As one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading supplier of accessories for CNC turning machine tools, Dimac Tooling offers a comprehensive range workholding solutions.

Dimac was recently confirmed as the distributor for Lang Technik’s cutting edge innovative products. As a result, any company that is involved with workpiece milling in Australia or New Zealand now has easy access to Lang Technik’s Makro-Grip technology, which provides a workholding solution to almost any clamping requirement from raw material to the finished workpiece.

“We are thrilled to have been appointed Lang Technik’s sole distributor in Australia,” says Dimac Managing Director, Paul Fowler. “This well-known German company is recognised as one of the leading manufacturers of workholding and machine tool automation. Every month thousands of clamping set-ups are delivered to customers all over the world to help them increase their production efficiency.”

Makro-Grip stamping technology is a patented form-closure technology which provides the highest holding power for five-face machining worldwide. The stamping technology, also called pre-stamping, involves the workpiece being stamped outside of the machine tool with up to 20 tons of hydraulic pressure, before being clamped in the Makro-Grip five-axis vise. Clamping scenarios that require high holding power, but where the danger of workpiece deformation exists, can be mastered with the stamping process.

For five-sided machining, where optimal accessibility has to be achieved, stamping technology in connection with the Makro-Grip five-axis vise provides the ultimate solution and the very best the market has to offer. Stamping units are available for workbenches and on a trolley, with different sizes being available.

“Makro-Grip stamping technology provides tremendous material savings due to minimal clamping edge requirements,” Fowler adds.

The compact Makro-Grip five-axis vise offers unmatched holding power and the best accessibility for five-face machining. It offers high repeat accuracy for inserting workpieces without any endstops and due to its light weight, is easy and flexible to handle.

“The Makro-Grip five-axis vise is the perfect solution for all challenging clamping tasks and which simply is unbeatable in five-sided manufacturing,” says Fowler.

Other innovative products in the Makro Grip range include the Dual-Clamping vise – a retrofitting kit for five-axis vises that allows you to convert your existing Makro-Grip five-axis vise into a Dual-Clamping vise within just a few moments. The Makro-Grip Dual-Clamping vise is perfectly qualified for batch production.

The Makro-Grip Automation vise is a five-axis vise for automated manufacturing whilst the Makro-Grip Automation Dual Clamping vise comes with a robust and corrosion-resistant steel body. On its side faces are integrated automation interfaces for the handling gripper which can be used as an ergonomic recessed grip as well. With the retrofitting kit, the Dual Clamping vise can be converted into a four-fold automation.

The Profilo Clamping vise is a clamping system for all shaped parts allowing for the use of different types of profile jaws on one vise body. The Universal Avanti vise offers great handling characteristics and enormous set-up time savings thanks to a quick jaw exchange system.

The Vario-Tec Centering vise is a convenient and versatile clamping solution for semi finished parts whilst the Ino-Grip three-jaw chuck is an automatable chuck for milling round parts.

A unique product in the Lang Technik range is the Cleaning Fan. The fan automatically cleans the machine table, pallet and/or workpieces after the machining process is complete.

“Because all Lang Technik’s extensive products come from the one place they are perfectly matched and interfacing problems with other systems do not exist,” adds Fowler. “The modular building system and the multitude of combinations and capabilities are the reason that their workholding systems can be used in almost any machining centre.”

Precise gripping, no surface marks

Dimac is also the sole distributor of Royal CNC Expanding Mandrels. Manufactured in the USA, these finely crafted tools incorporate the highest-quality steels and seals, and are fully sealed for complete protection against coolant and chip penetration.

“ID gripping is often overlooked as a workholding option, yet in many situations it is the best choice,” notes Fowler. “The workholding challenge, especially on short parts, is to have sufficient surface area to securely hold the part, have an area that will not be damaged by gripping the ID and still allow for maximum access for the cutting tool.

“It is becoming increasingly important for surface finishes, especially in medical applications to have no marks or blemishes. Gripping on the ID of a bore rather than the OD can help keep the outside cosmetics of a workpiece more acceptable for these types of applications.”

The ability to choose ID clamping offers several advantages over simply using traditional OD gripping with a chuck or collet. By having the ability to clamp on the centre bore it allows for full access to the entire length of the workpiece so all external surfaces can be turned in a single operation guaranteeing perfect concentricity. On sub-spindle machines, ID gripping on the second spindle eliminates the risk of surface damage that can be caused by second-op OD gripping on a previously turned diameter. For many parts, the engagement length of the ID bore can be greater than what is available for OD gripping, resulting in superior rigidity and torque transmission.

ID systems tend to be more streamlined than OD systems, enabling better part access – especially important for use on machines with live tooling. And finally, having full access to the entire outside length can aid production shops trying to balance cycle times between operations performed on the main spindle and the subspindle.

Royal’s exclusive ‘Bolt & Go’ mounting feature is standard on all Royal ID Gripping systems and enables quick mounting and ensures maximum accuracy and rigidity. The unique double-angle design ensures positive release when the part is unclamped – especially important for automated loading/unloading.

In addition to the off-the-shelf standard line, specials are available in custom configurations ranging up to 610mm diameter. Manufactured to exacting tolerances, Royal Expanding Mandrels are guaranteed accurate to +/- 0.0012mm TIR or better. The Royal CNC Expanding Mandrels system includes all mounting hardware, wrenches and a custom-machined drawtube connector to ensure hassle-free installation.

Speedgrip – Getting to grips with changeover time

One of the traditional issues facing operators of CNC lathes dealing with smaller batch sizes is that of changeover time of workholding devices. The time involved with disassembly, cleaning, checking and reassembly all adds to significant time delay and subsequent loss in productivity.

The need for shorter part runs and just-in-time manufacturing has exacerbated the need for versatile and quick changeover workholding systems with minimal downtime. There are a number of systems currently in the marketplace that offer quick-change adaptors and chucks, but the monetary investment required is, in most cases, prohibitive. There are also marked differences in the amount of time actually saved.

This is where Speedgrip’s Quick Change Adaptor comes into play. Using the industry tried-and-trusted Camlock technology with a carrier and receiver, it provides a solution that is accurate, fast to convert between workholding methods, and importantly very affordable. You can now change over between power jaw chucks, collet chucks, expanding mandrel chucks or your face-driver quickly and easily.

As an example, changing from a power jaw chuck to a collet chuck can be achieved in less than five minutes – an operation that would have taken around an hour using the conventional method. Installation is simplicity itself: mount the Camlock adapter/receiver to the spindle and then connect the retainer/connector assembly to the drawtube. A Camlock adaptor carrier is then fitted to the required jaw chuck, ID collet chuck, OD collet chuck, or face-driver with its retention knob and you are then ready to go. To change over, you simply release the cam studs, move the drawtube forward, remove one chuck, clean, slide on the other, tighten the studs, retract the drawtube, and in five minutes you have a completely different workholding system.

“Anything that can assist CNC operators boost their productivity is welcome news,” says Fowler. “The great thing about the Speedgrip Quick Change Adaptor is that it massively speeds up change over time, but at the same time remains affordable to all types of manufacturers both big and small.”

Dimac is the sole distributor for Speedgrip in Australia and New Zealand. The US Speedgrip Chuck Company was founded in 1946, and all Speedgrip products are produced in its 4,000sqm manufacturing facilities in Elkhart, Indiana. The company delivers premier engineered workholding solutions and its products are renowned for delivering the highest levels of quality and productivity for customers in every industry, where metal cutting is a part of the manufacturing process.

“We are proud to be Speedgrip’s sole distributor, and I know that the Quick Change Adaptor is going find a ready market with a wide range of manufacturers looking to boost both their productivity and workplace efficiency,” said Fowler. “Like all the products we sell, the Speedgrip range will have the full back up and support of Dimac technical personnel to ensure the products are installed correctly and operate at optimum performance.”

www.dimac.com.au