Users of 3-axis machining centres visiting Southern Manufacturing this year will find on the 1st Machine Tool Accessories stand a host of Kitagawa rotary table options for adding 4th and 5th CNC axes (www.1mta.com/nc-rotary-tables). They are capable of raising versatility of production, reducing the number of separate machining operations and increasing the complexity of parts that can be produced.
Included will be the latest TT150 tilting type compound table with 150 mm faceplate. It is designed to be interfaced directly with a machining centre control or operated via a MAC mini controller. Featured also will be the heavy-duty GT series models that deliver extreme rigidity, fast operation and clamping torques up to 2,800 Nm. Dozens of table variants are available, including multi-spindle versions for machining several components at once. Table diameters range from as small as 100 mm up to 630 mm.
1st MTA offers many options to complement its rotary table range, such as manual, pneumatic or hydraulic tailstocks, tail spindles with built-in clamping system, trunnion assemblies, rotary joints, air/hydraulic intensifiers, and manual, pneumatic and hydraulic chuck systems.
Another area of Kitagawa’s business is workholding, illustrated by the Japanese manufacturer’s recent introduction of the KEM Series of expanding mandrels for ID clamping, allowing full access to the outside profile of a component for machining. The number of operations can be reduced and the Takt time shortened, leading to more economical production and better accuracy.
A typical example of a special workholding arrangement using this equipment is a dual sleeve expanding mandrel system mounted on a lathe for internally gripping thin-walled pipe. Parallel expansion offers optimum accuracy and grip force and the expanding sleeves are fully sealed for complete protection.
For holding prismatically shaped parts, another of 1st MTA’s sole agency lines has proved popular with manufacturers for many years, namely the US-made range of CHICK clamping devices www.1mta.com/chick-system-5
Unlike a conventional vice, the modern Qwik-Lok twin-station workholding system squeezes two moveable jaws against a central fixed jaw, cancelling the opposing forces. The results are higher accuracy and the ability to machine two components in a single cycle. It extends the time an operator can walk away to do other jobs and increases productivity, especially as the number of tool changes needed per component is halved.
To take better advantage of the vertical space within a machining envelope, components can be fixtured on an indexing sub-system. The CHICK ISS unit (www.1mta.com/indexer-subsystem) comprises a Multi-Lok tombstone mounted between a 4th axis indexer and tailstock on the table of a vertical machining centre, or on the rotary table of a horizontal-spindle machine.
Such strategies allow more parts to be presented to the spindle in one set-up. Production equipment can run unattended during operator breaks and one person can look after more machines, raising productivity and reducing costs. If the machine is similarly set up before the operator leaves for the day, extra hours of production are gained for little additional expenditure.
Visit 1st Machine Tool Accessories Ltd- Stand K200.
