FEATURE ON WORKHOLDING

ITC presents latest Big Kaiser innovations

At the recent MACH 2024 exhibition in Birmingham, Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) showcased a number of new and recently launched product lines from tool-holding specialistBig Kaiser. A case in point was the PG straight collet system, which includes a new anti-pullout system that locks the collet and cutter to the tool-holder body. This design eliminates cutter slippage and also the potential for cutter pullout during demanding metal removal applications. The new system is particularly suitable for high dynamic milling and high-speed milling in difficult materials.

Big Kaiser has introduced three sizes of collet (10, 12 and 16 mm) with the new anti-pullout system, all of which received world premieres at EMO 2023 in Hanover, Germany. Unlike other systems, ITC says the PG does not require specially modified and inherently expensive end mills. Instead, it uses existing standard carbide or HSS end mill designations. Standard notches found on typical Weldon-type end mills will readily accept the locking key insert on the new PG system.

At MACH, the PG system was shown alongside the new Ultra Precision Hydraulic Chuck. With runout guaranteed to be less than 1 µm at 4xD, the new chuck retains itslevels of precision even after intensive use.

Also on show at MACH was a new line of hydraulic chucks for turning machines, which ITC says provide outstanding repeatability and damping characteristics. The advantage of the new Big Kaiser chucks is that they enable straightforward assembly using just an Allen key while the holder remains mounted on the machine. The chucks offer compatibility with major sliding-head automatic turning centre brands such as Citizen, Star, Tornos and Tsugami.

More information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Zoller UK releases heat-shrink solution

The MACH 2024 exhibition at the Birmingham NEC earlier this year marked the introduction by Zoller UK (part of the Carfulan Group) of its PowerShrink 400 heat-shrink solution. The PowerShrink 400 provides high-level rotational accuracy, long tool life and lower tooling costs. Zoller UK says that its fast operation, flexible design and process reliability creates an efficient heat-shrinking solution that can prepare tools for production in under a minute.

“It was another incredibly exciting year for us at MACH,” says Rob Thompson, Carfulan Group sales director. “We were able to demonstrate why we continue to be an industry leader, highlighting a range of our advanced tool presetting and inspection technologies from Zoller UK.”

Alongside the launch of the PowerShrink 400, the Zoller UK stand also featured a range of tool presetting and inspection technologies that included the Genius universal measurement machine, the TMS Organiser and Keeper 2000 that provides the optimal storage solution for tooling and accessories, machines from the Smile range, a system for high-level accurate and repeatable tool measurements, as well as the tool data transfer solution: zidCode.

Carfulan Group managing directorChris Fulton, says:“We generated an overwhelming amount of interest at the show, which is a testament to our leading technologies, as well as the expert service and support that helps our customers to unlock potential across any manufacturing process.From the long-standing staples in Zoller UK’s range to the brand-new systems on show, everyone who visited our stand was amazed at the technology and we’re continuing to move those conversations forward.”

More information www.zoller-uk.com

Work-Holding Upgrade Doubles Productivity

At the Elland, West Yorkshire factory of Archway Engineering, which manufactures drilling equipment for site investigation, mineral exploration, water well construction and environmental monitoring, a Leadwell V-50L three-axis vertical machining centre performs some of the shop floor’s more arduous machining operations. Remarkably, the company has seen a doubling of component productivity on this machine simply by changing the method of workpiece clamping.

The transformation is courtesy of investment in three US-made Chick OneLOKs from sole UK agent 1st Machine Tool Accessories. One of the units remains permanently at one end of the machine’s 1420 x 610 mm table, where it has been clocked into a known position to within 10 µm across the 152 mm face of the clamp’s fixed hard jaw. The other two OneLOKs are removable to make room to mount a 4th-axis indexer, but they are quick to set up again relative to the permanently-positioned clamp by means of a parallel bar.

During frequent small-batch runs, it is a simple matter to secure three parts side by side, write a sub-program to machine the workpiece in the permanent One LOK, probe the position of the parts in the other two clamps, repeat the sub-program twice at the appropriate offsets, and run the complete cycle in one go.

Danielle Toner, production manager at Archway Engineering, says: “The quicker set-up times using the Chick OneLOKs and the faster machining cycles that their secure clamping allow means we can produce a typical short batch of parts on the Leadwell in two days, compared with up to one week previously.Overall, our investment in Chick work-holding solutions has been a fantastic success and the advice and service provided by 1st Machine Tool Accessories have been first class.”

More information www.1mta.com

Blue Photon adhesive work holding at MACH

Exhibited on the stand of NCMT at last month’s MACH 2024 exhibition in Birmingham, UK, was the Blue Photon photo-activated adhesive system. According to the company, this technology is ideal for securing awkwardly shaped parts while allowing maximum access to tools for tight-tolerance machining or inspection.

The process involves applying an adhesive that is cured by UV light via an LED spot-curing system. After machining is complete, users can shear the adhesive contact points to free the workpiece by rotating the gripper pins in the fixture plate with a spanner. Any residual adhesive is removeable by applying hot water.

Use of the technique will likely grow due to its ability to hold components securely with a shear resistance of up to 200 kg per gripper point, while allowing cutters all-round access for machining on five sides. Unlike magnetic clamping systems, it is suitable for securing non-ferrous metallic parts, including composites.

Blue Photon is suited, for example, to clamping a turbine blade for the one-hit machining of the fir-tree and wedge face on the root, as well as the shroud end features, without tolerance build-up. Traditionally, due to clamp interference, multiple operations are necessary.

NCMT has designed a novel turbine blade fixture incorporating four gripper inserts that, once adhesive has been applied and cured, holds a blade securely by one side of the aerofoil. Tests show that the clamping force produced by the fixture can easily withstand the rigours of machining. The material removal rate actually exceeded that achieved when the blade was mechanically clamped as, in the latter case, the pressure had to be limited to avoid component distortion and marking.

For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

Simple finger change during an ongoing process

With its new BSWS-R quick-change jaw system, Schunk enables automated finger changes during an ongoing process. The system consists of just a few components and is compatible with all grippers featuring the PGN-plus-P screw connection diagram.

In many sectors, production is increasingly moving in the direction of high-mix/low-volume. This is where being able to produce a wide range of variants without any manual set-up, even with the smallest batch sizes, is becoming a great advantage for companies. The BSWS-R jaw quick-change system makes this possible with its flexible solution.

The latest evolutionary stage of the BSWS series enables robots to change their gripper fingers automatically in-process – in under three seconds. Until now, automated changes have only been possible when replacing the entire gripper. Meanwhile the BSWS-R can accomplish this task with a minimum of components.

A quick-change system base, two adapter pins and a deposit station are the only parts needed for each gripper finger. The base screws into the workpiece-specific gripper finger and the adapter pins fasten to the base jaw of the gripper. When the base moves into the deposit station, the locking pin actuates and the form-fit mechanism unlocks. The robot moves upwards out of the jaw quick-change system, while the fingers and base remain in the deposit station. No additional work is necessary as the robot performs the change independently. The new design eliminates the need to drill through the finger. Only threaded holes are required, giving users more freedom when designing fingers.

The BSWS-R is available in nine sizes. In smaller versions up to size 100, the support stations feature elastomer bearings, making them suitable for use with collaborative robots (cobots).

For further information www.schunk.com