IGUANA MILLING CHALLENGE

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED – STILL SHARP

MICRO TOOL IGUANA

CONQUERS GERMANY’S TALLEST STRUCTURE

At the end of 2021, ZECHA Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrikation GmbH and AlienTools GmbH went live for the first time in their companies’ history to find out: “How long will our IGUANA tool run?”

Never before had anyone in the industry taken on such a challenge and broadcast a long-term milling test via live stream. But what prompted the IGUANA MILLING CHALLENGE?

Having won the 2021 Innovation Award of the State of Baden-Württemberg, and to prove at the same time why the IGUANA tool technology had been honoured, we simply let the tool run – for as long as possible. The goal was clear: one tool, one machine, and the task of covering milling paths.

No sooner said than done. On Thursday, 16 December 2021, ZECHA and AlienTools went live. During the live event, medals in various designs were to be milled non-stop from high-quality 50 x 50 mm copper blanks (E-CU – CW004A) – all with one single two-flute 1 mm ball nose end mill from the IGUANA family. The innovation behind this tool: laser technology is used to sharpen the diamond-coated cutting edges, resulting in a perfectly sharp and precise edge. This considerably extends the tool’s service life.

Under the watchful eye of VDWF President Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Seul and several thousand live viewers, the milling test was proactively ended after an astonishing 30 days in order to free up the in-house KERN milling machine for other projects.

At first glance, both the medals and the tool itself looked unscathed after an incredible 641+ hours of milling and a milling distance of more than 27 km. Almost unimaginable when you consider the distance covered by a cutter just 5 cm long.

During the live event, the IGUANA micro tool milled its own length 546,288 times. Compared with Germany’s tallest structure, the tool managed to mill the height of the Berlin TV Tower 74.2 times. And if that doesn’t make you dizzy yet, take the tallest building in the world as a reference: here too, IGUANA proved its staying power and milled the height of the Burj Khalifa 32.9 times.

All of this called for close examination. And so the measurements began on our in-house metrology equipment.

The results under C-View, SEM and Nano-Focus speak for themselves:

Tool form deviation < 0.002 mm
No damage to or changes in the coating structures
Fine-finished workpiece surfaces with Ra < 0.3 (N4 – N5 quality)

The milling test thus confirms the award-winning technology: using the IGUANA tool family leads to significant increases in tool life combined with the best surface finishes on the component.

Detailed measurement results can be viewed on the company website.

Through the cooperation with our selected partners – AlienTools GmbH, Cimtrode GmbH, Kern Microtechnik GmbH, LANG Technik GmbH, oelheld GmbH, OPEN MIND Technologies AG and REGO-FIX AG – the challenge not only generated regional and international success, but also allowed these valued relationships to grow further. Afterwards, each partner received its own unique medal, designed specifically for the company.

Further one-of-a-kind medals were available to participants exclusively through an online auction.

Three special medals were auctioned, with the entire proceeds going to the Pforzheim and Enzkreis children’s and youth hospice service Sterneninsel e.V.

The challenge not only demonstrated the special qualities of the award-winning IGUANA technology, but also marked the sales launch of the new 935 lines – at both ZECHA and AlienTools. This means that all dimensions of the new lines can now be ordered from the ZECHA and AlienTools shops.

THE IGUANA MILLING CHALLENGE

THE ULTIMATE TEST OF THE TECHNOLOGY…
STREAMED LIVE

ZECHA Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrikation GmbH and AlienTools GmbH went live for the first time in the company’s history to find out:

“How long will our IGUANA tool run?”

For more info on the event, the tool and it’s performace follow the link below!

ZECHA Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrikation GmbH

ZECHA Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrikation GmbH has been a pioneer and trendsetter in the field of micro cutting, stamping and forming tools for over half a century. The company’s origins in the chronograph industry can be seen not only in its uncompromising specialization in the producing miniature tools of the highest precision, but also in its special tool solutions.

Precision and quality are key for the international employment in different industries, such as, for example, in medical and dental technology, the chronograph industry, automotive industry, or in tool and mould making. Experts in the company’s own research and development department are constantly developing groundbreaking geometries and tools for sophisticated applications and cutting-edge materials.

In addition, tool reproducibility is also guaranteed even for years on account of the life number stamped at the end of the shaft of every tool.

Modern CNC machines, high-end measuring and testing technologies and carefully selected hard metals from leading manufacturers as well as an intensive cooperation with our customers and partners ensure the exceptional perfection of our Tools.

For more information:

ZECHA Hartmetall- Werkzeugfabrikation GmbH

Benzstraße 2

75203 Königsbach-Stein

Tel: +49 (0)7232 3022-0

marketing@zecha.de

www.zecha.de

Editorial offices please note:

Text and photos can be requested as files from ZECHA

Tel: +49 (0)7232 3022-0

marketing@zecha.de