Bellatex Joins AMT
The quick change vise jaw system manufacturer is the newest member of the manufacturing technology association.
Posted: January 10, 2015
Bellatex Industries (Cottage Grove, MN), maker of the CARVEsmart™ original quick change vise jaw system, has been accepted for membership by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology (McLean, VA), which represents and promotes U.S.-based manufacturing technology and its members that design, build, sell, and service the continuously evolving technology that lies at the heart of manufacturing.
The association specializes in providing targeted business assistance, extensive global support, and business intelligence systems and analysis. AMT is the voice that communicates the importance of policies and programs that encourage research and innovation, and the development of educational initiatives to create tomorrow’s Smartforce. The association owns and manages The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), which is the premier manufacturing technology event in North America.
“We are proud to be accepted among our peers and look forward to moving forward as part of this vibrant group of manufacturing technology professionals,” said Doug Fontaine, the co-founder of Bellatex Industries and the Carvesmart national sales manager.
Patented CARVEsmart, which is the most complete and the original inventor of dovetailed quick change vice jaw system, employs three (from the top) channeled clamping elements with a dovetailed jaw design that quickly couples machineable or hard jaws to dramatically reduce set-up time and improve set-up reliability and quality. Its dovetailed aluminum extruded jaw stock has no face mounting cap screws to dodge. This makes the soft jaw a fully machineable, inexpensive cut to any length vise jaw.
SMARTstop is a highly repeatable, front loading (internal to the jaw) vertical slot and dowel pin location system included in 4 in and 6 in CARVEsmart steel ground master jaw sets. Step and carved jaws will repeat +/-0.0003 in when replaced in the original master jaw. Operators can dowel pin the aluminum jaws they wish to reuse or purchase SMARTstopped (pre-pinned) 4 in and 6 in jaws in all five aluminum profiles, 1018 or ductile cast iron jaws.
PERMAjaw is a SMARTstopped, ductile cast iron jaw set. It is ¾ in W by 1.71 in H and flips to expose a fresh face. It will repeat in the same master jaw +/-0.0003 in. PERMAjaw is best for repeating jobs and matched to the spindle step jaws.
CARVEsmart offers economical, extruded aluminum, dovetailed jaw stock in five profiles of
1 in W by 1.71 in H flippable, ¾ in by 2 in, 1 in by 2-1/4 in, 1-1/2 in by 2 in, and 2 in by 3 in in lengths of 4, 6, 31 and 94 in. Also available is ¾ in W by 2 in H dovetailed 1018 steel bar stock in 4 in, 6 in and 31 in lengths.
With this system only one saw cut is necessary for any length jaw from 1 in to 94 in. This can reduce jaw cost by half or more compared to purchasing a commercially made jaw or making them in-house. The #MJSSG4 4 in 4140 ground tool steel master jaw set, designed for production work, is ground flat and parallel within .0002 in. This high quality set is fully accessorized with all SMARTstop options and accepts all jaw stock.
Recutting the female form with each part run matches the jaw and vise perfectly to the spindle. CARVEsmart dramatically reduces set-up time, improves set-up reliability and quality. This makes the CARVEsmart system ideal for shops that change vise jaws often; running repeating and tight tolerance work.