NanoMech Keeping Tools Tough
by February 23, 2009 12:00 am 76 views
In what should be the first of many exciting announcements, NanoMech subsidiary Duralor has perfected cubic boron nitrate composite coatings for metal cutting tools and is now marketing the technology under the brand name TuffTek. The first contract for TuffTek is with a major automobile manufacturer.
Cutting through the techno-speak, TuffTek makes cutting tools more efficient and durable, outperforming traditional coatings by 300 percent or more.
The process of electrostatically spraying particles on the tool has been called the “Holy Grail” of coatings by Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.
Fayetteville-based NanoMech has exclusively licensed the TuffTek technology from the University of Arkansas since 2002 and Pinnacle Investments of Rogers completed a seven-figure funding round for both NanoMech and Duralor during 2008 according to PI managing partner Jim Phillips.
Phillips said the nano technology has multiple applications, but the cutting tool industry alone represents a potential $20 billion market.