Aerospace manufacturers in the UK are currently forced to test dozens of different cutting tool coatings one by one, a process that is slow and expensive. This project aims to replace that trial-and-error approach by creating a direct, measurable link between a coating’s physical properties and how well it performs during actual machining. The core problem is that today’s coating selection relies on costly iterative testing, with no reliable way to predict performance from a coating’s structure alone. Seco Tools UK and the National Physical Laboratory will combine industrial tool design expertise with advanced analytical methods to assess coating materials under controlled loads and temperatures that mimic real service conditions. If successful, this work could let manufacturers specify the optimal coating thickness and composition for a given application without extensive physical testing. That would extend tool life, improve surface finish on complex components, and reduce waste from both discarded tools and repeated test runs—supporting more sustainable manufacturing across the UK’s aerospace supply chain.
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UK aerospace manufacturers rely upon cutting tools for their high-value specialist machining applications. This project will explore cutting tool coating characteristics which is essential to maximise tool life while achieving the required surface finish and assisting with environmental sustainability within machining processes of complex components. Coating materials applied to cutting tool inserts prolong tool life, but the selection of and thickness of the optimised multilayered coating materials, specific to application require extensive testing. The approaches developed over time remain highly empirical with a reliance upon iterative testing programmes which are both costly and time consuming. The overall aim of the project will be to establish a link between the coating properties and in-service cutting tool performance with the intent of extending tool-life while maintaining component surface integrity and promoting environmentally sustainable development. Seco Tools UK working in partnership with the National Physics Laboratory (NPL) combines Seco's acquired knowledge and experience of tool design and coating technologies alongside NPL's highly specialised analytical processes. This collaboration will allow access to robust material characterization methods that could enable the assessment of the local properties of coating/tool materials under controlled condition of loads and temperature that could mimic those encountered under service life conditions. Seco Tools UK and NPL have previously collaborated within projects that have delivered valuable insights in cutting tool material performance. The objective within this project are to combine our technical resources to similarly advance industrial coating technologies and deliver beneficial outcomes for UK manufacturing.
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