But even a king needs someone to keep him in check, and while steel can be used to make tools hard enough to cut itself, there’s something even better for the job: tungsten, or more specifically ...

The linear actuation of the blade helps ensure precise, straight cuts through the pipe, eliminating the need to control blade angle accuracy manually. The blade’s tungsten carbide teeth also deliver ...

The cutting tool, which started life as a tungsten carbide lathe tool, is held on a rotary (‘R’) axis but can also move vertically via a flexure-loaded carriage driven by a 13 kg servo motor.