NEW KITAGAWA PRODUCTS FROM 1ST MTA
Chucks, rotary tables, vices and other accessories manufactured by the Japanese company, Kitagawa, are major product lines within the range of workholding equipment supplied by 1st Machine Tool Accessories. At MACH 2014, there will be three products new to the UK.
WORLD’S THINNEST ROTARY TABLE
At just 99 mm deep, the body of the new Kitagawa CK160 NC rotary table has a smaller footprint than any other model on the market. The ultra-compact 4th axis is suited to mounting on the table of a BT30-taper machining centre and provides manufacturers with a larger machining envelope on any size of machine. MACH 2014 marks its UK launch.
The thin profile also makes the NC table ideal for use with an opposing trunnion for securing and rotating a workpiece between centres in limited working areas. It may be orientated in the horizontal or vertical plane.
Available in the UK through 1st Machine Tool Accessories, the CK160 is offered with a built-in rotary joint, in which case it is designated CKR160, both versions being 99 mm deep. A conventional table would typically measure half as much again from the face plate to the back. The rotary joint, which has seven ports for pneumatic and hydraulic supplies (but not coolant), allows the unit to operate on the C-axis of a 4-axis machining centre.
Specifications of the product include a 114 mm diameter table, 65 mm through-hole (on the CK160), 140 mm centre height, 340 Nm pneumatic clamping and 41.6 rpm maximum rotational speed. Indexing accuracy is 20 arc seconds, with 4 arc seconds repeatability. Workpieces up to 160 kg may be supported with the table mounted horizontally, or 80 kg if it is vertical.
SMALL POWER CHUCK WITH QUICK-CHANGE JAWS
Kitagawa’s latest QJR programme of quick change power chucks are interchangeable with the company’s popular large, through-hole B and BB series. Until now, the range has comprised three models – QJR 08,10 and 12. With these chucks, there is no longer a need for long-stroke cylinders or to accept a reduction in gripping force.
The latest QJR 07 chuck has been added to the lower end of the range and MACH will mark its first appearance in the UK. It has a maximum gripping force of 60 kN, a 53mm through-hole and can be run at up to 6,000 rpm.
Manufactured from high grade alloy steel, the units have base jaws that are rapidly and simply changed using a manually operated wrench. The units feature metric serrations to accommodate a wide variety of popular jaw types, including standard Kitagawa soft jaws. The chucks are therefore ideal for small and large batch production.
STEADY RESTS
New also to the UK will be a range of Kitagawa steady rests for shaft machining on lathes and grinding machines.
The wide range boasts a high level of build quality to ensure accuracy and safety on the shop floor. Different versions encompass fixed or travelling positioning, vertical loading, crank shaft turning, models with an actuating cylinder, compact designs for restricted work areas and heavy duty models for components weighing up to 40 tonnes.
RARE APPEARANCE IN THE UK OF THE BOSS 21 BAR MAGAZINE FROM IEMCA
Under its UK agency agreement with Italian automation equipment manufacturer, Iemca, 1st MTA will show a Boss 21 bar magazine which is not often seen in the UK. It can be used with both sliding-head and fixed-head lathes.
The magazine is a compact model for feeding bar from 5 to 51 mm in diameter and with a maximum length of just over two metres, making it ideal if a long bar feeder is required but space is restricted. Less material is lost through remnants than if shorter bar is used and longer periods of unattended running are possible.
Bar feed is actuated by an asynchronous motor and the position of the stock is encoder controlled. The remnant collector is at the rear of the magazine, together with the oil tank.
KID 80 SHORT BAR FEEDER
A second Iemca bar feeder will be on show, the established KID 80, suitable for all types of single-spindle lathe, whether fixed- or sliding-head, CNC or cam-controlled. It can accept bar diameters from 5 to 80 mm and lengths from just 90 mm to a maximum of 1,615 mm. Operation is entirely mechanical, without the need for a compressed air connection, assuring reliable performance and efficiency.
