Multiple part processing with Plate and Cube Rotary Trunnions

Equals 4th-axis multi-part production for reduced manufacturing cost.

Plate and cube trunnions are add-on accessories for rotary tables or indexers that will allow multiple part positioning in a tilting, dual-axis set up. The plate has a machineable area on two surfaces with an adjustable centerline to accommodate various part heights. The cube is a solid aluminum block. One end of the plate or cube is supported with a bearing pillow block, while the other end mounts in or on the spindle of the rotary table or indexer. Read More

Click here for Hardinge Rotary Brochure

What is the advantage of using a DIRECT-DRIVE rotary table?

Direct-drive technology can advance your company to the next level…high-speed, super-precision parts positioning.  ±3 arc-sec accuracy, ±2 arc-sec repeatability and ±.077 arc-sec resolution is achievable! Hardinge direct-drive rotary table indexers have no mechanical gearing. This means ZERO backlash which permits rapid bidirectional movement. Hardinge has three sizes to fit your machining application. The smaller DD100 is ideal for drill and tap and laser processing. The larger DD200 and DD300 include a spindle clamp and slotted face plate. The A2-5 spindle will accept collets, expanding collets, step chucks, FlexC quick-change collets and power chucks.   READ MORE

Gripping bullets, gun parts and optical lenses

This push-to-close style collet and stationary collet will grip a cartridge for either trimming to length or forming of the extractor groove.  The smaller double-angle Erickson-style collet grips a bullet jacket for trimming to length. Hardinge manufactures collets and super-precision CNC turning centers used for turning the bullets, trimming bullet jackets, grooving the shanks of the cartridges and crimping the cartridge to the bullet. More information.

 

Micro finishes and critical radii prevent marking of the soft materials used to make bullets. Hardinge supplies off-the-shelf and custom collets for firearm, ammunition, optic and paintball gun manufacturers worldwide.  Collets, step chucks, fixtures and custom assemblies hold barrels, firing pins, trigger mechanisms, optical lenses, bullet jackets and cartridges. Call 0116 2869900 or email sales@hardinge.co.uk for more info.

Custom gripping for ALL brands of machines and applications… TURNING, MILLING, GRINDING, SPECIALTY MACHINES, INSPECTION, ASSEMBLY.

Don’t Forget Concentricity

As parts get more and more complex, you will see part tolerances get tighter than ever. We’ve all seen the (+ -) .0001” size on a turn or bore, but what about concentricity? Quite often, it’s a call out that’s just plain missed. Catching the spec is one thing, meeting it is another.

Here’s some helpful ideas.

First of all, concentricity starts with “round” features. Remember, you cannot check for concentricity between two journals; maybe the spec is .0003” if one of the journals has .0004” run out in itself.

Second, boring the spindle tooling while positioned in the spindle, especially for the 2nd chucking, is a must. If you’re talking .001”, probably not needed, but if the print calls for .0004” concentricity or less, bore the spindle tooling and your success rate goes up.

Third, for the most demanding concentricity specifications, machine all the critical features together. This trick is pretty well understood in this industry but be careful, it’s not a 100% guarantee. There are a lot of factors that affect concentricity, Example: Balance, tool pressure, excessive part clamping pressures, to name a few….…

Hardinge failsafe 5C collet block improves safety and reduces scrap

Parts remain clamped if loss of air occurs when using the Hardinge failsafe collet block (closer). Air is required during setup to receive the part, whether using a single collet block or a sub-plate of multiple blocks. After setup, a unique spring design holds the workpiece with 1,760 pounds of optimum 5C drawbar force. The spring-to-close design provides the opportunity to use pallet shuttles without the need for air or hydraulic lines. If loss of air should occur during the machining process, parts will remain clamped and concentricity will be maintained without downtime, waste or injury.

Modular units can be used vertically, horizontally or in any position for machining or assembly operations. These units will line up on a trunnion plate for fourth-axis, multiple-part machining with a rotary table. Each unit has a 5” square footprint with four mounting holes 4” on-center. A 1/8-27 NPT port is located on the back of the unit for connection to shop air. Maximum operating pressure is 75 psi. Multiple units will connect to a single pneumatic connection, but can have separate valves for controlled workpiece placement during setup. Custom sub-plates, modular setups, valve assemblies and special collets can be provided by Hardinge to meet individual requirements.

Group of three 5C failsafe collet blocks manufactured by Hardinge. Three different gripping methods are shown including a collet, a Sure-Grip™ expanding collet and a step chuck that will accommodate larger part diameters.

 

The Hardinge thru-hole base design allows coolant and chips to be flushed through, rather than building up. This eliminates the time-consuming process of tearing down and cleaning out the unit, as would be the case with other closed-base designs.

Unlike other collet block manufacturers, Hardinge also produces the collets and step chucks for use in the collet block. Standard Hardinge off-the-shelf 5C collets will hold round parts up to 1-1/16”, hex parts up to 29/32” or square parts up to 3/4”. Step chucks can be used to hold parts up to 6” in diameter. Hardinge Sure-Grip® expanding collets will grip the part internally for ID part sizes up to 3-1/64”. Dead-Length® collets offer exact part length control when machining shoulders and faces. The part locates against the face of the collet, the back face of a stepped hole or the face of the work stop to ensure no longitudinal end movement. Manual chucks will also thread onto the spindle nose. Much of this spindle tooling can be shared with other CNC lathes.

