Leader to exhibit at ‘Inspiration through Innovation’ event

Leader has been supporting Seco since 2007, and this latest event promises an exhibition and comprehensive programme of seminars that will put visitors at the heart of the industry and its community. Knowledge gained from attending, being able to see and interact with live demonstrations, will be a priceless opportunity for many.

Workholding solutions from ZeroClamp, Hainbuch and CARVEsmart will be demonstrated at Seco’s impressive facilities. The recently launched Leader ZeroClamp zero point clamping system has been designed to significantly reduce set-up times and increase machining efficiency. The Patent-registered system provides an effective route to producing more components, quicker and at a lower cost. A number of features set this reliable and robust workholding solution apart from other competitor systems.

Using the face and taper HSK spindle tooling principle the Leader ZeroClamp can achieve a repeatability of +/- 2.5 micron, around 10 times more accurate than existing systems. As the hollow, tapered-shank bolt is drawn into the clamping pot the elastic properties of the seating ring expand slightly, allowing the taper to locate positively and the faces of the pot and the pallet or raw material to engage and locate solidly. Subsequently each fixing point has a break-out force of between 12.5 kN and 60 kN, depending on the clamping pot diameter.

This principle also removes any machining induced vibration, minimizes all thermal effects and compensates for hole misalignments of up to +/- 0.1 mm as the tapers always compensate towards the centre of the clamping position. The tapered bolts are produced from case hardened 42CrMO2 steel and are very strong, allowing the workpiece or raw material to stand on them for storage. Only one design is used, avoiding the confusion caused by ‘fixed’ systems, which usually require three different bolt designs that are also known to magnify any thermal errors.

Just one of the technically advanced offerings from Hainbuch, Jaw Module is a compact modular system solves many workholding problems. It is small, flexible, can be quickly changed, and covers a large clamping range. Available in two sizes, the 144 clamps from 25 to 115 mm, and the 215 clamps from 25 to 200 mm diameter, the system is ideal for sensitive clamping and delicate components; can be used as a pick-up chuck on sub-spindles, and is also suited to stationary prismatic applications.

Together with the Hainbuch Spanntop chuck, Jaw Module forms a complete quick change clamping solution using proven technology. Mandrels and clamping heads can also be used in the basic unit, with quick and repeatable set-up. The new Jaw Module completes the circle and provides a new clamping dimension that opens up even more possibilities for users. It is said to be the best 3-in-1 solution for ID, OD and jaw clamping.

The Patented CARVEsmart quick-change vice jaw system provides a number of benefits. The jaw system has been developed to simplify set-ups for production and toolroom vices by using a dovetail interface to quickly and accurately locate and secure the jaws.
With conventional vices, the jaws attach to the face of master jaws via cap screws. However, the CARVEsmart system uses master jaws with a female dovetail profile designed to accept vice jaws with a male dovetail profile. So, the jaws can be front-loaded or slid into the side of the master jaws, and are secured via clamping elements accessible at the top of the master jaws. These provide downward pressure to keep the jaws in place.

Managing Director, Mark Jones, says: “Prominent industrial companies, many of which are established customers often ask us to support them during technical events, such as this latest one from Seco. We believe this is due to the independent comprehensive range of clamping and workholding products in our portfolio, along with over 60 years’ experience of helping engineering businesses achieve their precision and productivity goals.”