SIMTEK AX 系统：从 6 mm 内孔加工需求到模块化刀具系统的发展历程

Worldwide Success Through Clever Design Optimization The (Success) Story of SIMTEK's AX System The development of a modular tooling system for the internal machining of smallest bores - consisting of singleedged solid carbide cutting inserts and toolholders - dates back to the mid-1980s, a time when tools for very small bore diameters were virtually nonexistent on the market.

What began as a response to a specific customer request evolved over decades into a system that is now considered a flagship product in SIMTEK’s portfolio and is regarded by many users in the field of micro-machining as a benchmark for quality and design.

A specific practical need as a starting point The driving force behind the development was the need to create a tool for internal machining of a 6-mm bore. “At that time, there were no tools that small—or at least, hardly any workable solutions for such diameters,” says Norbert Seifermann, cofounder and CEO of SIMTEK, describing the initial situation. For him, however, this request presented an opportunity to put into practice a tool concept he had been thinking about for quite some time.

Prior to the founding of SIMTEK, the first prototype was created on a milling machine at Seifermann’s former employer: First, a teardrop-shaped tool shank was manufactured to be clamped into a toolholder. The tool neck and cutting edge were then ground.

The standard design that followed the prototype - based on a sintered bar with a characteristic teardrop shape and a clamping screw from the rear - served as a groundbreaking design principle that laid the technological foundation for the later evolution of SIMTEK’s current AX system.

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