The Hardinge 5C collet block offers peace-of-mind because of the fail-safe design that is built in. This design eliminates the risk of scrapping parts, the danger of parts flying off if loss of air should occur, and eliminates downtime associated with chip buildup. Over a century of workholding experience provides the reliability and matched precision from collet to collet block, along with flexible gripping options. Hardinge offers a large selection of pneumatic and hydraulic collet blocks for operating pressures up to 5,000 psi. Shop online at www.shophardinge.co.uk 

 

Triple presence for Hardinge at MACH 2012

Hardinge Group is maximising its presence at the forthcoming MACH 2012 exhibition with two stands of its own and a further machine demonstrating workholding equipment on a suppliers stand.

In total there will be eleven Hardinge Group machines in fully operational mode at the exhibition with the main stand – 5438 in Hall 5 – featuring four Hardinge machine tools and four grinding centres from Kellenberger and Jones & Shipman.  In addition this stand will also showcase a Biglia multi-axis turning machine and a Quaser 5-axis milling centre, Hardinge UK Ltd being the main distributor for these brands in the UK.

 

Biglia Smartturn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A second stand – 4021 in Hall 4 – is dedicated to Hardinge workholding products and promoting the recently launched ‘ShopHardinge’ concept.

 

The Hardinge machine tools being featured are an XR1000 5 axis machining centre, a T42 Super Precision T series turning centre, a Bridgeport GX600 VMC and a GS150 CNC lathe.  In addition, there is a Biglia Smart Turn ‘S’ multi-axis turning machine and for the first time in the UK the Quaser MF400C, a 5 axis multi-face machine which features both tilting and rotary axes. READ MORE

 

 

 

 

What are collet stops and ejector stops used for?

Collet stops are used for chucking applications to eliminate push-back of the collet during heavy drilling or other endworking applications. This assures accurate repeatability from part to part. Hardinge collet stops are adjustable and machinable for the desired part length. Ejector stops will automatically spring-eject the part when the collet opens.

TF25-OG Overgrip Pick-off Collets for Citizen M20 and L720 Swiss Turning Centers

Overgrip collets, also referred to as over-the-shoulder collets, are used on a pick-off spindle when it is required to clear a shoulder and grip on a smaller diameter beyond. A good example of this type of part would be a screw. Hardinge has developed and now manufactures standard TF-25 OG overgrip collets for Citizen M20 and L720 lathes. Extra spread is required to open the collet wide enough to go over the screw head or larger diameter. Hardinge’s collet design incorporates teardrop slots and reduced wall thickness for maximum flexibility for the overgrip pick-off process.

 

‘Solid performance’ as Hardinge looks to 2012

“A very solid performance” was John McTernan, Hardinge’s Managing Director, European Sales and Marketing’s description of the UK company’s performance during 2011.With the organisation having met its targets for the year and – despite challenging market conditions – approaching 2012 with a deal of optimism he reflects on the successes that have contributed to the performance.

“We, like so many others, approach 2012 against a backdrop of economic uncertainty but the engineering sector is very resilient and despite predictions of gloom in some quarters of the media, we know from the feedback we get from our customers that while challenging, the mood is still fairly optimistic.

“So many factors are beyond our control but in many respects we said something not dissimilar 12 months ago,” he adds.

Landmark …

Looking at the past 12 months Hardinge in the UK has made a number of landmark achievements, the most notable being the introduction of the Biglia range of high end machine tools and the significant re-branding and launch of the ShopHardinge on line store. Both are beginning to significantly impact on the business with a number of confirmed major Biglia sales in the order book and significant levels of interest in the brand. ShopHardinge activity is running at encouraging levels and there are many new third party products now featured.

Not that the year past has been totally without its problems. “Sales activity has been running at very positive levels” adds John, “but the manufacturing side of the business (in common with most international machine tool manufacturers) has been impaired by problems beyond our control. The devastation caused by the Japanese Tsunami filtered down to machine tool manufacturers with a global shortage of many of the high precision components we are all so dependent upon. Things are slowly improving but the ability to fulfill orders in the time scales we would have liked has at times been difficult.”

Looking ahead …

“In 2012 our major focus will be on integrating our factory operations more closely with the sales side and optimising their activities,” John explains. “This will mean our sales and marketing activities will be able to focus on just that – selling and marketing.

“This will necessitate changes in the state of readiness that we ship units out in but will result in improvements that will benefit the customer,” he concludes.

ShopHardinge expands after successful launch

Just weeks after its launch in the UK, the inventory of the extensive Hardinge Machine Tools’ ShopHardinge on-line store has been considerably expanded with a range of branded products added.

Launched in early July with 65,000 products in its online inventory, the ShopHardinge.co.uk  e-commerce web site offers purchasers the opportunity to browse, select and purchase a vast range of products ranging from a simple collet to a sophisticated rotary table.

“ShopHardinge has been highly successful in the USA over the past 2 years and early signs are that customers in the UK are equally enthusiastic, making use of its many features,” explains Rob Beckett, Hardinge UK’s Workholding Product Manager.

“As well as purchasing, on-line visitors to the site can check on stock levels and access technical data and already the scope of the site has been expanded,” he adds.

Added since the launch have been tool and workshop storage cabinets and trolleys from Bott, coolants from Q8, a choice of barfeeds from Hydrafeed, Iemca, LNS and Samsys and rotary tables from Nikken.

Most recently, Europa Manual Turret Mills have also been added.  Two versions are offered – the 5000VS with an ISO40 taper and the 2000VS with an R8 taper.  Although budget priced – both at under £10,000 – the machines have a range of features that make them invaluable additions to any small or medium size workshop where the can undertake simple milling operations without the need to disrupt the automated machines.

Rob Beckett explains.  “In adding these and other reputable branded products to the ShopHardinge  portfolio we are extending the ‘one stop shop’ ShopHardinge concept and these new names are expected to be the first of a range of additions,” he concludes.