Hardinge Releases New 80mm Quick-Change FlexC™ Vulcanized Collet Systems

Hardinge Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of spindle tooling, announces the release of the 80mm FlexC™ vulcanized collet system. The collet chucks mount directly to the machine spindle. The 80mm vulcanized collets are inserted and removed with a manual compression wrench for collet changeover in less than ten seconds. That’s 8x faster than it takes to change a collet in a standard collet chuck and 19x faster that it takes to change three jaws on a jaw chuck.
But quick changeover is not the only benefit of this system. The FlexC collet system falls in the “special accuracy” collet classification having guaranteed accuracy within .0004″ (.010mm) TIR for style A (pull-back Dead-length® stationary stop) and .0008″ (.020mm) TIR for style DL (push-to-close). These systems achieve the same gripping capability as conventional collets while using less draw bar force. Additionally, the all too frequent variation in bar stock will no longer be a hindrance. The collet head has a gripping range of ±.020″ (.5mm) of its nominal size to allow for variation in bar stock without having to change the collet. Because there is no collet body, the collet segments will remain parallel to the stock even when there are variations in the bar stock. This parallel clamping insures full bearing contact with the part for optimum holding power and reduced push back.

The Hardinge FlexC collet system is an ideal substitute for 3-jaw chucks because it weighs less, has a lower profile and changes over much faster. Hardinge FlexC collet systems are interchangeable with other brands on the market. Consider the FlexC collet system over other conventional collet adapters to meet special accuracy requirements, or mount it on a chuck-style lathe or rotary indexer for increased versatility. Collets are available in round and hex smooth, round and hex serrated, square smooth, emergency and S-master styles.

For more information contact Hardinge via workholding@hardinge.co.uk or visit http://www.shophardinge.co.uk

Hardinge Supplies a Precision Grip for Medical Component Manufacturing

Hardinge, well known in the industry for their SUPER-PRECISION® products, provides gripping solutions for machining small diameter parts for medical component manufacturing. One category of products includes Swiss-type headstock collets, pickoff collets, carbide guide bushings, bar loader collets and custom manufactured solutions for Swiss turning.
Their Swiss-type collets are finish ground to provide a smooth, concentric gripping area (order hole) for the bar stock or work piece and are inspected on a Hardinge SUPER-PRECISION® (.000015” TIR) headstock to assure strict concentricity standards. Hardinge stocks headstock collets, pickoff collets and guide bushings in many styles and sizes. Their standard round guide bushings are carbide-lined to keep the stock clean and unmarked. Hardened steel or Meehanite-lined bushings can be made for certain stock that is not compatible with carbide. Standard extended-nose headstock and emergency collets feature added length (straight or tapered) for doing pickoff work or to compensate for tooling interference. Emergency collets can be machined to the desired bore size right in your shop to accommodate small runs or get you by in a pinch while they ship your desired size collet.

 

Keeping bar stock unmarked, holding a small diameter on center, holding a thin-wall part, ejecting parts and working with extruded bar shapes are common gripping dilemmas for the Swiss-turning industry. Hardinge has manufactured solutions for all of these problems. They provide special accuracy order holes of .0005” or better for holding strict tolerances, as well as micro-inch finish order holes. They manufacture collets and guide bushings for D-shaped and other extruded shapes, along with pickoff collets with a built-in spring ejector that pushes the part into a basket or conveyor to automate the process. Hardinge has engineered pickoff collets for Citizen, Star, Tornos, Tsugami and other Swiss-type machine applications. Other special Swiss-application collets include stepped, tapered, chamfered, radius & off-center order holes, and over-the-shoulder collets. Additional gripping dilemmas such as short gripping, non-marking, slippery materials, push back, tool clearance, multi-pass machining, large diameters and matched keyways are not a problem for Hardinge.

Hardinge supports most styles and brands of Swiss machines

Multi-spindle rotary indexers optimize spindle utilization and reduce cycle time

Hardinge Inc. manufactures single-axis and dual-axis multi-spindle rotary indexers in Elmira, New York. Positioning and machining up to four parts at a time will add efficiency to your machining process by spending more time with the doors closed and the spindle running. The evolution of their 5C indexer began in 1890 with the manufacture of 5C collets. In 1940 Hardinge introduced the 5C threaded-nose spindle and later the 5C dividing head used to index parts. By the 1960’s they manufactured the manual 5C indexer using their threaded-nose spindle and collet closure design. This mechanical design was the benchmark for many 5C indexers produced today, including their own multi-spindle rotary indexers.

