Focus on stainless

New Kinkelder orbital saw blade for stainless steel tube mills

TubeMaster Stainless, a unique product which Kinkelder is currently introducing, has specifically been developed for cutting stainless steel tubes on orbital flying cut-off machines.

Extensive testing has demonstrated that TubeMaster Stainless saw blades can cope with cutting speeds between 60 – 100 m/min. Blade life of the TubeMaster Stainless saw blade averages between 3,5 m2 at 60 m/min and 1m2 at 100 m/min, and therefore a high production output , less downtime and a high blade life can be achieved.

Until recently the production of stainless steel tubes was often limited by the speed at which the tube could be cut, typically around 2 m/min for large diameter tubes (Ø≥ 200mm). HSS saw blades are typically being used for this type of application, which results in a limited maximum line speed. As burr free cutting of stainless steel usually proves to be a real challenge for TCT saw blades, these have never been considered as a reliable alternative. Until the introduction of the TubeMaster Stainless saw blade.

The new Tubemaster Stainless design derives from the Kinkelder CX 4 concept (see next section). An example from the market: on a tube mill with a 2-blade orbital flying cut-off unit, producing AISI 304L tubes of 323 x 4 mm, it was demonstrated that a cutting speed of 80/100 m/min at a feed rate of 0.05/0.10 mm per tooth enables a line speed of 10 m/min. The blade shows extremely good cutting performance under these conditions by cutting burr free up to 1 m² per blade.

Under less aggressive conditions, i.e. a cutting speed of 60 m/min at a feed rate of 0.035/0.05 mm per tooth, burr free cutting up to 3.5 m2 per blade was shown. With these cutting parameters, a line speed of 6.7 m/min is still possible. This example shows a clear trade-off between blade costs and production yield.

The value of the tube being produced, combined with the total cost structure (saw blade costs, operating costs per hour, total installation costs per hour), defines which option to choose. Focusing just on lowest blade price or cost per m² cut-surface, obviously can lead to missing the most optimal economic conditions.