Own coating for the tool

By investing heavily in modern, sustainable production capacities, digitalization and service, tool manufacturer Nachreiner is preparing itself for current and future market challenges. The company from Balingen-Weilstetten already has a high level of vertical integration, which allows it to keep the entire value chain and product quality under its own control. With the integration of high-performance impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) coating technology from Cemecon, the manufacturer is now giving its premium tools further performance and quality advantages in the highly competitive market.

Nachreiner's precision tools solve demanding machining tasks all over the world and set standards in the machining of metal, non-ferrous metals, plastic and composite materials. Since 1981, the company has consistently followed the guiding principle "Precision means leaving nothing to chance". In addition to the standard range, the experts also offer users from a wide variety of industries intensive technical advice on customer-specific solutions and manufacture individual special tools for special applications. An efficient regrinding service and innovative coatings round off the product range perfectly.

Nachreiner produces its high-quality milling, drilling and threading tools at its sites in Balingen and the Black Forest with a high level of vertical integration and optimized manufacturing, quality and service processes. Temperature-stabilized production, modern technology for edge preparation and optimization of micro-geometry as well as modern grinding, measuring and automation technology are fixed factors in tool production designed for sustainability, efficiency and quality.

High quality standards

"Our aim is to offer metalworkers the best in cutting tools now and in the future so that they can achieve outstanding quality in their products. By incorporating premium coating expertise from Cemecon in the form of our new CC800 HiPIMS in-house coating line, we now have the entire production chain and therefore the final tool under control," says Markus Hallas, Managing Director of Nachreiner.

With the CC800 HiPIMS, Cemecon has once again significantly increased the quality and performance of coatings compared to other processes. The technology is flexible and suitable for coating many different tool variants. Whether small batches or large lot sizes: it can be optimally adapted to different requirements, from micro-tools to tools for heavy-duty machining - and in the shortest possible time.

For premium quality across this entire bandwidth, HiPIMS coatings have outstanding properties: they are smooth, adhesive, hard and tough at the same time, have a fine-grained, dense morphology, low residual stresses and high thermal stability. The uniform coating thickness distribution also contributes to optimum wear protection of the cutting tools.

No energy losses

The CC800 HiPIMS was designed from the ground up for HiPIMS. The HiPIMS pulse units are located on the chamber doors in close proximity to the cathodes. This eliminates the need for a cable between the two components. Cable paths not only represent a resistance and therefore a loss of energy, but also change the pulse patterns due to their inductance and capacitance. These limitations do not exist in the Cemecon HiPIMS systems. The same applies to the positioning of the HiPIMS bias in the immediate vicinity of the substrate table. Thanks to this design, the necessary energy reaches where it is needed without loss or delay, directly to the cutting tool to be coated. The components are built by Cemecon itself and are 100% tailored to this task.

The synchronization between the cathodes and the substrate table makes the residual stress management of the layers possible. This is how it works: HiPIMS pulses are very short, but still consist of three phases. Energy is only applied to the substrate table during the layer growth phase. This prevents ionized working gas from entering the layer. This technology package patented by Cemecon is the key to coatings with very low, adjustable residual compressive stresses. The benefit for the tool manufacturer: The HiPIMS coating shows performance where it really counts: on the cutting edge of the cutting tool.

Support all along the line

Markus Hallas: "The decision to use our own coating technology was a very special step. It set the course for the future. It was therefore important for us to have a partner at our side who not only provides us with the best technology, but also accompanies us from the very first step, trains and educates our employees and supports us in the development of our own coatings."

Know-how as a contract coater

Dr.-Ing. Beate Hüttermann, Executive Director Sales at Cemecon: "We have been operating a coating service ourselves for 30 years. At the same time, we develop, build and sell this system technology. Users benefit from this. Thanks to our transparent technology transfer, customers are guaranteed the best possible support in every phase of their coating project." The production process tested in the world's largest coating center is demonstrated during on-site training sessions in Würselen in the coating service and at the customer's production facility.

"Cemecon's well thought-out training concept enabled us to quickly get started with real coating production. The experts are also available to answer any questions we have afterwards and help us to adapt the coatings to the special applications," adds Sabahudin Seferovic, responsible for coatings at Nachreiner.

Markus Hallas is delighted: "With Cemecon's coating expertise, we deliver on our promise of 'precision means leaving nothing to chance' with first-class quality. The CC800 HiPIMS gives our premium tools a further leap in quality and is the key to differentiating ourselves even better from the competition with high-quality coating solutions."