A New Source for Cryogenic Tooling
BlueZone cryogenic tooling, designed by 5ME and manufactured and marketed by Star SU, provides benefits including aggressive material removal and increased tool life.
Cryogenic machining involves transmitting liquid nitrogen at ‑321°F through the spindle/turret and tool body directly to the cutting tool.
The primary benefits of machining with cryogenic tooling are increased material removal thanks to higher cutting speeds, the ability to work with hard to machine materials such as Inconel, Titanium and Stellite, and reducing your tooling, materials and energy costs. 5ME, a designer of cryogenic tooling, has authorized Star SU to manufacture and market their end mills, ball mills, tapered ball mills, thread mills, reamers and drills under the brand name BlueZone cryogenic tooling throughout North America.
According to 5ME, “cryo” offers a host of sustainable manufacturing benefits by saving machine shops time, tools, materials, energy and processing. The system can be retrofit and applied to almost any process or machine and provides an alternative to using traditional metal machining fluids such as water- or oil-based coolants.
Longer tool life is achieved by transmitting liquid nitrogen at ‑321°F through the spindle/turret and tool body directly to the cutting tool’s edge. The company says the process is an environmentally friendly machining technology that increases throughput, part quality, tool life, and profitability while reducing energy consumption.
The process is said to produce a smooth, reliable finish and leaves behind little residue, making it perfect for intricate or sterile workpieces. The liquid nitrogen evaporates on contact with outside air, leaving the workpiece clean and sterile with little or no cleanup compared with using coolant. Read this blog post by Chris Koepfer, which contains a video, to learn more about the process.