Anyone looking to improve small part productivity can take advantage of the many benefits of part positioning and multiple-part processing using a Hardinge rotary indexer. All parts can be machined efficiently with the same tool before going to the next tool. On-center milling, drilling, boring, tapping and reaming applications can be performed on multiple planes of the part. Using a dual-axis rotary indexer gives you the added benefit of machining at multiple angles on the workpiece.

A Hardinge multi-spindle rotary indexer will increase overall production by producing more parts per hour, thus lowering the cost-per-part, while providing a competitive advantage. The unit has a quick ROI with all of these time-saving advantages.

1. Optimized spindle utilization
2. Reduced start up – open door, remove/place part, hit cycle start, close door for every 2, 3 or 4 parts instead of just 1
3. Reduce X- and Z-axis tool movements, drastically decreasing cycle time
4. Free up the operator to run other machines or perform other tasks
5. Eliminate the need for additional operations

All Hardinge rotary indexers have a collet-ready spindle providing an assortment of part gripping options. Along with standard collets, Hardinge spindles accept Sure-Grip® expanding collets, step chucks, jaw chucks and face or fixture plates without the use of an adapter. Robust, dual-bearing spindles accommodate heavy axial and radial loads with the ability to run a quad unit with tailstocks. A maximum runout of 0.0002” total indicator reading is the Hardinge standard. Multi-spindle units are available in dual, triple and quad spindle configurations. Hardinge manufactures a wide variety of gear-driven and direct-drive rotary tables and indexers. For more information contact Hardinge via workholding@hardinge.co.uk visit www.shophardinge.co.uk

Advantages of the Sure-Grip® Lever-Operated, Counterbalanced Power Chucks

Hardinge Inc. manufactures a premiere line of lever-operated, counter-centrifugal and dynamically balanced Sure-Grip^® Power Chucks. The lever-operated design of the Hardinge chuck has several advantages over the wedge-type design most commonly found on low cost, non-counterbalanced chucks that are supplied with the initial purchase of many chuck-style lathes.

In the Hardinge lever-operated system, the drawtube is connected to the jaws through a pivoting lever that is mounted on pins inside the chuck body. The lever system has reduced friction and increased mechanical advantage compared to a wedge-operated chuck for a given draw bar pressure. In other words, a lever will always have greater actual gripping power at the jaws than a wedge-operated chuck, for any given draw bar pressure.

The lever system also has reduced internal bearing surface over the wedge-operated closure, making it less sensitive to lack of lubrication. The greater efficiency of the design results in reduced wear on the operating cylinder, dramatically increasing component life. For this reason, a lever-operated chuck system (chuck and operating cylinder) will usually have a longer life than that of a wedge-operated system.

In the Hardinge counterbalanced chuck design, weights are incorporated into the actuating levers of the chucks at the opposite end of the fulcrum or pivot-point of the jaws. Centrifugal force acts upon this weight just as it does on the top jaws.  However, since the weight is at the opposite side of the lever from the top jaws, the upward thrust generated counteracts some of the jaw force loss. Thus, the counterbalanced lever design has substantially more gripping force at high RPM than that of a non-counterbalanced style.

The major advantage of the Sure-Grip power chuck is the configuration of the drawtube that actuates the chuck. Since Hardinge machines all have collet spindles that do not require a collet chuck or adaptor, it is a simple matter to remove the collet and quickly mount the 3-jaw Sure-Grip power chuck when needed. The chuck’s drawtube threads directly into the machine’s draw bar, just as a collet would. This changeover can be accomplished in ten minutes or less. Other designs can take hours. The Sure-Grip power chuck is also available for non-Hardinge lathes that do not have collet style spindles.

