CNC West Oct Nov Web

58 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST October/November 2018 According to HAINBUCH America Corp., although precision workholding systems are customarily pur- chased to ensure accuracy in the manufacture of com- plex parts with demanding tolerance requirements, users are increasingly discovering that their systems can gen- erate not only improved performance but significant cost savings in other areas. As manufacturing has become more competitive and purchasing justification param- eters have changed, both job shops and OEMs are finding themselves caught between a rising demand for precision per- formance and the high cost of the machines that can deliver it. The company reports that a num- ber of HAINBUCH’s customers who originally purchased the system to improve workholding have discovered that its inherent capabilities have enabled them to achieve significant capital ex- penditure savings by buying entry-level or lower-cost machines and subsequently increasing their capability through the addition of precision workholding. Michael Larson, marketing director at HAIN- BUCH America Corp., said, “In manufacturing, it is the results that count. End users do not care whether their part was turned on an expensive machine or a more eco- nomical one, as long as it meets their standards for met- rics and quality. By replacing a standard chuck with a HAINBUCH system, users achieve the tolerances they desire with the added benefit of greater flexibility. Our fast-change feature improves productivity by eliminat- ing long changeover times, and our MANDO Adapt ID expanding device delivers high precision I.D. performance. By upgrading a conventional turning center with our system, the customer not only adds high- er precision but greater versatility in both I.D. and O.D. machining over a wider range of parts siz- es.” Another area in which HAINBUCH users are discovering unplanned economies involves the replace- ment of standard chucks with HAINBUCH systems on Precision Workholding System Extends Machine Capabilities older turning centers. In many cases, customers who experience dramatic improvement with the installa- tion of their first HAINBUCH system, have opted to retrofit other existing machines in the shop with ad- ditional HAINBUCH systems-sometimes varying the size range so as to accommodate larger or smaller parts than the original installation. In a number of cases, planned machine replacements have been postponed or cancelled. An especially dramatic cost saving application involves the de- velopment by HAINBUCH, Okuma and other members of the Okuma Partners in THINC network of a dis- crete 5-axis machining system that could be removed from the machin- ing center when not in use. Michael Larson stated, “With 5-axis fast be- coming the standard of the industry, many shop owners are experiencing sticker shock at the cost of dedicated 5-axis machines. Our team solved this problem by developing 5-axis capability that could not only be used with an entry-level or older machining system, but that could be easily removed when not in use or transferred to another machine. “The result of their efforts was prominently featured at the Okuma Winter Showcase in December of 2017. Team members pointed out that the advantages of the discrete 5-axis system derived from not only sav- ings on a dedicated machine but from the ability for any number of shops to extend their machining capabilities into areas such as aerospace and defense, medical and energy applications.” Innovation in precision workholding systems seems to know no bounds. Mr. Larson observed, “At present, we are working with a number of shops that want to adapt our rotation- al workholding system for applications on machining centers and multi-purpose machines. They have come to appreciate the multiple benefits of our systems that extend beyond workholding and encompass greater flexibility, lower cycle times and increased produc- tion.”