New machine incoming,.. now looking at toolholding

[cncappsjames]

Point of clarification, it is NOT the "spindle" that determines CAT or BT, it is the tool changer fingers/claw and the tool matrix racks. 

[cncappsjames]

Point of information;

BT holders are shorter from the gage line to the pull stud surface than CT holders. Generally speaking the BT pull studs have a thicker flange than their CT brothers. 

 

ALL Matsuura spindles if not HSK are BigPlus. I use and recommend BigPlus holders. Not all "dual contact" holders are created equal. Big Daishowa, Big Kaiser, Rego-Fix, Schunk, Sandvik, and a few others are BigPlus. Nikken, while not "BigPlus" make a quality holder I don't mind recommending.

Personally I prefer Rego-Fix PowR Grip over heat shrink, mostly just because heat shrink holders have a finite lifespan but heat shrink is a very good path to go down unless you use HSS tools.

If you do elect to go heat shrink, DO NOT skimp on the heat shrink unit. A good quality unit will maximize the holder's life span if used properly and will pay for itself over time.

Tool runout is the enemy of tool life. Less is more in this arena. 

[cncappsjames]

On 11/12/2023 at 9:19 PM, Aaron Eberhard said:

...I love MAMs.  They're great!   One thing to make sure of right now is that you're getting it setup to do simultaneous multiaxis work (DWO/TCP/TCPC/WSEC, etc.).  As soon as you realize how useful it really is you'll find yourself using it a lot more and you don't want to hamstring yourself right out of the gate by not getting those options unlocked.

EVERY (new since Matsuura USA formed)  MAM sold in the US has G05.1 Q1, G05.1 Q3, G41.2/G42.2, G43.4/G43.8 (G43. etc...), G54.4, G68.2, Data Server, etc, etc, etc... Or IOW equipped as a 5-Axis SHOULD be. There's a few obscure options not included relating to grinding and Orbital milling. Both of those are field retrofitable should the need arise.

It was the previous importer of Matsuura machines that did not properly option them right out of the gate. I'm STILL picking up the pieces from that mess over 10 years later, but I digress. 

[cncappsjames]

@Kyle F USE CAMplete!  Send me a DM and I'll get you all the goodies (MD, CD, Post, Defaults, etc...), and instructions on how to set up CAMplete to get te most out of your machine and software. 

[Kyle F]

11 hours ago, cncappsjames said:

@Kyle F USE CAMplete!  Send me a DM and I'll get you all the goodies (MD, CD, Post, Defaults, etc...), and instructions on how to set up CAMplete to get te most out of your machine and software. 

Thank you for the very helpful info you posted! And I’ll DM you now. I’m currently programming with only NCI machine simulation and one of the most exciting things I’ll be looking forward to is a TRUE sim. Also really hoping to get the UMC-500 set up in camplete as well so no more “fingers crossed” simultaneous motion lol. Hell yeah thank you James!!

[gcode]

While tooling up for our newest Okuma 5X HMC late last year,  I bought a bunch of HSK 125 Weldon endmill holders from Kennametal.

They came from a manufacturer in the UK and cost  about $1500 each.

It took about a month to get them and the quality was excellent.

Last week I needed a couple more. Kennametal is currently out of stock on the two holders I needed,

so I ordered them from Big Daishowa .

The prices were about $1K each and arrived in three days with ground shipping.

I don't know where they are built. 

Big Daishowa used to be Big Kaiser ( German) and they have manufacturing plants in both 

Japan and Europe.