AE-BD-H and AE-LNBD-H carbide ball end mills enhance performance and consolidate tooling in injection mold production
Tantip Luangthongsri | OSG Thai
Founded in 1989, Kanagata (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of injection molding, injection molding machines and cylinders for the plastic injection industry. A majority of Kanagata’s products are associated to the Lion Group, a Japanese manufacturer of detergent, soap, medications, oral hygiene products and other toiletries. Kanagata is responsible for designing and producing molds for the mass production of these products. Kanagata is well-known in Thailand by kitchen cleaning products in the name of the Lion Group and is regarded as one of the major mold-makers in the country.
Kanagata’s manufacturing plant is located in the Bang Pakong district in the western part of Chachoengsao Province in central Thailand. The company has over 50 employees and operates in a 6,400-square-meter facility.
Kanagata’s manufacturing plant is located in the Bang Pakong district in the western part of Chachoengsao Province in central Thailand. The company has over 50 employees and operates in a 6,400-square-meter facility. Kanagata has been manufacturing molds since the company’s founding more than 30 years ago. On average, Kanagata makes approximately 70 molds that are exported to Japan annually. Kanagata utilizes a number of CNC machining centers in its production, including Makino’s V33, V56 and V77 models, DMG MORI’s NVX 5100, and Mazak’s Integrex 300-III.
A majority of Kanagata’s products are associated to the Lion Group, a Japanese manufacturer of detergent, soap, medications, oral hygiene products and other toiletries. Kanagata is responsible for designing and producing molds for the mass production of these products.
Most of Kanagata’s applications involve hardened steel such as STAVAX (plastic mold steel), M300, NAK80, etc., with superior wear resistance and lifespan. However, the machining of these molds requires high quality tools to ensure precision, efficiency and overall cost performance.
Most of Kanagata’s applications involve hardened steel such as STAVAX (plastic mold steel), M300, NAK80, etc., with superior wear resistance and lifespan. However, the machining of these molds requires high quality tools to ensure precision, efficiency and overall cost performance.
Kanagata was originally using milling tools from Taiwan and South Korea. However, the end mills were easily broken and had short tool life. As a result, Kanagata had to use many of the same tools in order to complete a part, making the production very costly and time consuming.
Later on, Kanagata decided to test milling cutters from various Japanese cutting tool manufacturers. The cutting trial involved the machining of STAVAX using a DMG MORI machining center running at a cutting speed of 8,500 rpm and a feed rate of 1,550 mm/rev. The competitor tools had trouble entering the workpiece and required long machining time. OSG’s AE-BD-H (EDP number: 3042010) and AE-LNBD-H (EDP number: 3056133) carbide end mills, on the other hand, dominated the trial result with superior accuracy and the best overall performance.
OSG’s AE-BD-H carbide end mill.
OSG’s AE-BD-H and AE-LNBD-H carbide ball end mills are designed to accommodate a wide range of applications and milling methods in hardened steel with superior performance. The AE-BD-H is a 2-flute carbide ball end mill designed for high-precision finishing. It features a variable negative spiral gash for better chipping control. The AE-BD-H’s superior ball R precision ensures a stable radius accuracy across 180 degrees.
OSG’s AE-LNBD-H carbide end mill.
The AE-LNBD-H is a 2-flute long neck carbide ball end mill designed for high-precision finishing. Similar to the AE-BD-H, it also features a thick center core to help prevent deformation of the ball tip to improve chipping control. Its teardrop-shaped outer periphery strong back taper geometry enables milling by point, which prevents chattering and chipping, resulting in improvement of surface accuracy. This carbide ball end mill series is coated with OSG’s original DUROREY coating with superior heat resistance and high toughness optimized for hardened steel.
OSG’s AE-BD-H carbide ball end mill and a hardened steel mold.
Kanagata was especially surprised by the performance of OSG’s DUROREY coating, which enables the company to achieve higher cutting speed to save time. In addition to high accuracy, efficiency and reliability, the AE-BD-H and AE-LNBD-H carbide end mills offer superior versatility that Kanagata has not experienced before. Kanagata used to separate tooling based on the type of work and material, having to use many sizes of tooling in order to complete a mold. By switching to the AE-BD-H and AE-LNBD-H, Kanagata is able to consolidate tooling as they are able to excel in mixed tasks together. The end mills are also applicable to various materials, which further reduces processing time, enhances quality and performance of a mold.
Kanagata’s operator prepares for the machining of a mold.
Last but not least, the OSG Thai factory is in close proximity to Kanagata, locating in the same Bang Pakong district. When machining trouble arises, OSG’s applications engineers and sales representatives can quickly provide assistance and troubleshoot.
From left, Kanagata Factory Manager Kittipong Sonsai and OSG Thai Sales Representative Tantip Luangthongsri.
“There are many tooling brands in the field, but not all can offer the same quality assurance as OSG,” said Kanagata Factory Manager Kittipong Sonsai. “When a single tool is able to do it all, it is the right answer.”
For more information on the AE-BD-H and AE-LNBD-H carbide ball end mills for hardened steel applications and OSG’s global network in Asia
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