Walter USA, LLC has introduced two new Walter Valenite ISO indexable inserts designed for machining nickel, cobalt and iron-based high temperature alloys such as Inconel® 718 and Waspaloy®, commonly used in the aerospace, power generation and chemical industries. The innovative geometries are designed for turning operations and feature a new cutting edge design that minimizes the effect of the typical wear mechanisms seen in machining high temperature alloys. The new geometries are combined with a PVD-aluminum oxide coating (grades WSM10 and WSM20) that provides a high level of heat resistance and promotes faster cutting speeds when machining high temperature alloys.
The new NRS geometry is designed for roughing operations while the NMS geometry is targeted at medium machining and semi-finishing. Both feature a sharp cutting edge design which reduces edge build-up andminimizes cutting pressures, along with edge strength and toughness to deter notch formation and chipping. Their geometries promote good chip evacuation, avoiding the often destructive chip impact typical with high- temperature alloy machining.

This superior chip flow and the resulting low cutting pressures, are particularly important in the aerospace industry because the workpieces are often thin-walled and relatively unstable. Thus, too much pressure on the cutting edge can cause these thin walls to deform.
Other typical applications for the NRS/NMS inserts are measuring instruments in the oil and gas industry and, in secondary applications, austenitic stainless steels which are frequently found in the food industry. The roughing and medium machining inserts are available in a variety of shapes appropriate for these operations.