When the KTR Group ordered new machine tools to reduce processing times, the power transmission specialist also opted for new workholding technology from Hainbuch. The Rheine, Germany facility of KTR was aiming to generate significant improvements in set-up times and the subsequent manufacturing process.
“Several machines were due to be replaced after reaching the limit of their service life,” explains production manager Günter Schleyer.

“Therefore, we re-examined the clamping requirements. The important questions for us were how to position ourselves in the future and how do we increase flexibility? Among other things, we use machine tools for both series runs and single-item production. Here we were at a crossroads. On one hand, we required a specialised series production solution and, on the other hand, we needed a fast, flexible cell for the single parts.”
The company took a Torok manual chuck with a base plate, a clamping head and a mandrel as part of a trial phase. For KTR, the overall time saving was extremely important.
Says Schleyer: “We needed to know how the system would perform under everyday conditions. We had questions like whether the Torok was rigid, and would it meet our practical requirements? Could we organise our set-up more efficiently? And of course, holding forces and repeatability were highly significant.
“Practical experience had shown us that conventional jaws were out of the question,” he continues. “For our coupling manufacturing, parts are machined at high cutting speeds. Cams and bores are milled and drilled, so we have a wide variety of chip shapes that must not impair the function of the clamping devices. Also, the solution should be practically self-cleaning. Needless to say, the implementation of the Torok manual chuck on one of the milling machines passed the test with flying colours. With these findings, the green light was given for working together with Hainbuch.”
For further information www.hainbuch.com

Midaco Corporation, one of the key partners of Hyfore Workholding, made its EMO debut in Hanover during September, using the opportunity to introduce a new fourth-axis trunnion system for vertical and horizontal machining centres.

The trunnion system is aimed at subcontract or low-volume manufacturing environments, where easy and rapid access to a fourth axis for three-sided machining of workpieces is necessary but not permanent. To facilitate ‘all-around’ machining, the trunnion rotates through 360°. A ‘parked’ fourth axis can impair access to the total machining envelope, whereas with the Midaco unit it is completely removed, along with its docking unit.
Midaco’s trunnion system is supplied with a permanently wired, universal receiver that automatically engages with the chosen fourth-axis unit (not supplied).
“Innovative components such as this can really help productivity as the operator can effectively be working on two jobs at a time,” says Rob Beckett, workholding product manager for Hyfore. “Different workpieces are being machined while the set up for the next – possibly different – batch can be undertaken safely out of the machine. Therefore, the transition between machining two different jobs is virtually seamless.”
In addition to the trunnion system, Midaco featured one of its M3016FL manual pallet changers on the stand. Midaco products are available exclusively in the UK from Hyfore Workholding, which can undertake all of the engineering and installation either as a retrofit or as part of a new turnkey installation.
For further information www.hyfore.com

NCMT Fixture Solutions used the recent EMO exhibition in Hanover to demonstrate the advantages of the photo-activated adhesive system, Blue Photon. Intended for the manufacture of workholding systems used on machine tools, NCMT says that Blue Photon is suitable for securing awkwardly shaped parts that require tight-tolerance machining and inspection.

The process involves applying an adhesive that is cured by ultraviolet light via an LED spot-curing system. Next, the adhesive can subsequently be melted and the machined workpiece removed by immersion in hot water or by application of another heat source, which should be at 80°C. Alternatively, the adhesive contact points can be sheared to free the workpiece by rotating the gripper pins in the fixture plate with a spanner.
Use of the technique is predicted to grow rapidly due to its ability to hold components securely with an average shear resistance of 136 kg per gripper point, yet allow cutters all-round access for machining on five sides. Unlike solutions that use magnetic clamping, the Blue Photon system can be used to secure both ferrous and non-ferrous metallic workpieces, as well as ceramics and composites.
Blue Photon can, for example, clamp a turbine blade to enable the fir tree and wedge face on the root, as well as the shroud end features at the tip, to be ground in one-hit. Traditionally, due to clamp interference, multiple operations are required using conventional CNC grinders. The Blue Photon single manufacturing process is not only faster, but eliminates work-in-progress and the risk of introducing inaccuracy due to repeated re-fixturing. Tests have shown that the clamping force produced by the system can easily withstand the requirements of machining.
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk