Southwest Manufacturing News • May 2016 • Melin Tool And Haimer Licensing Agreement

Melin Tool Company and Haimer GmbH have signed a U.S. licensing agreement. Melin Tool Company is now offering its end mills to the U.S. market with the Haimer Safe-Lock System.

The Safe-Lock design in cutting tools and toolholders combines high precision shrink fit clamping with a positive form locking mechanism. This prevents round cutting tools from being rotated or completely pulled out from toolholders during heavy machining. “The combination of a symmetrical locking tool design with high concentricity and excellent balance of the Safe-Lock system results in a vibration- free machining process,” said a Haimer spokesperson. “This leads to more efficient metal removal rates, superior to that of conventional milling chucks or Weldon side-lock toolholders.”

Melin Tool has been an innovator in the market for solid carbide end mills, particularly in respect to variable geometry mills and demanding aerospace applications. “Its designs have led to end mills that significantly reduce vibrations during machining, thus enabling greater speeds and improved metal removal rates (MRR) as compared to other more conventional designs,” said a Melin spokesperson. “However, the increased MRR can lead to a potential pull-out of the cutting tool during aggressive machining due to higher helix angles and increased cutting forces. This fact has led the team at Melin to look for a solution that enables full realization for their tools potential cutting speeds. Their research, along with customer feedback, led Melin Tool to partner with the Haimer Safe-Lock system technology.”

Melin Tool is headquartered in Cleveland, OH, where it produces an array of high performance solid carbide tools, including end mills. Family owned and operated since 1940, Melin Tool began as one of the early manufacturers of end mills. Today it offers an ever-expanding product line of end mills and other cutting tools such as countersinks, drills, thread mills and other high performance and specialty tools.

Brendt Holden, President of Haimer USA, said, “We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement with the Melin Tool Company. The variable flute geometries utilized by Melin in its end mills lend themselves perfectly to the Safe-Lock System. I am confident that the Melin customer base will welcome this technology and its innate ability to increase their productivity on the shop floor.”