by Bernard Martin

When tight tolerances and micro-machining precision matter, Dümmel delivers. Known for their ultra-precise grooving and parting-off tools, Dümmel’s Minicut series shines as a comprehensive solution for small-part turning, especially in Swiss-type machining and micro-component production. Imported exclusively in North America by Everede Tool, this German-engineered product line is available to customers across the FTS territory.

Built for Precision – Designed for Performance
The Minicut series offers a wide range of tools built around precision ground solid carbide blanks, optimized for rigidity, repeatability, and edge stability. These tools excel in applications involving high-volume production and materials that challenge insert life and surface finish.

From grooving and cut-off operations to ID and OD turning, the Dümmel Minicut line is engineered for clean results, even at sub-millimeter widths. You’ll find cutting widths starting as small as 0.5 mm, making them ideal for fine-feature work on small parts.

Key Product Highlights

• Grooving and Cut-Off Tools - Minicut offers fixed-width grooving tools from 0.5 mm to 4 mm with several geometries optimized for stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, and even plastics. The stability of the insert-seat interface ensures excellent repeatability.
• Threading Tools - Threading inserts are available in both full and partial profile, covering pitch ranges from 0.25 mm up to 2.0 mm. Their unique design reduces vibration and ensures accurate thread profiles even at high spindle speeds.
• Turning Inserts (OD/ID) - With solid carbide construction and positive rake geometries, these tools are perfect for tight-radius turning, especially in miniature workpieces.
• Profiling & Chamfering Tools - Dümmel includes modular profiling solutions in the Minicut line, with toolholders that allow fast insert changes and reduced setup time. A variety of tip geometries are available for chamfering and contouring, ensuring maximum flexibility.

Toolholder Compatibility
The Dümmel system is backed by a well-designed toolholder family, including options for:

• Monoblock holders in round or square shank sizes
• Modular tool systems with clamping interfaces for high-pressure coolant through the holder
• Shank options in metric and inch dimensions to accommodate global CNC setups

This wide compatibility makes it easy to integrate Minicut tools into existing Swiss-style machines and gang-tool lathes.

Engineered Coatings and Materials
Minicut inserts come coated with Dümmel’s advanced TiAIN and DLC coatings, offering wear resistance and better chip evacuation. Specialized coatings are also available for non-ferrous materials, helping to extend tool life and reduce built-up edge formation.

Where the Minicut Line Excels

• Medical components – such as bone screws, dental parts, and implants
• Aerospace fasteners and bushings
• Electronic connectors and miniature housings
• Precision instrumentation and sensor housings

For high-precision turning tasks in difficult-to-machine materials or where micro-features are critical, Minicut delivers performance that production teams can trust.

Available Through Everede Tool – Supported by FTS
Factory Tooling Solutions is proud to support Dümmel’s Minicut tools as part of our partnership with Everede Tool, the exclusive importer of Dümmel products in North America. Whether you’re building your micro-machining program or seeking better tool life and part finish on Swiss lathes, the Minicut series offers the flexibility and precision your shop demands.

Ready to get started with Dümmel Minicut?

Reach out to your FTS representative for application support, tool selection guidance, and availability.

by Bernard Martin

As new materials and technology push the limits of metalcutting performance, threadmaking faces new challenges. From hardened tool steels to exotic super alloys, the demand for tooling capable of threading these materials with precision, speed, and longevity has never been higher. Enter Carmex HBA — a carbide threading grade purpose-built to meet the demands of tomorrow’s toughest materials, available today.

Engineered for the Extreme
Carmex Precision Tools Ltd. developed the HBA carbide grade specifically for hard-to-machine materials like hardened steel up to 62 HRc, cast iron, Titanium, and high-temperature super alloys such as Hastelloy, Inconel, and Nickel-based alloys. At the core of HBA’s performance is its extra-fine submicron carbide substrate, offering high toughness and fracture resistance — crucial properties when threading brittle or abrasive materials.

What sets HBA apart is its optimized combination of substrate, coating, and edge geometry. This triad ensures excellent wear resistance, edge stability, and heat resistance — even under aggressive machining parameters.

Versatility Without Compromise
The HBA grade is available for both internal and external threading, supporting 60° and 55° partial profiles, as well as ISO metric and UN thread standards. This broad compatibility makes it a go-to solution for a range of demanding industries, from aerospace to die and mold, where workpieces often feature heat-treated surfaces or hard coatings.

Proven Performance in Hardened Steel
A recent real-world test highlights the capabilities of the HBA grade. In a threading application on D2 tool steel hardened to 53–56 HRc, a 16 ER 1.5 ISO insert was tasked with cutting an external right-hand thread, M32x1.5, over a length of 65 mm.

Running at a cutting speed of 147.6 SFM (45 m/min) — right in the middle of the recommended 100 to 195 SFM range for hardened materials with the HBA grade — the insert completed the thread profile in just 28 passes. It produced 36 threads per edge, showing not only solid productivity but also the kind of consistency and tool life manufacturers expect when working with high-value, hardened components.

A Solution for Hard Machining
As manufacturers continue to push into hard machining to reduce secondary operations and minimize setup time, the need for robust threading solutions grows. Carmex HBA allows users the ability to hold tight tolerances and maintain good surface finishes even in materials that traditionally pose significant challenges to tool life and performance.

Whether you're threading hardened tool steels in automotive applications or cutting threads in heat-resistant alloys for aerospace components, Carmex HBA offers a solution that blends strength, precision, and reliability.

Challenge Accepted
Carmex invites manufacturers, job shops, and engineers to bring their most difficult threading applications forward. With HBA, complex threading in hard and heat-resistant materials doesn’t have to mean sacrificing speed or tool life. Instead, it’s an opportunity to embrace the next generation of carbide performance — tough, precise, and fast. 

Get in touch with Factory Tooling Solutions and one of our team members will answer your questions and run some inserts if we think was can improve performance!