written and edited by Bernard Martin

Mate Precision Technologies may be a new name to some folks in the tooling and workholding industry, but Mate has decades of machining experience producing precision, high quality steel products for customers around the world.

Mate created a new standard in Rotary Toolholders decades ago when they introduced the Command Toolholder brand that set a new bar by holding an AT3 taper tolerance.  Mate then moved into Punch Press Tooling, Press Brake and Laser Tooling and has become the world leader in each of those markets. Using this knowledge, Mate set out about 7 years ago to design and develop the ultimate workholding system.

The Mate 52/96 zero point workholding system maximizes holding power in a compact, quick change modular design that reduces setup time and process variability. It is ideal for 3-, 4- and 5-axis machining centers. Going beyond machining, it can be used in a variety of applications such as inspection, CMM, cleaning, washing, assembly and additive manufacturing.

Their zero point 52/96 workholding system is compatible with similar systems, including 52mm and 96mm four post pull stud configurations from Lang, Jergens, 5th Axis, Gerardi and others. The vises also accept a single pull stud configuration for compatibility with Schunk, Big Daishowa and others. By using the appropriate adapter, Mate 52/96 zero point vises are easily modified to work with systems from SMW, Erowa, System 3R and others. It is perhaps the most well thought out and versatile system on the market today.

With an eye to factory automation, the Mate 52/96 zero point workholding system includes QuickSpecsTM, a unique QR code based product identification system that provides real-time access to product information and potential integration into your business systems. The system also supports common robotic interfaces and palletizing systems.

Mate has truly taken the best-of-breed approach in the development of their DynoGrip 52/96 vises by capturing all of the state-of-the-art features offered by competitors, improved on them, and then bundled them in the most feature rich, robust system on the market today. And it's all done by machinists for machinists.  

In the video below, Mate Latin America Regional Sales Manager Benjamin Harrison discusses the Mate 52/96 Workholding System.   Ben provides a detailed look at the key product features that show how Mate Workholding is designed to be the industry's most accurate and repeatable zero point workholding systems on the market. Filmed by MTD CNC  at IMTS 2022 in Chicago.

Blue Photon’s grippers are inserted into new external inserts, designed specifically for the Grip Pallets. The external inserts are available for use with small, medium and large grippers. The new inserts allow for simple installation of the grippers at the required height for maximum holding power.

The 150-mm square pallet is available in aluminum and steel with a 52-mm pattern for a quick change receiver that will hold up to nine grippers. The 225-mm square pallet is available in aluminum and steel with a 96-mm pattern for a quick change receiver that will hold up to 21 grippers. The 300-mm square pallet is available in aluminum with a 96-mm pattern for a quick change receiver that will hold up to 33 grippers.
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Each Grip Pallet includes two handles with multiple color choices and four spacers, with a 25.4-mm standoff that allows for the recommended nominal of 1-mm joint thickness between gripper and part.

​Optional clamp studs are available for both 52 mm and 96 mm patterns for 5th axis, Jergens, Lang and Mate systems. Part can be removed with a ¼ turn twist of the gripper or hot-water soak. Residual adhesive is removed by using a handheld steamer or a hot-water soak and a light peeling action.

Check out these details and more from the IMTS video below.

by Preben Hansen
This article originally appeared in Cutting Tool Engineering. 

Live tooling, as a component on a lathe, is specifically manipulated by the CNC to perform various milling, drilling and other operations while the workpiece is being held in position by the main or sub-spindle. 

​These components, whether BMT or VDI, are also called driven tools, as opposed to static tools, that are used during turning operations.

When the need arises for a new machine tool, careful consideration should be made to determine which live tools are appropriate for your application. While a standard machine tool package will help you get started, it is important to anticipate job and volume changes, as well unforeseen machining challenges from the beginning, in order to avoid machine downtime.

Tool life is the product of cutting intensity, materials processed, machine stability and parts produced. Two seemingly identical job shops can have vastly different tooling needs because one is automotive and one is medical, or one specializes in the one-off and low-volume work, while the other has a greater occurrence of longer running jobs. The totality of your operation determines the best tooling for the machines being purchased.

Bearing construction and the resulting spindle concentricity drive the life of any tool. You might find that just a 10-15% greater investment in a better design can yield both longer-lasting cutters and consistently superior finish on your products.  ​

Likewise, high pressure internal coolant might be desirable.  Look for 2000 psi capabilities in 90 degree tools and 1000 psi in straight tools.

You need to ask another question, namely, is the turret RPM sufficient to handle the work to be done?   
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It’s possible that a live tool with a built-in speed increaser, often called a speed multiplier, would be helpful. Would it be beneficial to move secondary operations to your lathe?  Gear hobbing can be accomplished in this manner, as can producing squares or flats, through the use of polygon machining. ​

Now, an application example showing clear evidence of the value of testing live tool performance...

One company was performing a cross-milling application using an ER 32 output tool on a Eurotech lathe, running 10 ipm at 4000 rpm.  They were making three passes with a cycle time of 262 seconds and were having difficulties with chatter on the finish, while producing 20,000 pieces per year. ​

Preben Hansen is president of Platinum Tooling Technologies Inc., Prospect Heights, Illinois, and a veteran of over 25 years in tooling and is considered a leading authority on the topic in the North American machine tool market.

NEW ENGLAND - F&L Technical Sales is excited to announce the addition of Rocky Mountain Twist Drill to our product offering. Rocky Mountain Twist Drill, RMT, manufactures standard twist drill  including Jobber Drills, Maintenance Drills, Screw Machine Drills, Aircraft Extension Length Drills, Silver & Deming Drills, RMT also has a full line of taps including Hand Taps, Roll Form Taps, Spiral Point Taps and Pipe Taps.

