HighTorque Chuck

With the HighTorque Chuck (HTC) with narrow contour, MAPAL has succeeded in combining the benefits of the hydraulic expansion technology with the 3° back taper known from the shrink chuck. This is made possible by the additive manufacturing process employed at MAPAL in the form of selective laser melting (SLM). SLM is a powder bed-based process. Loose metal powder is melted layer by layer onto the areas where material is required by means of a laser beam. The part is built up from bottom to top.

During the production of the hybrid HTC with narrow contour, the functional area is applied to the conventionally manufactured tool body by SLM. Thanks to the additive manufacturing, the clamping range can be positioned very close to the chuck tip which would not have been possible with conventional manufacturing. This provides an optimum radial run-out of < 3 µm at the location bore and < 5 µm at 2.5 x diameter, as well as high shape accuracy with good vibration damping. The damping in the system reduces microstructure cracking at the cutting edge. That in turn ensures longer tool life and less strain on the machine spindle. Furthermore, the additive manufacturing eliminates the need for the soldered joint that was a limiting factor.

The HTC with narrow contour has all the benefits of the proven MAPAL HTC technology, whereby the "T" stands not only for high torque transmission, but also for thermal stability. The wide operating temperature range up to 170 °C ensures additional process reliability. The balancing quality is G=2.5 at 25,000 rpm.

The new chuck offers significant benefits not only for moldmaking, but also for applications in the automotive and aerospace sector. Why? The HTC with narrow contour is suitable for all machining operations in contour-critical areas. It allows quick and simple clamping of the tool. That means: Neither training courses, high retooling costs or expensive peripherals are required for implementation.

The HTC with narrow contour is available in the clamping diameters of 6, 8, 10 and 12mm for HSK-A63 and SK-40. Intermediate sleeves enable additional diameter ranges to be covered. In addition, the chuck is optionally available with dynamically balanced HSK. That again is something new: For the first time is has become possible to dynamically balance components with HSK connection, because the mass imbalance that has been caused by the different depths of the key block slots until now has been eliminated in the optimized HSK.