Our innovations

The manufacturing industry is constantly evolving, and we’re evolving along with it. Through the years Sandvik Coromant has contributed to the industry with new products, solutions and methods that have improved processes and ways of thinking. Big or small, innovations are the heartbeat of our company. Here are a few we take special pride in.

T-Max and indexable inserts

In 1957 scrapers became the first product with mechanically clamped “indexable inserts” or “throw-away inserts”, as they were called at the time. The T-Max holder was first demonstrated in the United States that year; a year later T-Max became the flagship for indexable inserts in Europe. The birth of the T-Max and use of indexable inserts was the start of a big change in the practice and productivity in machining.

KNUX

Insert 170.6, more commonly known as KNUX, was introduced in 1961 and became a top seller – a position that the insert held for more than 30 years. To date, the KNUX insert is one of our most manufactured and most profitable inserts. At the peak of KNUX manufacture in more than 200,000 inserts were produced per week.

The Ejector drill

In the mid-1960s the Ejector drill, with brazed cemented-carbide inserts, became an innovation in long-hole drilling. This completely new method of drilling introduced Sandvik Coromant to many new customers while increasing the company’s reputation in product development. The drill was shown at the EMTE exhibition in 1965 and production started the following year in Gimo, Sweden.

Gamma Coating

In 1969 Sandvik Coromant became the first in the world to introduce heat-resistant carbide inserts called Gamma Coating, or GC. The coating made the inserts more heat resistant and consequently increased customers’ metal-cutting performance by as much as 50 percent. This also created the foundation for today’s generation of multi-coated inserts for turning, milling and drilling.

Block Tool Systems

Block Tools, a system for rapid tool changes in turning, received a great deal of attention when introduced at the IMTS Chicago Fair in 1980. The design work behind the patented method of coupling had begun four years earlier. It formed the start of using modularity to provide better utilization and greater versatility of machine tools.

Coromant Capto®

Coromant Capto®, a single holding system for both rotating and stationary spindles launched in 1990, was brilliant in its simplicity. It provided a new and efficient means of combining and organizing tooling, while reducing tool-changing time in machinery. Today Coromant Capto (Latin for “I am gripping”) is an established system and an ISO standard around the world.

Silent Tools™

The Norwegian anti-vibration tool developer and one of our close partners for many years, was acquired by Sandvik Coromant in 2008. The damping adaptors from Silent Tools™ allow for increased cutting parameters and a secure, vibration-free process with close tolerances, a high metal-removal rate and an excellent surface finish.

Inveio™

In 2013, a unidirectional crystal orientation on an atomic level was achieved through groundbreaking R&D, resulting in Inveio™ coating crystals. The tightly packed crystals created a particularly strong thermal-protection coating. Inveio coating technology was a breakthrough in the science of insert coating, leading to the birth of a new tool material.

PrimeTurning™

PrimeTurning™, introduced in 2017, has been the biggest innovation in turning since turning was introduced. The new concept contains techniques and tools unlike anything that has ever been tested before. This new methodology enables turning in all directions, which is much more efficient and productive compared with conventional turning, resulting in dramatically increased productivity.

CoroPlus®

A new tooling system, CoroPlus® provides users with connected solutions for digital machining. The CoroPlus platform enables increased process security as well as time saving in design and planning. The connected tools and software enable monitoring of machining performance and for making well-informed decisions on how to optimize machining processes.