Floyd Automatic Tooling has introduced Mikron Tool’s CrazyDrill Hexalobe and CrazyMill Hexalobe series, specifically engineered for manufacturing star-shaped hexalobular bone screws from challenging medical-grade materials. These high-performance tools address the stringent requirements of machining titanium, stainless steel, and cobalt-chrome orthopedic screws, delivering 50% faster processing times while maintaining exceptional surface finishes below Ra 0.3µm. The system’s innovative design combines multiple operations into streamlined processes, significantly improving productivity for medical device manufacturers.
Advanced Drilling Technology for TORX Sockets
The CrazyDrill Hexalobe series features two specialized variants for creating precision pre-holes: a 140° tip angle TORX drill and a 180° flat drill, available in diameters from 0.9mm to 3.8mm to accommodate T4 through T30 socket sizes. Floyd Automatic offers customized combination drills that simultaneously machine flat pre-holes with 120° chamfers in a single operation, eliminating tool change time while ensuring perfect perpendicularity. For particularly demanding cobalt-chrome alloys, the company recommends its CrazyDrill SST-Inox range, which maintains performance in the toughest machining conditions.
Micro-Endmill Completes Critical Finishing
Complementing the drilling system, the CrazyMill Hexalobe endmill series achieves unprecedented results in final socket profiling. Available in 3- and 4-flute configurations with cutting depths up to 5xD, these micro-endmills (0.2-1.0mm diameter) combine special geometry with exceptional rigidity to enable high feed rates and aggressive stepover percentages while maintaining exacting profile accuracy. The tools’ unique design minimizes machining steps, allowing manufacturers to complete complex lobular profiles efficiently without compromising surface quality requirements for medical implants.
Comprehensive Process Optimization
Mikron Tool’s Hexalobe program extends beyond cutting tools to offer complete machining solutions, including:
- Optimized cutting strategies for specific screw materials
- Customized tool combinations reducing operations from four to three
- Chrome-free eXedur SNP coating preventing part contamination
- Parameter recommendations for various machine tool configurations
This turnkey approach helps manufacturers navigate the complexities of processing medical-grade titanium (TiAl6V4), stainless steel (316LM/X2CrNiMo18-15-3), and cobalt-chrome (CrCoMo28) alloys while maximizing tool life and process reliability.
Engineered for Medical Manufacturing Challenges
The Hexalobe series’ micro-grain carbide substrate and advanced coating technology address three critical medical machining requirements: preventing built-up edges in gummy materials, ensuring consistent chip evacuation, and eliminating potential contamination sources. By combining drilling and milling innovations into a coordinated system, Floyd Automatic and Mikron Tool provide orthopedic manufacturers with a complete solution that improves productivity while meeting the medical industry’s exacting quality standards for implant surface finishes and dimensional accuracy.
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