Cutting Tools
The broad category of “cutting tools” includes all of the consumable tooling involved in milling, drilling, turning and other lathe and machining center operations. Drills, end mills, taps, reamers and inserts are all included here. Consumable tooling used on certain other types of machine tools is included here as well. Also found here are toolholders and closely related accessories such as angle heads. Supplier pages, FAQs related to cutting and cutting tools can be found here, as well as essential reading on the topic and all of the latest Modern Machine Shop cutting tools coverage.
Latest Cutting Tools Articles
VIEW ALL
Schwanog Custom Form Milling Tools Produce Complex Profiles, Contours
PMTS 2025: Schwanog’s custom form milling tools are designed to boost productivity and precision, with solutions individually manufactured according to customer drawings.
Read More
Carmex Thread Mills Feature Ultra-Fine-Grain Carbide
PMTS 2025: Carmex Precision Tools’ FSH solid carbide thread mills are designed for faster, more accurate thread milling in hard and heat-resistant materials up to 65 HRC.
Read More
Allied Machine and Engineering Drill Provides Extended Tool Life
PMTS 2025: The T-A Pro line is designed to produce well-positioned holes for shorter applications and features a robust design for greater drill depths with longer holes.
Read More
Mitsubishi Drill Series Improves Fracture Resistance
PMTS 2025: The DVAS TriStar Drill Series features internal cooling technology and a durable design to reduce heat buildup and enhance chip flow.
Read More
Punch Custom Tooling Supports Range of Manufacturing Processes
Punch Industry designs custom tooling for injection molding, stamping and equipment manufacturing processes.
Read More
Ingersoll Turning Tool Features Modular Design for Easier Setup
PMTS 2025: Ingersoll WinTwist line features a modular design to facilitate easier setup and to make it simpler to adapt to multispindle and Swiss-type machines.
Read MoreLatest Milling Tools Articles
View more Milling Tools content
How to Mitigate Chatter to Boost Machining Rates
There are usually better solutions to chatter than just reducing the feed rate. Through vibration analysis, the chatter problem can be solved, enabling much higher metal removal rates, better quality and longer tool life.
Watch
IMCO Carbide Tool Inc. End Mills Provide Faster Part Cycles
The M936 Pow-R-Feed series is designed to make various toolpath moves without slowing down, providing faster cycle times and more production.
Watch
Twin Spindle Design Doubles Production of Small Parts
After experiencing process stalls in the finishing stage of production, Bryan Machine Service designed an air-powered twin spindle and indexable rotating base to effectively double its production of small parts.
Watch
New Modular Tool Options for Small Spindle Milling
Tooling options have been limited for small spindle milling applications. Now modular, indexable systems are available that provide broad flexibility to get the right cutter for the job with less inventory and at lower cost.
Watch
A More Efficient Way to Cut Near-Net Parts
Choosing the right milling insert is important: This insert from Iscar is designed for finishing near-net shaped parts quickly, while another makes high-feed machining more accessible with existing machining centers.
Watch
High Feed Rates or Deep Cuts - Which is Faster?
Comparing high-feed milling to other kinds, it is clear that the high feed and metal removal rates deliver on promises, but sometimes slowing down the feed and increasing the depth of cut will still end up faster.
WatchLatest Deburring Articles
View more Deburring content
Heule Deburring Tool Designed for Micromachining in a Wide Range of Materials
The DL2 deburring tool is designed to provide high efficiency and process reliability on even and slightly uneven bore edges.
Watch
How to Accelerate Robotic Deburring & Automated Material Removal
Pairing automation with air-driven motors that push cutting tool speeds up to 65,000 RPM with no duty cycle can dramatically improve throughput and improve finishing.
WatchLatest Holemaking Articles
View more Holemaking content
Heule Cutting Tool Provides Chatter-Free Countersinks
PMTS 2025: GH-K tooling is well suited for conventional milling of chamfers around the perimeter of larger holes or entire parts.
Watch
Monaghan Reaming System Provides Long Service Life
The Diatool Top Speed Ring modular reaming system features multiblade design with uneven spacing of cutting edges to create round and cylindrical bores.
