Rayco Heat Treated HSS - Becoming The Unparalleled Industry Standard in Rotary Broaching

Wobble broach manufacturers and their customers have long had great success broaching hex and square forms, etc in soft materials like brass, aluminum, copper, 1215, 303, and many other materials under 30 Hrc. As the Orthopedic, Aerospace, Oil & Gas, & Automotive industries have required much tougher materials, some as high as 50 Hrc, wobble broach makers have struggled to supply their customers with a tool that is economically viable. Customers needing to broach 17-4 H900/1025, Custom 465/455 H900/H1025, Cobalt Chrome, Biodur 108, Strain Hardened 316L, 22-13-5, Monel, Inconel, Hastelloy, Beryllium Copper etc, have struggled wobble broaching in these materials. They have acceptable results in Titanium, 316, 17-4 H1150, & 304, but better tool life certainly is desired. Broach makers have tried to meet these customer demands with new tool coatings and new HSS/Cobalt materials. Some success has come out of this, but not on a level to make wobble broaching a viable option in materials above 35 Hrc. The focus has always been on the materials and coating enhancements .

Articles in various manufacturing magazines quote broach makers saying with material technology evolving, they hope to have a solution soon to broaching these hard materials. It’s not the material that is the solution, but the heat treat of the material that is. Rayco has had the solution since 1947. That is the year my Uncle ,Ray Bockman perfected the proprietary Rayco Heat Treat Process for HSS/Cobalt materials. He used his heat treat process back then mostly for dovetail forms, cut off tools, and turning tools. TV tube makers also used Rayco material for their glass blades to cut the molten glass off, before falling into their tube molds. The Rayco Heat Treat Process is still a company secret to this day.

It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that Rayco would use its heat treated process on wobble and push style broaches for bone screw manufacturers. One of the largest Orthopedic Manufacturer in the world located across town from Rayco, reached out to us for help with their broaching process. They were needing improved tool life and were familiar with our heat treat process. It worked, and has led to a 30+ year relationship with them. Companies across many industries have used our Rayco broach tools in these very hard materials with great success. They have either vastly improved broach tool life in materials under 35 Hrc or have a process that now works in materials from 35 -53Hrc, even when no drill witness is allowed. Many times going from 0 good parts to a viable 150-200+.parts per Rayco broach.

We have the answer that our industry has been looking for. Some companies have given up on wobble broaching because they haven’t tried a Rayco broach. Some have gone to a carbide broach shave process. This process is time consuming and many times they chip easily when used in harder materials. The solution is here at Rayco. Our broach tools hold up in the toughest materials. We are getting the word out! Rayco has a 72 year history of heat treating HSS, but this is just the beginning!

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