Worthington, Ohio
June 19, 2001

GE Superabrasives' new PCBN cutting tool material BZN HTC 2000 Compacts is especially engineered for continuous cut turning of hardened steel (>45 HRc) materials. HTC 2000 is a high quality polycrystalline CBN product that is chemically inert to ferrous materials. Due to its low chemical reactivity and optimized thermal conductivity, HTC 2000 delivers high material removal rates, good surface finish and exceptionally long tool life. The CBN layer of HTC 2000 consists of tightly controlled CBN crystals manufactured by GE Superabrasives in a Ti-based ceramic matrix, integrally bonded to a tungsten carbide substrate.

Tanya Fratto, CEO of GE Superabrasives states: "HTC 2000 is a great new product that GE developed using Six Sigma tools designed to meet the challenges of today's application trends in high volume production. Today's production engineers are demanding higher cutting speeds, dry machining and flexibility in working with a multitude of new ferrous materials. Industries, such as automotive, bearings, heavy equipment, gears and mold & die manufacturers, should be asking their suppliers for tools equipped with our new BZN HTC 2000 Compacts machining inserts."

For more information please contact Carmen.Kassing@gep.ge.com