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Carbide Grade Selection Chart

CIRCLE INSERT GRADE

SUGGESTED GRADE APPLICATIONS

ALO® An aluminum oxide or ceramic coated grade. Excellent on abrasive material such as gray iron, nodular iron, and compacted graphite. Also, works well on nickel base materials and all steels including heat treated steels up to 45RC. Better at high speeds (700-1200 SFM) but, has been successful at 250 SFM. Tough, will take shock. High speed general purpose grade.
ALO9 A multi-layer CVD coated grade with an aluminum oxide top layer that permits higher speeds with longer tool life. It also provides high resistance to micro chipping and built up edge. An excellent general purpose grade for low and medium carbon steels and stainless steels.
CBN Circle offers four grades of CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) inserts for distinctly different applications. Significant productivity increases can be expected as well as close tolerances and excellent surface finishes when using Circle CBN grades as recommended. Circle's CBN insert grades can be used with or without coolant.
CBN-1 Circle CBN-1 is recommended as a high speed finishing grade for high temperature alloys. Can be used with or without coolant.
CBN-3 Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN3) is recommended for severely interrupted cutting in hardened steels above 45RC.
CBN-5 Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN5) is recommended for nodular iron, gray cast iron, and alloyed iron cutting with, or without coolant.
CBN-6 Circle CBN-6 is recommended for machining hardened steel from 45RC to 65RC. Can be used with or without coolant.
CG-5 PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coated micrograin substrate insert. Tough, gold in color and it performs well in nickel base materials such as titanium and/or inconel. It is also applicable in some steels, including most stainless steels and may give good performance in steels heat treated to 40RC.
CG-55 A PVD coated insert with high edge strength and wear resistance. The dense PVD coating provides a good combination of properties for 300 stainless and other aerospace applications where low cutting forces are required. Runs 20% faster than CG5.
CG-6 CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) coated insert. Gold in color and is suitable for general applications on all steels. Should be run 30% faster than uncoated grades up to 700 SFM. May not be applicable in very small bores due to the lack of SFM. Good for high speed finishing in most steels. SFM should be run at a minimum between 300-400.
CM-1® Very strong, tough, micrograin carbide insert. Use on titanium alloy or high temperature alloys such as, inconel, hastelloy, or rene. Use on steel when extreme toughness is required such as, roughing at high feed rates and/or interrupted cuts. Performs best at slow SFM (75-200). Use when insert grades C-2, C-3, or C-25 fail due to chipping or breaking.
CPD-1® CPD-1 (Circle's Polycrystalline Diamond) is a fine polycrystalline diamond compact grade, providing exceptional hardness and abrasion resistance. CPD-1 is a superior finish boring grade which will significantly improve workpiece tolerances, surface finishes, and insert tool life in high silicon aluminum, copper, aluminum carbon graphite, hard rubber, plastics, and/or wood.
CR7 Chromium Carbide coating on a C-7 carbide substrate. Ideal for titanium and titanium alloys. It is also used on aluminum die castings. Use the same feeds and speeds as our CG5 grade. The major benefit of this grade is longer tool life with less machine downtime.
C2
C3
C25
For general purpose use on cast iron, titanium, aluminum, brass, copper, nickel base alloys, and other non-ferrous materials. C-3 or C-25 are slightly harder grades and therefore, have greater edgewear capabilities in finishing operations.
C4 A very hard grade for finishing operations. Suitable for light cuts in titanium and/or nickel base materials such as, inconel, waspoloy, hastelloy, etc.
C8 Hard, steel cutting grade for finishing.
C50 For rough cuts in steel. Will take shock.
C80 For general purpose applications in steel. Will take moderate interruptions.
DC1 Amorphous Diamond coating for use on graphite and carbon composites. It is also recommended for 6061T and 7075T aircraft aluminum, and all aluminums with less than 10% silicon.
HL1 Hard lube on a micrograin substrate. A tungsten carbide/carbon layer for good lubricity and low adhesive tendencies make it a good coating for machining plastic components.
TG7 TIN/PVD coating on a cermet grade for machining iron based materials. Wiil take moderate shock.
TN7® A good general purpose cermet grade that combines toughness and edgewear. Use on steel and some cast irons. Will take moderate shock and hold edge in most finishing operations. Will machine hardened steel up to 45RC. An excellent grade for boring operations. Run at least 30% faster than uncoated tungsten grades.
TR1 TiALN coating on a micrograin substrate. Excellent for machining stainless steel, titanium, and other nickel based high temperature alloys. Can handle interrupted cuts and high speeds. Can be run 30% faster than PCD coatings.
TR25 A PVD TiAIN coating on a tough, ultra-fine grain unalloyed substrate micrograin. Use for the general purpose of machining most steels, stainless steels, high temperature alloys, titanium, irons, and non-ferrous materials. Speeds recommended vary from low to medium. Will take interruptions and high feed rates.
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