MMC HARDMETAL : The inheritance of precision & versatility

Q. What opportunities does Mitsubishi see by participating at IMTEX 2019?

IMTEX has always been a big carnival for Indian entrepreneurs. It is a flagship event for Indian industry. It serves as window to advanced technology, as world renowned brands showcase their technological prowess. Indian entrepreneurs in particular, get good exposure to advanced technology.

By participating in this mega show, we will get an excellent opportunity to display our world-class products, as IMTEX always has enormous footfall, which includes top-notch corporate executives, decision makers, policy makers, young talented engineers and entrepreneurs. Like every occasion, this time too, we will have excellent opportunities to reach out to thousands of visitors and I am quite confident of good show from our side.

Q. As a Global leader in Metal Cutting how does Mitsubishi add Value to End Users’ competitiveness?

We have always strived to take our technology beyond the established confines of metal cutting operations performed on the shop floor. Our core values speak about, For People, Society and The Earth. So, everything that we produce comes with this thought in mind and that is why when we invent and innovate anything it is comes out with inherent qualities of precision, reliability, durability and versatility.

This thought has always inspired to produce cutting edge technology to exceed the expectations of end-users.

Q. What are the current demand drivers for the cutting tools industry in India? Which industries within the manufacturing sector are leading in terms of demand?

The Indian Cutting Tools Industry has witnessed significant growth during past two decades, primarily due to rise in sectors like automotive as well as heavy and light engineering. These two sectors continue to lead in terms of demand even today. In the recent times there has been encouraging demand from other industries like Aerospace, Defense, Railways, Energy and Power Equipment. These industries are largely controlled by the Government of India and they are also major demand drivers for cutting tools in India.

Q. What are end-users looking for in the cutting tools today? How does automation work with new applications coming in?

We are in the midst of a new industrial revolution. The advancements are powered by smart manufacturing, robotics, embedded intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT), leading to end-users expectations for efficiency improvement, cost benefits and reduced human exertion.

Automation is another revolutionary aspect which enables a level of accuracy and productivity superior than human ability and it is particularly vital in the environments which are considered unsafe for humans. The new generation robotics equipped with voice and image recognition capability can create complex human tasks.

Q. What message do you have for the customers who will visit your Stall regarding the support that you would provide them to improve their competitiveness?

Industry plays pivotal role in the economic and social development of our country. This ancillary sector has contributed a great deal in overall growth of industrialization in India. Although a few customers are playing supportive role, they need to come out of their own self-imposed boundaries of conventional engineering practices. They should look for value and performance oriented technology rather than limiting their vision to cost oriented products. This approach will awaken the sense of professionalism in them and they will be able to perform with more discipline and better output in the long run.

Q. What R&D efforts has your company made with respect to new materials for tool making as well as new products?

All latest innovations by Mitsubishi are in line with the demand by industry to improve cutting efficiency and reduce machining costs. Due to strict environmental policies and to increase the resilience of the product, work materials are changing. High temperature alloys, high strength materials or composite materials are on demand.
To cope up with these changes, MMC Japan is investing handsome amount of revenue in R & D to launch new grades, geometries or coating technologies. We recently launched new shoulder end mills with tangential inserts named VPX series. Introduced a new, revolutionary grooving and cutting off system – GW series. We have expanded range of heads for the iMX exchangeable head end-mill series. This is a revolutionary end-mill system which provides excellent economy and promises high efficiency and precision. This product is also powered by innovative coating technology called “SMART MIRACLE” to enhance both smoothness & sharpness of the cutting edge for a longer tool life.

With Mitsubishi’s core strengths in developing varieties of cutting tool materials and coatings, opportunities are plenty. Application oriented tungsten carbide grades & specialized tool materials like cermet with a hardened surface layer obtained by a special sintering process or CBN with “Particle Activated Sintering” are developed for achieving longer tool life.

We therefore, plan to invest best of our talent with significant capital spends on the R&D to develop Next Generation rotary tools, development of passive rotary cutting tools utilizing the merits of multi-tasking machines.
We will be showcasing all such new products at Imtex 2019.