Improved Efficiency With Hybrid Tools

Walter Tools brings a wide range of tools to facilitate efficient machining of chassis components.

Machining chassis components is not easy, as the process usually involves difficult-to-cut materials. Many chassis components also have a long, slim shape, which makes them even more difficult to machine. Walter AG, based in Tübingen, is a sought-after solution partner in this field. The company tackles these specialised challenges with efficient tool geometries and a range of ingenious hybrid tools unrivalled on the market.

Drag bearings for the front wheels of a car are 50 cm long or longer. They are usually made from materials with difficult cutting properties. Aluminium is generally used for cars, whereas commercial vehicle chassis components are generally produced from cast iron and their dimensions are even larger.

The length and often demanding shape of the work pieces makes machining these drag bearings and other chassis components a difficult exercise. Especially since the finished parts – whether bearings, suspension arms, longitudinal swinging arms or subframes – will have to withstand exceptionally high loads: They will have to support the steering motion, compress and decompress, ensure a secure connection to the vehicle body and do their job perfectly even in the worst road conditions (to mention just a few of the demands placed on them).

Robust materials 

The materials used to manufacture chassis components are suitably robust – and consequentiality difficult to machine. For example, the aluminium alloys, which predominate in the car sector, can produce chips that are often between 10 and 50 cm long. Removing these chips smoothly and cleanly is barely achievable.

Simultaneous face milling of the upper and lower sides on the upper connection of a drag bearing. Then a stepped hole is drilled into the connection, without changing tool, and the rear side is deburred circularly. Image: Walter AG