Hardinge manufactures its chuck components to high accuracy and repeatability standards. The repeatability of a chuck is the measure of its ability to repeat the performance, either from job-to-job or from part-to-part. Most models of Hardinge^® Sure-Grip power chucks have an accuracy (T.I.R.) of .0005 inch and repeatability of .0005 inch, making them ideal for close tolerance turning requirements. Hardinge Sure-Grip power chucks are competitively priced, while demonstrating distinct advantages over the wedge style chuck. For more information contact Hardinge via workholding@hardinge.co.uk or visit www.shophardinge.co.uk

Hardinge 16C Indexer Special Offer

Check out the latest Hardinge 16C Indexer offer available via http://uk.shophardinge.com/product.aspx?partNo=CJ%20100016C

Hardinge supports pharmaceutical market with Capsule Collets

Hardinge, a global designer and manufacturer of machine tools and advanced workholding products, has been producing capsule collets for the world’s leading capsule manufacturers for the past 50 years. These partnerships have resulted in state-of-the-art collets for the production of capsule bodies and caps in sizes of #00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Hardinge precision, hardened and ground collets assure reliability and long life for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. A polished radius nose on the collet reduces friction and eliminates marking, while allowing you to take full advantage of your production capabilities with reduced downtime. Collets are 4-split or 3-split, depending on size, and are stocked in their Elmira, New York facility for worldwide distribution. Hardinge also designs and manufactures custom gripping devices for turning, milling, grinding, process and assembly applications.

Capsule collets and over 40,000 other workholding and rotary products are available from Hardinge at www.shophardinge.co.uk

Collet adapters can improve part precision and reduce setup time

Hardinge^® HCAC^® Collet Adaptation Chucks will adapt most spindles to accept C-series pull back collets, J-series pull back collets, stationary B-series collets, style-S master collets, step chucks & closers and dead-length^® collets. It is possible to increase your machining capabilities by substituting a collet chuck over a jaw chuck for part diameters up to 6 inch depending on the spindle size.

The benefits of using collet chucks in place of jaw chucks include:

• Lighter weight, no hoist required to mount on spindle

• Faster job setup time

• Faster acceleration and deceleration due to less weight and smaller diameter

• Higher spindle speeds for reduced cycle times

• Optimum gripping with higher precision capability

• Capable of using master collets and pads

• Improved part concentricity over jaw chucks

• Eliminate time spent on boring jaws

• No hazard of jaws flying off

Another style of Hardinge collet adapter is their quick-change FlexC™ Vulcanized Collet System that provides collet changeover in seconds using a manual compression wrench. The FlexC collet system has a guaranteed accuracy within .0004″ (.010mm) TIR for both collet system styles A (pull-back stationary stop) and D (pull-back thru-hole) and .0008″ (.020mm) TIR for style DL (push-to-close dead-length^®). The collet head has a generous gripping range to allow variation in bar stock without having to change the collet. Because there is no collet body, the collet segments will remain parallel to the stock even when there are variations in the bar stock. This parallel clamping minimizes stock “push back” that could create inconsistent part lengths. The spindle mount will fit on A2-5, A2-6, A2-8 and some flat back spindles (main and sub).

Collet Adapters and over 40,000 other workholding and rotary products are available from www.shophardinge.co.uk

Hardinge Collets

Did you know that Hardinge is the world’s largest manufacturer of collets, feed fingers and pads? We provide spindle tooling for turning, milling, grinding, high-production and assembly applications. Hardinge also manufactures cnc lathes, VMC’s and rotary tables and indexers with collet-ready spindles to accept collets, step chucks, expanding collets and jaw chucks without the use of an adapter!

For more information call 0116 2869900, or visit www.shophardinge.co.uk

Synchronized Spindle Transfer

Synchronization is required for spindle transfer of odd-shaped parts including hex and square stock and for round parts using live tooling on the main and sub-spindles. Without synchronized collets extra programming and cycle time are required to line up the workpiece to properly transfer the part from one spindle to the other.

In most cases (draw-in style collets) a keyway is used to align the collets when inserting it into the spindle. Synchronized collets orient the part to a specified point on the workpiece. Hex and square collets are synchronized to the center of the flat or the corner. Hardinge will provide a high tolerance of within 15′ or ¼°. Still greater tolerance can be achieved when required. Collets for specific machines such as Acme Gridley, Hydromat and other multi-spindle lathes that already have a keyway can be synchronized to the customer’s specifications.

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