Short bar feeders consume a minimum of space on the shop floor, typically half that of a full-length magazine. An advantage of shorter stock lengths is that a greater proportion is held within the headstock, reducing the tendency for the bar to whip.It follows that the speed potential and dynamics of the lathe can be fully exploited using the KID 80.
A further benefit of short bar feeders is that there is no gripper, so each remnant is small. It is pushed easily out of the front and ejected, avoiding the delay of extracting the remnant from the back of a full length magazine and so maximising spindle up-time.
ABBOT MASTER PLATE INCREASES THE HOLDING CAPACITY OF A CHUCK
On show for the first time in the UK will be a master plate and segment system from US firm, Abbott, represented in the UK by 1st MTA. Ideal for turning larger diameter workpieces, the arrangement consists of an aluminum master plate, similar to a thin pie jaw, which is pre-drilled and keyed to accommodate Abbott’s standard, off-the-shelf segment rings.
Plates are available in various diameters from 381 mm to over a metre and a half and can be mounted on different sizes of chuck, effectively increasing its holding capacity. The master plate can be custom machined to fit any model of chuck, making it a permanent, universal fixture on any machine.
When using this system, the transition from one job to the next simply requires bolting on a new size or configuration of segments. For repeat jobs, machine operators can designate specific tooling, allowing them to set up in minutes using pre-machined segments from a previous run.
Segments are available in specific ID/OD ranges, allowing machining time to be spent on making production parts instead of boring out excess jaw material. The master plate and segment arrangement maximises flexibility when moving work between production centres because segments can be used to run jobs on any machine that has been fitted with a master plate, regardless of machine or chuck type.
BEST ZERO-POINT SELF-CENTRING VICES
A full range of centric (self-centring) grippers and jaws from German workholding equipment manufacturer, BEST, will be on show on the stand of its UK agent, 1st MTA. Exhibits will include a mid-range RPC 140 vice with zero-point adaptation.
By attaching a tightening bolt and two alignment bolts to the manufacturer’s BSM 140 vice, which is screwed conventionally to a machine table, the RPC variant as well as the encapsulated RPCG can be used as a zero-point vice on the BEST Realpoint quick-change system. Other manufacturers’ zero-point clamping arrangements may be similarly used, after simple adaptation.
The Realpoint zero-point clamping system is modular, so the vices, baseplates, pallets, quick change jaws and tongue-and-groove jaws are rapidly interchangeable, increasing production flexibility and output. A single size of tightening bolt is applicable across the range of vice sizes.
Advantages of RPC/G zero-point vices include high clamping force up to 50 kN (100 kN for BSM/G vices), 90-degree indexing of the pallet and vice, suitability for multi-axis metalcutting applications on machining centres, and the ability to automate clamp actuation.
Other notable qualities of the vices are the possibility to clamp on only 3 mm of material, and ± 0.01 mm centring accuracy with five microns repeatability of centricity for manual and pneumatic vices, one micron repeatability for hydraulic types.
Jaw varieties including knife-edge options are manufactured from a range of materials from aluminium through machinable steel to hardened and ground steel to suit the application.
COMPONENT CLAMPING AND MANIPULATION FROM TECNOMORS
The range of clamping and manipulation products from Tecnomors, Italy, marketed in the UK by 1st MTA under a sole agency agreement, will be represented on the company’s stand at MACH by an MD 205 automatic power chuck with hydraulic indexing and clamping. The number denotes the chuck’s outside diameter in millimetres, which allows a maximum rotational speed of 4,200 rpm.
Originally developed to expedite the manufacture of valve bodies in fewer clampings, the chucks have been improved over the last few years in respect of their construction and quality, leading to a wider range of applications in the aerospace, automotive, and other industrial sectors.
Manufactured from hardened bearing steel (60 HRc – UNI18NiCrMo5) to achieve a high degree of precision, reliability and repeatability, MD-series chucks have a patented indexing movement, accurate to ± one minute of arc. It employs two preloaded roller bearings for radial movement and one axial bearing, sealed against contamination by coolant, chips or dust.
The chuck is not self-centring, but other automatic indexing chucks and manual chucks in the Tecnomors range are, making them ideal for multi-axis machining operations.
