[SwissType1]

Anyone looking to get some High Performance Swiss-Type tooling, Genevieve Swiss is giving away FREE 3000 series UTILIS holders with every 10 pack of cutting inserts purchased. http://www.genswiss.com/promo.htm

It looks like this promo is running for the remainder of 2008 all the way through 2009.

[SWISS20]

has anyone had experience with this tooling? 90% of our turning tooling is all Kennametal, how does this compare for tool life and tooling cost?

[bl409]

I personally do not like that style of holder as I cannot change them as easily as some of the others with in the gang holder but I think the quality is good. BL

[PixMan]

I have used a variety of Utilis tooling in Swiss lathes (Star, Tsugami) and love it. I do understand concerns about being able to change inserts without taking the toolholder out of the machine, as I've also used tooling from Iscar and WhizCut that allow changing inserts without removal.

The big difference in Utilis tooling is that it's engineered for longest tool life, so you're not changing inserts as often as with others. Their superior grades of carbide really seem to work great in most steels, stainless and certainly non-ferrous.

The minor inconvenience of taking the toolholder out to change the insert is offset by never having an insert "cocked" in the holder because you can't see it, as is common with those. Repeatability of size with the Utilis when changing inserts is usually within .0002" to .0003" (if not dead on) because they hold the grind tolerances so close.

Great stuff!

BTW, the Utilis carbide boring, grooving and threading system for I.D. work is the BEST I have ever used. As an example, I had to do an internal M1.6 x 0.35 thread, 10mm deep inside a bore that had multiple ID groves and contours. I had to use 4 different boring and grooving tools in addition to the spot, 2 drills and thread mill. The material was 6Al-4V titanium alloy.

I did over 350 pieces with ONE boring bar, and two (each of 2 sizes) groove tools. The location features and size repeated with .0002 at changing the groove tools. The nice part is that the boring bars are changed by unscrewing a knurled nut cap. This was SO nice because without tools and slipped wrenches, I didn't chip or snap off the tiny carbide drills nearby. Really nice tooling for swiss work, honest. (And no, I don't work for Utilis or Genevieve Swiss.)

[SwissType1]

That's quite the vote of confidence PixMan. It's interesting to hear what other user experiences are like.

Just an update that there is an additional promotion running Now thru March 31st, 2009.

Get 50% off a UTILIS 'TOP' style holder when a pack of Multidec-TOP wiper geometry inserts are purchased. These turning inserts provide a high surface finish by burnishing the highpoints of the turn lines as you feed.

Features sharp TNR and sharp edge condition. A proprietary spin on the ISO style 35 degree diamond insert.

Visit genswiss.com for more information