Precision Workholding Q&a

The EvoGrip's compact design enables multi-sided machining with five axes and makes clamping devices of this type universally applicable. EMUGE-FRANKEN USA

In the following Q&A, David Jones, precision workholding product manager for EMUGE-FRANKEN USA, West Boylston, Massachusetts, discusses evolving manufacturing challenges, emphasizing tighter tolerances and complex geometries.

What manufacturing challenges and trends are you seeing today?

Jones: Our customers, who span industries such as aerospace, defense, medical, general metalworking and more, are increasingly facing tighter tolerances and accuracy requirements during parts manufacture. Parts are often complex with intricate geometries, which are challenging to clamp. At the same time, manufacturers have to meet fast delivery timelines.

How do workholding solutions need to evolve to meet today's challenges and trends? And how could shops improve their workholding strategies if it's been two, three or more years since they last upgraded?

Jones: As with any tooling there is evolution, and what may have been considered to be advanced five or 10 years ago is often deemed the norm (typical) today. As a manufacturer of precision workholding solutions, it is critical to keep looking forward and to take into account the latest technology available when reviewing an application. The same holds true for shops using the same tooling for years when there may be a better, newer solution that could result in overall cost savings. Whether it be time savings, scrap rate reduction, or decreasing the number required tools, it all adds up to an overall job cost savings. And sometimes a higher initial tooling investment is required to gain these savings.

What types of questions are you typically receiving from your customers who need to specify and implement a new workholding solution?

Jones: In addition to the questions about pricing and delivery that we receive on a regular basis, we receive inquiries about how to improve precision workholding processes.

Questions include:

• “What does your offering do better than what we are currently using?”
• “How can your tooling help improve or save process time, increase surface finish quality or reduce overall maintenance to help boost machine up time?”

We work closely with our customers to reach their goals, which may be more of a longer-term strategy to achieve the highest value. For example, when producing a high volume number of parts, we recommend looking at the overall job cost over time versus focusing on the initial tooling investment.

What is the range of workholding solutions that EMUGE-FRANKEN offers?

Jones: We design, engineer and build solutions specific to a customer’s machine, workpiece, operation and environment. And soon this year, we are introducing a centric vice offering to our line that will bring EMUGE-FRANKEN into the market with a table-to-spindle tooling offering called EvoGrip for three- and five-axis machining.

What is unique about the new modular EvoGrip workholding solution?

Jones: The overall robustness of the EvoGrip offering sets us apart from others in this segment. It provides very high transferable torque values with a range of vice sizes where 25 kN, 50 kN and 75 kN of generated clamping force can be achieved. During testing, we have seen that the workpiece lift during the clamping cycle is roughly half of a competitor’s lift, but at twice the torque applied to the clamping screw. Additionally, the applied torque input for EvoGrip devices ranges from 50 Nm to 120 Nm to as much as 250 Nm on the larger offering. These values demonstrate high rigidity with repeatable accuracy and very high transferable torque values, resulting in longer tool life.

more information

For more information, visit the EMUGE-FRANKEN website at www.emuge-franken-group.com.

Can you provide an application example where the new system increased productivity/part quality?

Jones: With a formal launch in the U.S. and Canada expected in the second quarter this year for EvoGrip and the table-mounted quick change adaptor, EvoPoint, we have already seen successes in Europe and other countries. The rigid EvoGrip system has produced better finished part quality and increases in tooling life, and the centric vice cycle life is 60,000 cycles or more before service.