Southern Manufacturing 2020: Exhibitor focus

PES begins its round-up of some the exhibitors at this year's Southern Manufacturing and Electronics Show, held at the Farnborough Exhibition Centre from 11-13 February.

Read more of PES's coverage of Southern Manufacturing 2020 here.

 

Efficient workpiece clamping for 5-axis machining

Salisbury-based 1st Machine Tool Accessories will show for the first time in the UK the new Kitagawa Swift Klamp, a rigid workholding product that uses the proven HSK tool interface to provide a secure, low interference, quick-change clamping arrangement that resists bending forces generated during metalcutting operations.

Designed for 5-axis machining applications but equally suited to use on 3- and 4-axis machines, the system consists of three parts: clamping head, work holder and workpiece. The head is supplied either as a manually or automatically operated HSK clamp, while the work holder comprises an HSK interface at the base and multiple options at the top for holding the workpiece, including flange clamps and side clamps.

The most efficient clamping system, however, is the dovetail interface. Its small clamping surface area allows enhanced tool access and its low profile maximises the machine tool's Z-axis travel. Workpieces up to 200mm square or diameter can be accommodated.

The final element is the workpiece to be machined, which in the case of the dovetail holder requires a slot to be pre-milled into the raw billet to match the holder profile. A solid carbide cutter is available specifically for this purpose. Additionally, pre-machined dovetailed EN3B (070M20) steel and HE30 (6082) aluminium blanks can be supplied in various sizes for immediate use.

The manual clamping head has a versatile flange that suits multiple mounting options. Available in HSK-A40, HSK-A63 and HSK-A100 sizes, it may be set up offline and the work holder can be exchanged within 10 seconds, minimising machine downtime.

For automated manufacturing processes, a hydraulically-actuated clamping head is available in the same HSK sizes with seating detection and air-blow. The work holders have a standard profile to enable them to be handled by any general purpose robot arm.

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Demonstrated also at Southern Manufacturing will be the new RotaVice workpiece positioning system, ideal for production shops where manual mills may still be in operation, but equally well suited to use on a CNC vertical machining centre (VMC). It is a new, manually adjustable indexing head that can be rapidly set to position a component at a multiplicity of rotary angles in the horizontal plane for milling and drilling.

Produced in the UK, the unit is designed to be secured in a One-Lok workholding device manufactured by Chick in the USA, for which 1st MTA is the sole agent in the UK and Ireland. RotaVice can also be exported to manufacturers worldwide that use similar Chick equipment.

Expensive fixtures and the need to change machine set-ups can be avoided, saving money and time. In smaller job shops employing 4-axis VMCs equipped with a full or indexing rotary table, where there may be only one or two people able to program the machine, the load can be lightened by having an operator of a lower skill level set up a component manually for 3-axis machining.

Everything about the RotaVice is fast. First, a One-Lok may be bolted quickly onto a VMC table. Next, positioning the moveable jaw using the built-in, time saving ratchet mechanism leaves only a few turns of the handle to clamp the indexing head in a special RotaVice jaw, also made by 1st MTA, which replaces the standard One-Lok jaw. Lastly, the workpiece is secured in moments in a horizontal orientation using an array of workholding options, which include a 3-jaw chuck.

Adjusting the angle is also rapid and accurate. It is effected by turning a circular locating plate to the required angle and inserting a pin into the relevant hole, an array of which are pre-drilled into the plate at the most common angles. In the standard configuration, 5, 10 and 45° are available. The standard plate can be changed for a specific plate to suit any job that involves the use of non-standard angles.

Another advantage of the RotaVice is that once the angle has been selected, it uses the clamping force of the One-Lok to secure the rotary angle. This force, which is much higher than that offered by standard dividing heads, allows significantly heavier machining cuts to be taken and delivers improved surface finish.

Altering the angle for a subsequent machining operation on the same component is similarly achieved without having to re-clamp the part, thereby avoiding loss of accuracy through tolerance build-up. Intermediate angles can be set using a rotary dial with a one degree increment scale, while very fine adjustments down to ± 0.5° can be made using the toggle lever mounted at the top of the unit.

Importantly, RotaVice has a large through bore with a taper and an internal thread, both of which can be configured for use with chucks, mandrels, special fixtures and backstops. These are normally not associated with standard dividing head systems.

1st Machine Tool Accessories www.1mta.com
Stand G205

 

Measuring up

Faro UK will be presenting a wide range of advanced metrology products at the exhibition, such the recently launched 8-axis Quantum ScanArm.

This Faro product seamlessly integrates a Quantum FaroArm with an eighth-axis, making the Faro 8-Axis Quantum FaroArm the world’s first eight-axis portable coordinate measuring machine (PCMM).

The accurate yet robust Quantum has been tested to withstand the harshest shopfloor environments and delivers leading portability and ergonomics. When combined with the Faro Blu Laser Line Probe or the Faro Prizm Laser Line Probe, the Faro Quantum FaroArm becomes a fully-functional 3D laser scanning system.

Faro exhibition staff will be performing practical demonstrations to prove that the 8-Axis Quantum FaroArm is the ideal, portable solution for companies that are looking for an efficient, cost-effective, user-friendly factory inspection system.

Also being demonstrated, the advanced Faro Laser Tracker Vantage is a high-accuracy, large measurement range, laser tracking device. Sporting cutting-edge features such as MultiView cameras, SmartFind target detection and TruADM, the precise, robust product features a water and dust resistant IP52 rating, helping to make it a complete laser tracking solution.

Last, but not least, Faro’s innovative TracerSI Laser Projector system will also be showcased. The TracerM accurately projects a laser onto a surface or object to provide a virtual template. The projected template allows operators and assemblers to quickly and accurately position components with absolute confidence.

Faro UK www.faro.com/en-gb/
Stand A230

 

Multiple import options

Programming simplicity will be Hurco’s theme for Southern Manufacturing 2020 and the company will be showcasing the latest software available on its proprietary Max5 control.

The 19 inch, colour, touchscreen control has always been popular due to the ease with which a first-off part can be programmed.

On demonstration will be the latest Solid Model Import option, capable of reducing programming times even further. Whereas previously only 2D DXF files could be loaded directly into the control to create conversational data blocks, now it is possible to import 3D STEP or IGES files including splines and Z-depths. For machining five-sided parts, transform plane commands are calculated automatically.

Two of Hurco's bestselling machines will be on the stand. One will be the versatile Hurco VM10i machining centre, which despite having a working volume of 660 x 406 x 508mm fits into a compact space on the shopfloor. Steel cutting demonstrations will take place throughout the show and visitors are likely to be impressed by the ability of the machine to offer true machining centre performance.

Sharing equal prominence will be a Hurco TM8i XP 2-axis CNC lathe. It turns parts up to 356mm in diameter by 525mm long and is well suited to bar work up to 64mm diameter. The performance of this compact, accurate turning machine is complemented by the Max5 control. Simple, easy-to-follow graphics guide the user through tooling selection and all operations.

The new XP model enhancements mean that concurrent programming, improved graphics, roller guideways and faster rapids are standard features. The slant-bed lathe is supplied as standard with a six inch hydraulic three-jaw chuck, parts catcher and swarf conveyor.

Vouchers for MacInnes coolant and lubricants as well as Dormer Pramet tooling will be offered.

Hurco Europe http://cnc.hurco.com/en-gb/pages/hurco-uk-europe.aspx
Stand G200

 

Southern Manufacturing 2020 www.industrysouth.co.uk