APMEN: From the cutting tool manufacturer’s point of view, what are the market and technical trends in the energy industry that are significant to you?

Marcos Rosenzvaig (MR): There is a fast growing demand for machining exotic materials, such as stainless steel, duplex and super-duplex, Inconel and titanium in the energy sector, mostly in the upstream oil and gas segment. These non-standard materials are normally categorised as high temperature resistant alloys. 

These exotic and expensive materials are widely utilised in offshore projects due to their mechanical and corrosion resistant properties in most acid-alkaline solutions, and chlorine bearing environments.

In order to optimise cutting conditions and tooling technology, it is important to consider the material properties of the workpiece and how they can affect machining. For example, when machining Inconel, there are major factors to be addressed which are characterised by the very high temperatures on the cutting edge of the insert, due to the abrasive elements in the material composition (high nickel content of 50 to 55 percent and chrome content of 17 to 21 percent), resulting in high wear rates, chipping, notching and insert breakage.

APMEN: What are the common metal cutting techniques in these sectors? What are the challenges and solutions from a cutting tool producer’s perspective?

MR: Iscar has recently launched a renewed Isoturn line offering. These carbide grades are for turning stainless steels at medium to high cutting speeds.

On high-temperature alloys, IC806 is the first recommendation. This PVD coated tough submicron substrate has surface treatment that reduces the friction coefficient and consequently, the heat rate decreases during machining. 

For semi-finish and finishing operations at high cutting speeds on Ni-base super alloys like Inconel, the whiskers ceramics IW7 is the first option. Its main advantages  are high hardness, high fracture toughness, good thermal shock resistance and good oxidation resistance due to the alumina substrate.

For heavy duty rough applications, the Doveiqturn line is suitable. The dovetail pocket features a lever clamping mechanism that prevents the double-sided insert from being lifted during machining and eliminates the need for the conventional top clamp, which interferes with the chip flow.

In drilling, the Sumocham drill family is suitable for shallow, medium and deep drilling applications in a diameter range from 6.0 to 32.9 mm. Its standard line offers up to 12D depth to diameter ratio.

This line features different standard drill head geometries, such as ICP for use on carbon and steel alloys (ISO P), ICM for use on stainless steel and high temperature alloys (ISO M) and the HCP geometry which is capable of drilling straight into the material without any pre-hole or guide drilling.

For large diameter drilling applications, the Combicham drilling system is one of the solutions to boost productivity and efficiency in oil & gas deep drilling applications. 

In milling, we have developed the ECK-H4M-CF. This Chatterfree solid carbide endmill is our recommendation for machining titanium at high metal removal rates.

These solid carbide endmills feature four flute different helix and variable pitch, which enables the cutter to achieve results at high feed rates up to 2xD full slotting applications in titanium. The line offers a diameter range from 4 to 20 mm in grade IC900, which is a tough submicron PVD coating suitable for milling heat resistant alloys, austenitic stainless steel, hard alloys and hard carbon steel at medium to high cutting speeds. 

APMEN: What new technology/concept do you have to help operators improve productivity when they make parts for the energy sector? 

MR: The Inconel cladding machining process has become very popular among the companies related to the upstream exploration sector, due to the excellent corrosion-resistant properties.

We recommend choosing the carbide insert SNMG 432-EM-R from the ISO line, designed for machining high temperature alloys. One of the most important features of this IC806 PVD coated insert is the lack of radius. Its 45 deg approaching angle reduces notch wear and allows the increment of both cutting speed and feed, yet achieving long-lasting tool life (See Figure 1).

In addition, we have launched the Doveiqmill 845 line. This line is for face milling application in austenitic stainless steel, featuring milling cutters in a diameter range from 50 to 315 mm, carrying square double-sided inserts with eight cutting edges.

The combination of the pocket inclination on the IQ845 FSY cutter and high-positive cutting edges on top rake angles of the inserts results in a soft cut and smooth entry into the machined surface as well as a gentle exit from the component.

Case Study Going deeper and deeper into the sea and sea bed is driving demand for high-quality and steel grades diversity on OCTG products. Seamless tubes are the most common in the oil and gas upstream sector. The main components during drilling well operations are tube and coupling. On both, the cut-off operation is one of the most important applications for cutting tools. The following case study shows how the Tang-grip system measures up against conventional and popular brazed carbide blades.