grade. This grade is specifically designed for drilling aluminum alloys in the aerospace, automotive, and general mechanical engineering industries.

The WNN15 grade boasts a hard substrate that enhances cutting-edge strength and sharpness on the inserts, ensuring process reliability and wear resistance for extended tool life even at high cutting speeds. Compared to conventional drilling grades, tool life can reportedly improve by up to 200% in certain applications, making drilling with WNN15 inserts more cost-effective than using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools.

These inserts are coated with a physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating using the high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) process, resulting in a smooth and dense surface that promotes efficient chip evacuation and prevents built-up edge at the tool/workpiece interface. Each insert features four indexes, enhancing cost efficiency.

In addition to the coated WNN15 grade, Walter has introduced the uncoated polished grade WN15 with a fine-grained substrate, offering an economical alternative with approximately 30% lower cost per cutting edge. This uncoated grade complements the coated PVD grade WNN15 and is suitable for aluminum machining applications in the same range of drills that accept WN15 grade inserts.

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