​RMT, Rocky Mountain Twist Drill, is an industry leader in design, engineering and manufacturing of high performance cutting tools. Founded in 2001, Rocky Mountain Twist headquarters and 300,000 square foot manufacturing facility is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Ronan, Montana – a region known for great hunting, fly-fishing, four-season recreation, and now superior performance made in the USA industrial cutting tools.

As seen at IMTS 2022. ​Dorian Tool’s Jet-StreamTM Thru Coolant Cutting Tools use a patented thru-coolant locking clamp which is precisely aimed to direct high pressure, high velocity coolant exactly onto the cutting edge of the carbide insert, from a short distance of 1⁄4”.

This controlled Jet-Stream coolant, directed onto the insert chip interface (right under the chip and over the insert cutting edge) will dissipate the generated heat very effectively as well as lubricate the cutting edge of the insert, causing the chips to hydroplane over the insert surface instead of adhering to it. As a result, the insert will operate at a constant low temperature, with a clean and undamaged cutting edge, changing the way metal is cut.

Higher speeds and feeds can be achieved, with a better surface finish, tolerance control and machining performance.
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The insert life is extended up to 200%.

NEW ENGLAND - F&L Technical Sales is excited to announce our new partnership with Platinum Tooling Inc. based in Prospect Heights, IL.  Platinum Tooling is the sole importer of live tools, angle heads, and multiple spindle tools manufactured by Heimatec as well as the Tecnicrafts Swiss Collet and Guide Bushing line, Henninger Spindle Speeders, and AMF Markers and Cleaners.

• Heimatec is an international manufacturing company headquartered in Renchen, Germany. Heimatec specializes in the development and production of high-precision static and live tools for all CNC lathes, CNC turn-mill machines and CNC machining centers.
• ​Henninger is a manufacturer of Spindle Speeders, mechanical, air, and electric motor driven, Custom Angle Heads and Live Centers are among other specialized equipment and precision machine tool accessories.
• Tecnicrafts Collets and Guide Bushings are available in Standard and Ultra-Precision grades. The bore profiles include Round, Square, Hexagon, Rectangle and Custom as per customer specifications.
  
• AMF Markers are tools for the permanent marking of workpiece while AMF Cleaners are a thorough cleaning system with no aerosol pollution harmful to the health of the machine operator while reducing cleaning time and preserving the machine guides with no risk of injury from chips.

It's that time of year for IMTS!

​Here's a preview of some of the products that are going to be featured during the International Manufacturing Technology Show September 12-17.  You can see all of these new products and talk to the manufacturers in the Tooling & Workholding Systems Pavilion in the West Building Level 3. 

Supermini Set. Horn USA is featuring the Supermini tool holder system with face clamping as a set, in response to customer requests for different tooling system heights. With this holder variant, clamping is not carried out via the lateral surface of the cutting insert but via a clamping wedge on the face. This results in a greater holding force on the insert and thus high rigidity of the entire system. This increases repeatability when changing the insert and provides better utilization of the available space. This is a big time saver on Swiss-type lathes, as the user can change the cutting insert without removing the tool holder.

New carbide grades for system DAH8 - Horn USA is expanding its range of carbide grades for its DAH milling system to enable its use for machining a wider range of materials. The new grades SC6A and IG6B complement the tool system for high-feed milling. The SC6A grade is suitable for machining the ISO M material group, as well as ISO S materials as a secondary application. Horn has developed the IG6B grade for machining the ISO P group, while it is also suitable as a multipurpose grade for other material groups.

If you would like to learn more about any of these products or to see a demonstration, get in contact with us and we'll set up some time with you to visit your shop!

Edited by JENNY RUSH, Senior Managing Editor, Modern Machine Shop

Blue Photon’s grippers are inserted into new external inserts, designed specifically for the Grip Pallets. The external inserts are available for use with small, medium and large grippers. The new inserts allow for simple installation of the grippers at the required height for maximum holding power.

The 150-mm square pallet is available in aluminum and steel with a 52-mm pattern for a quick change receiver that will hold up to nine grippers. The 225-mm square pallet is available in aluminum and steel with a 96-mm pattern for a quick change receiver that will hold up to 21 grippers. The 300-mm square pallet is available in aluminum with a 96-mm pattern for a quick change receiver that will hold up to 33 grippers.
​
Each Grip Pallet includes two handles with multiple color choices and four spacers, with a 25.4-mm standoff that allows for the recommended nominal of 1-mm joint thickness between gripper and part.

​Optional clamp studs are available for both 52 mm and 96 mm patterns for 5th axis, Jergens, Lang and Mate systems. Part can be removed with a ¼ turn twist of the gripper or hot-water soak. Residual adhesive is removed by using a handheld steamer or a hot-water soak and a light peeling action. 

Techniks is excited to announce that they have compiled 2D and 3D model files for each product available on www.techniksusa.com.

That’s almost 4,800 total SKUs, 9,600 2D and 3D model drawings added for your convenience!

The addition of downloadable CAD files is just the next phase in our continued development of our site to improve its user-friendliness.

​You can now find your specific drawings through directly searching for the part number in the “Drawings” section of the main menu or by navigating directly to the product page. 

​Simply navigate to the appropriate product table, locate the item you need, and click on the drawing file format you require. You will see a links to the 2D DWG and 3D STP files in the right-hand columns.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

Techniks is adding more drawings every day, but if you do not find the drawings you
need let them know at info@techniksusa.com and they'll prioritize your request to get you the drawings you need, FAST!

As you begin to take advantage of their available CAD files, please don't hesitate to continue to provide feedback on your website experience. It’s been with your help that Techniks is able to provide the highest levels of customer service.

Horn USA has introduced the new DR-Large modular reaming system for use in the machining of large bores.