EoW July 2009

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EuroWire – July 2009 48
Dies & die shop equipment
PCD materials
Kiwus has 25 years of experience with PCD materials for the wire drawing industry.
The company’s developments under the product name of MANT were coarse grain
PCD materials with grain sizes of 25 and 40-micron, thermostable up to 1,000˚C.
The material has been supplied
to customers in the tungsten and
molybdenum drawing industry
(hot drawing) and in the welding
wire industry.
The most common grain size in the
stainless steel and copper drawing
industry is 5-micron.
Four years ago the “bread-and-
butter” 5-micron PCD material was
re-engineered.
The aim was to develop a PCD
material free of inclusions, cavities
and micro-clusters (soft zones)
by using materials of the highest
purity.
Diamond makes up more than 85%
of the PCD material. The diamond
micron powder used for the MANT
process has total metal impurities
lower than 70 ppm.
Grain size is consistent between
3 and 5-micron to avoid fine
particles hindering the catalyst
infiltration.
No large particles disturb the fine PCD surface when manufactured into a drawing
die. The same attention was extended to the other materials, applied in the high
temperature high-pressure sintering process.
RCT inspection at the RWTH Aachen University proved that the MANT-005 material is
inclusion-free. Results in different branches of the drawing industry were all positive.
A range of standard PCD blanks is available, or special sizes can be made on request.
Kiwus GmbH – Germany
Email:
Website:
Die technology
from France
Agir Technologies has increased
its range of CNC machines to
manufacture and repair a large range
of tungsten carbide drawing dies
from 0.2mm to 6.5mm.
These fully automatic machines are
managed by OPLC and combine
modern technology with ease of
use and a robust construction that
allows productivity and precision,
essential to the production of
drawing dies.
TCLD-C-CNC is dedicated to the
working of the die cone with control
of the meeting point; the other
machine, the TCLD-B-CNC, calibrates
the bearing of the dies and polishes.
The brand new automatic machine
TCSD-CB-CNC is a single machine for
the complete production and repair
of tungsten carbide dies of smaller
diameters: the cone and bearing
of dies from 0.2mm to 1.5mm can
now be ground and then polished
automatically on one machine.
Agir Technologies markets other
Mouton machines to manufacture
and repair smaller quantities of dies
of any diameter: internal grinding
machines, lapping machines,
polishing lathes, as well as all the
consumable products necessary to
the production of tungsten carbide
dies such as diamond paste and
grinding wheels.
Agir Technologies – France
Fax: +33 3 80518136
Email:
Website:
▲ ▲ The MANT range includes coarse-grained PCD materials