Watch
Increasing Productivity in Drilling Holes in Steel
A new three-fluted drill designed for high production can improve the speed of drilling holes in steel by 50% while improving roundness and accuracy.
Watch
How to Choose the Best Drill Type for Your Next Job
Five questions to ask when deciding between solid carbide drills or replaceable insert.
WatchLatest Turning Tools Articles
View more Turning Tools content
Toolpath Improves Chip Management for Swiss-Type Lathes
This simple change to a Swiss-type turning machine’s toolpath can dramatically improve its ability to manage chips.
Watch
Modulated CNC Turning: How a Reversal in the Tool Path Can Deliver Greater Cutting Speed
UNCC researchers introduce modulation into the tool path. Chip breaking was the goal, but higher metal removal rate is an intriguing secondary effect.
Watch
Video: Chipbreakers Are Not All the Same—How to Break Chips Effectively
Different chipbreakers are engineered for different parameters. Machining footage shows the difference in effectiveness between chipbreakers used in the right and the wrong applications.
WatchLatest Cutting Tools News And Updates
Swiss Steel Group Turning Tool Improves Process Reliability
PMTS 2025: Ugima-X is said to provide optimized cycle times, longer tool service life and improved chip breaking.
Read More
Ceratizit Milling Cutters Provide Pinpoint Micromachining Accuracy
PMTS 2025: AluLine – Micro milling cutters is designed for applications with small workpieces that require high-tolerance machining.
Read More
Iscar Quick-Change System Boosts Machining Stability
PMTS 2025: The NeoSwiss modular quick-change system’s clamping mechanism provides high repeatability, maintaining a position accuracy of ±0.0008" during head replacements.
Read More
ANCA Software Monitors Thermal Growth in Tap Production
Motor Temperature Control removes fluctuations caused by thermal growth, providing greater precision and consistency in tap production.
Read More
SPC Innovations Milling Attachments Boost Productivity
PMTS 2025: SPC Innovations Inc. showcases multispindle attachments that can increase productivity, reduce secondary operations and enable for quick job changeovers.
Read More
Monaghan Drills Features Optimized Chip Evacuation
The R4 Speed Drill Series features a two-flute geometry that provides optimal stability and reduces cutting forces.
Read MoreFeatured Posts
Picking the Right End Mill
Kennametal global product manager Katie Myers explains how cutting tool features can impact machining strategies for different materials.
Read More
Inside the Process of Cutting Tool Recycling
Global Tungsten & Powders, part of the Ceratizit Group, sheds light on the processing steps that convert a shop’s used inserts into new tools and other applications.
Read More
Indexable Drill Heads Double Profitability
Moving to a robust line of indexable drills enabled this shop to dramatically alter the manufacturing process for a problem part, doubling its profitability.
Read More
Measuring Torque, Thrust Force for Smart Drilling Operations
To monitor drilling operations for smart manufacturing solutions, torque and thrust force can be measured.
Read More
Advanced CAMs Simplify Programming of Conical Barrel Cutters
Conical barrel cutters have grown in popularity thanks to the large stepovers that reduce the time needed for some finishing processes, but advanced CAM systems can dramatically improve their usefulness.
Read More
Finding the Right Tools for a Turning Shop
Xcelicut is a startup shop that has grown thanks to the right machines, cutting tools, grants and other resources.
Read MoreFAQ: Cutting Tools
Why is through-tool coolant valuable, and why are shops are seeing greater need for it?
Getting coolant to the cutting edge is critical for any manufacturing application. It helps in cooling the cutting zone, provides very needed lubrication, and can assist in breaking a chip. Many times, external lines are used to splash coolant near the work zone. Long Chips can easily interfere with this delivery method, possibly knocking the lines out of the way. Additionally, when tools need to be changed or indexed coolant lines might be moved for better access to the tool. Then when the line is put back it is never the same as it previously was. Often times there is a give-and-take methodology used to cover areas being machined with this coolant, so all tools get some cooling, but none of them get ideal cooling. A coolant-through tool allows pinpoint accuracy with a specific direction of coolant pointed exactly at the cutting zone.
