CT-GS20Y – the verifiably sustainable carbide
!Do you want to quantify and reduce the carbon footprint of your products?
! Do you want more stable prices and to reduce political and logistical risks?
!Do you want to contribute to the closed-loop recycling process without compromising on quality or performance?
Then you will be just as pleased as we are about the launch of our CT-GS20Y grade!
Some companies consider 'sustainability' as nothing more than a popular buzzword. For CERATIZIT, however, sustainability is deeply rooted in our DNA, so we make every effort to point the way through innovation. An outstandingly high recycling rate and conscientious use of energy are just two examples of this.
With our "upGRADE" grades, which fall into the category with the lowest PCF, we went one step further.
Responsible use of cobalt and tungsten resources:
Resource efficiency and low consumption of raw materials, recovering secondary raw materials from recycled carbide cutting tools and the development of innovative solutions with a minimal ecological footprint – all these are of the utmost priority for us.
Carbide and the components and tools produced from it are precious as they contain a high proportion of cobalt (Co) and tungsten (W), metals that are in great demand. Extracting cobalt and tungsten from ore is very costly and energy-intensive. To obtain one tonne of tungsten, 250 tonnes of ore have to be mined and processed. As a result, resource efficiency and low consumption of raw materials are our primary concern. In parallel to this, secondary raw materials must be recovered from recycled carbide cutting tools over the product life cycle so they can be used again.
At CERATIZIT we are constantly striving to develop innovative products which will allow our customers to continually increase the efficiency of their machining processes. At the same time we are always looking for solutions with a low ecological footprint, something we have now accomplished with CT-GS20Y. It combines the performance of a premium carbide grade with a deliberately sustainable production process.
Carbide recycling protects resources
The new CT-GS20Y carbide grade consists of over 99% high-quality secondary raw materials, i.e. recycled carbides from worn milling cutters, drills and other solid carbide tools. But CERATIZIT has gone even further: in addition, we guarantee low-carbon manufacturing by using low-emission production processes and energy sources as well as short transport routes throughout the entire process chain. The result is an unprecedented low carbon footprint for a premium carbide grade with maximum performance. By using this carbide for their cutting tools, CERATIZIT customers can significantly reduce their products' carbon footprint too. Using recycled cemented carbide allows a better price stability and positively influences our replenishment times impacting the reliability of supply – without losing even a micron in terms of performance or repeatability.
A sustainable carbide grade with convincing performance
Ten percent submicron grades, with a tungsten grain size ranging from 0.5 to 0.8 µm, account for around 70 percent of drilling and milling tools in solid carbide and represent the most important grade group. That's why it made sense to first launch a sustainable grade for this wide field of applications. The decision is backed-up by the outcome of in-depth milling tests in which the CT-GS20Y was compared with well-established premium carbide grades and a downcycled grade produced by our own company – and yielded excellent results. Right from the get-go, the new CT-GS20Y grade scored results which were in some cases better than the premium grade, and always clearly superior to the downcycled product.
Tool life until tool breakage
Test parameters:
Tool life until wear mark width reached
Test parameters:
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) as a sustainability index
Our goal is to establish a common standard on the market for calculating and classifying the carbon footprint of cutting tools, hard material solutions and tungsten carbide powders. Over the coming months, CERATIZIT will roll out the PCF classification across its product portfolio, introduce related products and services and encourage customers, partners, and other industrial players to adopt the newly developed standard.