from a few hundred pounds to several thousand, may be required. In another scenario, heavy or elaborate parts are often difficult to handle. Guide Pins and Lockout options prevent misloads and damage by helping to ensure the part is fixtured in a controlled and accurate way. This dramatically reduces the risk of damaging workholding or the material itself. Speaking of preserving investments, if easy maintenance is a high priority, chip fans are great, but the workholding itself can actually help as well. UNILOCK chucks are a mechanical device all their own. With the Air Blast option, a modification is made to the back cover of the chuck that allows air to clean the knob as it enters the chuck, reducing labor and maintenance intervals. Workholding should be more than an afterthought. Don’t assume that what is on the machine or around the shop will get the job done. Carefully chosen workholding can unlock efficiency before, during and after actual chips are being made. Look at the work you do, your machinery and your team, and choose the workholding that helps boost your performance.
• Fully automatic – All loading/ unloading of parts and/or fixtures is done automatically including the clamping of the systems. • Partially manual/automatic – A mixture of manual loading and automatic clamping. • Fully manual – All setup and clamping done by a person. How automated is your loading, unloading, clamping, etc.? Or, what investments are planned for your shop’s automation, and will any of it be for machining? Workholding is a key consideration if any automation is in the works. If not, you’ll still need an understanding of who will be handling workholding, how many people, experience level etc., to choose correctly. If you want to avoid clamping and unclamping by hand, multiple people fussing with part fixturing and relocation, automation chucks open and close with the flip of a switch. A single operator can recognize if a part is locked and
ready to machine or unlocked and ready to move without having to make multiple touches or ask for assistance. This is done with electrical or pneumatic proximity switches that signal if the chuck is “closed,” making the part safe to machine; or “open,” making it safe to remove the part/fixture. Options and Accessories If you’re after a very specific job or have unique demands, you may have to look beyond the core workholding system to the options and add-ons. In some cases, this can dictate your choice altogether. With UNILOCK, for example, chuck design goes far beyond the standard sizes and shapes. Chucks can sit on top of tables, they can be incorporated into tombstones/ tables/plates, into EDM machines, CMMs or robot interfaces. If rough, high-torque machining is in order, something like the Turbo option, which can multiply clamping forces
CONTRIBUTOR John Zaya is a Product Specialist at BIG DAISHOWA. john.zaya@us.bigdaishowa.com
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