Quick, Easy Gang Slide Tool Changeovers on Swiss Lathes

Often used for mass production of small items such as automobile parts, watch parts, medical parts, communication and digital equipment parts, Swiss lathes have many fixed and rotating tools in a narrow space, making it difficult to replace a cutting tool inside the machine. Hydraulic Chucks for Swiss lathes from BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc. (Hoffman Estates, IL) are tool holders that use a single wrench for a quick and easy change of the cutting tools on a gang slide. To minimize machine downtime and provide operator safety, these Hydraulic Chucks use a simple hex wrench that requires only two-three turns for both clamping and unclamping. To help maintain good repeatability and ease of operability, once a Hydro-Chuck is centered the runout will not vary, even if a cutting tool is changed repeatedly. Runout of fewer than 3 microns at 4X diameter can be achieved.

High-precision cutting with Hydraulic Chucks is achieved on the automatic lathe with a clamping range of ø4 mm to ø8 mm. They are long lasting, maintenance free and the rigidity is greatly improved by the short projection length and dual pressure points. Hydraulic Chucks have a standard pipe thread for coolant through connection and are available for most Citizen and Star machines with 3/4 in or 22 mm straight shank.

BIG KAISER also expanded their range of BIG Capto tool holders with the addition of a new size, C4, that is becoming increasingly popular as a quick-change system for turret tooling on lathes. In accordance with ISO 26623-1, the polygon shape of the taper on this tool holder provides for highly repeatable accuracy and torque transmission. This system complements the MEGA chuck rotating tooling program. BIG Capto C4 is offered for both rotating tool holders and turning tools for lathes. Its integral design allows for holding a variety of common inserts for different approach angles and clearance requirements in both left- and right-hand orientations. These compact and rigid tools also allow for large depth of cuts and feed rates.

BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc., 2600 Huntington Boulevard, Hoffman Estates, IL 60192, 224-770-2999, Fax: 224-770-2997, www.us.bigkaiser.com.