Through-tool coolant is available on cutters that couldn't offer it before. What has changed in the technology of tool manufacturing to make this possible?
There’s been a big change is the ability to drill small-diameter holes very deep and do this in a production atmosphere. Part of this comes from the drilling machines being able to reach the necessary speeds and holders that provide superior clamping and runout. The other part comes from tools designed specifically for this drilling application.
On a coolant-through tool, material could be added in areas that may need additional strength, allowing for the intersecting coolant ports to be drilled accordingly.
What aspect of tool engineering is responding to greater cutting speed?
Machines and tools seem to have a back-and-forth dance in terms of which is leading. Coatings continue to evolve, with more layers, and different material being used. This is something all tool manufactures are playing with on some level. The changes in coating technology is somewhat more limited, and not as many are playing in this arena. One process that comes to mind is “HiPIMS,” or high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. This process uses microsecond timing of extreme-power pulses. This allows the metal to ionize to nano size particles to be deposited on the tools. This process allows for greater adhesion and coating hardness, while maintaining great lubricity. Additionally, this process has greatly reduced compressive stresses. This reduction allows for smaller edge preps to be used, thus resulting in sharper tools.
Why is diamond used as an industrial cutting tool?
Developments in polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cubic boron nitride (CBN) have allowed these materials to improve in ways that make them more versatile and cost-effective. Meanwhile, the machining speed and tool life of these tools continue to take machining processes to levels of performance where carbide cannot go.
Through long tool life and fast cutting parameters, the tools increase machine capacity by reducing the frequency of tool replacements and allowing machines to make parts at a greater rate. Meanwhile, the tooling increasingly figures into expert solutions tailored to more demanding applications in various industries.
Source: The New Rules of Cutting Tools - Rule #3: Diamond Shouldn't Be Rare
What are cutting tools made of?
Polycrystalline diamond (PCD), cubic boron nitride (CBN), ceramic, high-speed steel (HHS), cemented carbide or cermet.
Sources: What's Happening With Cutting Tools
Cutting Tools Supplier Categories
- Deburring Tools (Machine Tool Spindle-Mounted)
- Collets, Solid & Master
- Milling Cutters
- Tap Drivers & Attachments
- End Mills
- Tool Presetters
- Boring Tools & Heads for Machining Centers
- Spline Rolling Tools
- Tooling Materials, Ceramics
- Drills
- Drill Bushings
- Diamond Tools
- Mass Finishing Media & Compounds
- Spline Inserts
- Shear Blades
- Threading Tools - Cutting
- Facing Tools/Heads
- Grinding Wheels & Belts
- Thread Chasers
- Boring Tools
- Punching Tools/Dies
- Collets for Toolholding
- Gear Cutting Tools
- Cut-Off Tools/Attachments
- Grooving Tools
- Tool Repair, Coating & Treatment Services
- Thread Whirling Tools
- Key Seating Tools
- Tooling Materials, Carbides
- Broaching Tools
- Taps
- Slotting Saws
- Thread Milling Cutters
- Endworking Tools
- Tool Blanks
- Burnishing Tools (Roller)
- Grinding Wheel Dressing Units
- Retention Knobs
- Drilling Heads/Attachments
- Threading Tools
- Tool Conditioning Equipment
- Honing & Lapping Tools
- Serration Tooling
- Protective Sleeves & Coatings (for Cutting Tools)
- Milling Heads/Attachments
- Tool Condition Monitoring Systems
- Form Tools
- Tool Storage & Handling Systems
- Gear Rolling Tools
- Gundrills
- Burnishing, Honing & Lapping Tools
- Saw Blades
- Die & Mold Components
- Buffing & Polishing Supplies
- Knurling Tools
- Arbors (for Cutters)
- Cold Heading Tools
- Counterbores/Countersinks
- Abrasive Compounds & Slurries
- Marking Tools
- Shaving Tools
- Boring Tools for Turning Machines
- Reamers
- Tooling Systems, Modular and/or Quick-Change
- Drill Chucks
- Toolholders
- Chamfering Tools
- Thread Rolls & Dies
- Threading Tools - Forming
- Inserts, Indexable (Carbide, etc.) & Tool Inserts