The choice of the right workholding method has a significant influence on the economic viability of cutting processes used for manufacturing.
For fast set-ups and high clamping density, Dimac Tooling is now offering the Swiss-made Triag PowerClamp modular workholding system.
PowerClamp, a rail-mounted, multi-vice system for clamping lots of parts in a small space, is one of the quickest changeable workholding systems available and is ideal for both vertical and horizontal machines.
On the PowerClamp, teeth serrations (2mm spacing) on the base rail allow exact positioning of the vice and end modules.
In contrast to many other clamping systems on the market, in which four hold-down screws are necessary for each module, one transverse spindle screw is used.
This central spindle screw, which has a right-handed and left-handed thread, pulls two plates with angled faces together.
These plates then lock the vice modules onto the base rail with a force of 150kN on either side, creating a solid bond between the two components. This feature allows very fast repositioning of the vice modules.
As a result PowerClamp set-up is accomplished within seconds, particularly if the magnetic scale is being used.
The spindle is accessible from both sides, so that the modules can easily be repositioned, even though adjacent clamping systems are very close.
The vice and end modules are available in a variety of standard widths (19mm to 125mm). This means easy access for machining from three sides on workpieces of various widths.
The Triag rail system allows flexibility in all three axes and offers the highest workpiece density per given machine envelope.
High precision component location is based on the Vernier effect allowing positioning increments of 2.5mm.
If the batch has only a few parts, Triag multiple workholding systems can also be used as a simple machine vice, as the conventional vice is still the favourite choice for many machining tasks.
Should the need for a multiple workholding device arise at a later time, as a larger batch has to be machined for example, it is a matter of adding a few extra vice modules to do the job.