These products are complemented by the company’s pneumatic and hydraulic vices, automation grippers, linear motion units, rotary actuators, pressure intensifiers and a series of robot accessories, including distributor couplings, rotary units and locking units.
All equipment is supported by ancillaries geared to the most demanding production applications, enabling workpieces from just a few grams to hundreds of kilograms to be clamped and manipulated with ease.
CHICK FAST-ACTING WORKHOLDING SOLUTIONS
Rapid and fewer changeovers on machining centres to maximise productivity, combined with consistent quality of machined parts, are essential if subcontractors and OEMs are to maintain their competitive edge. To meet this need, Chick Workholding has developed the System 5 family of dual-station Qwik-Lok, Multi-Lok and Pneu-Dex units. The US-made clamping systems will be exhibited at MACH 2014 by sole UK agent, 1st Machine Tool Accessories.
Pairs of parts can be secured simultaneously in two sets of quick-change, snap-on / snap-off jaws by tightening a single handle, immediately doubling productivity. Machinable soft jaws allow multiple parts to be clamped at each station, boosting output further. Up to five units can be fixed to the table of a standard vertical machining centre or up to six to a 4th axis indexer or tombstone on a horizontal machining centre, resulting in considerable reductions in set-ups, tool changes and floor-to-floor times.
Chick’s One-Lok clamping system will also be demonstrated. Providing the speed, precision and flexibility demanded by modern CNC machining operations, it eliminates the shortcomings of standard knee mill vices, which require up to 70 complete revolutions of their operating handle to be fully opened or closed. In contrast, One-Lok features a ‘QwikSlide’ mechanism that allows the moveable jaw to be easily unlocked and slid forwards or backwards to achieve rapid set-ups.
Its maximum gripping capacity of 17 in (432 mm) is complemented by the manufacturer’s ‘Boltfast’ jaw system, which enables jaws to be replaced quickly and efficiently with a repeatability of 0.0008 in (0.02 mm).
The system’s compact, modular design also features innovative ‘squeeze’ clamping, which imparts a pull down action and virtually deflection-free clamping with a maximum retaining force of 4.5 tonnes.
CNC SHARPENER FROM DAREX RESTORES DRILL BITS INEXPENSIVELY
The Darex4-axis CNC drill sharpener, XPS-16, will be demonstrated restoring high-performance drills in a simple, one-touch operation. The bench top unit costs the equivalent of 100 radial split point carbide drills, yet even unskilled operators can sharpen more than 400 of them in a day. Return on investment is typically under eight months.
Conical, four facet, split point and radius split point twist drills with angles from 90 to 150 degrees can be processed, including high speed steel, cobalt, solid carbide and coated tools from 51 to 254 mm (2 to 10 inches) long and 3 to 16 mm (1/8 to 5/8 inch) diameter.
A blunt drill is inserted into the mains-powered sharpener’s chuck and the required standard or custom type of drill point is selected using a simple LCD touch screen panel. The unit then sharpens the drill and applies the required split point form in one seamless operation, without operator involvement.
The sharpener incorporates long-lasting superabrasive plated grinding wheels, 180 grit cubic boron nitride for HSS drills and 220 grit diamond for carbide tools.
About 1st Machine Tool Accessories
Offering a comprehensive selection of top quality products at competitive prices, 1st Machine Tool Accessories is a leading supplier of workholding and machining accessories, including collets; chuck jaws; Kitagawa chucks, rotary tables and vices; Chick, Tecnomors and Best workholding equipment; Abbott and Leave fixturing and clamping products; Darex tool sharpeners; OK-Vises; Brighetti reduction bushes; CoolJet high pressure coolant systems; Micromag filtration units; machine mounts; Overbeck deburring twister lathes; ScandMist industrial air cleaners; and Iemca bar feeders and billet loaders.
1st MTA’s extensive stock holding is backed by excellent warranty and service, provided by a dedicated team of technical engineers. Demonstrations of selected products are available from external sales specialists on request.
