BIG KAISER’s MEGA New Baby Chuck proven to product greater throughput and cost efficiency

BIG KAISER, a global leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the metalworking industries, announces the results of Kistler’s cutting force performance tests that compared BIG KAISER tool holders with competitors’ products. Cutting force is measured over a period of time and thus provides customers real-life information about the stability of machining operations, enabling highly accurate assessment and improvement of their production processes.

To achieve objective tool holder comparative test results, BIG KAISER used Kistler’s cutting force measuring chain comprising of a Kistler 9119AA multi-component dynamometer, LabAmp laboratory charge amplifier and DynoWare analysis software. BIG KAISER measured and compared attributes such as imbalance and concentricity of each tested tool holder, and machining characteristics such as chip quality, noise development and machined surface quality.

BIG KAISER put its MEGA New Baby Chuck to the test and compared its side milling cut results with that of three competitors’ tool holders. The chuck ran with a ø12 mm Carbide Endmill cutting tool that cut tempered steel (C45E) at a speed of 100 m/min with an axial depth (Ap) of 12mm. For a meaningful comparison, the measured radial depth of cut (Ae value) started at a fine finishing depth of 0.5mm, gradually increasing in increments of 0.5mm at each test step.

The test results clearly demonstrated that the MEGA New Baby Chuck allowed for the highest Ae values, while still maintaining vibration values at an acceptable level. Competitors’ tool holders were shown to achieve 50 – 70 % of the BIG KAISER tool holder performance, indicating that the tested chuck from BIG KAISER enables higher removal rates and, therefore, greater throughput and superior cost efficiency coupled with a longer tool lifetime.

Advantage of the cutting force measurement

As a measurement, cutting force is representative of many tool and material combinations directly related to a tool’s lifetime. By evaluating the measured force curves and trends, it is possible to determine the wear mechanisms that are responsible for the tool load, and to implement appropriate improvements.

Furthermore, tool stability is directly related to cutting force. The impact on stability can be deduced from the dynamics of the forces before any visible effects become evident. This enables additional interesting insights into the process: for example, the cutting force measurement shows at a glance, whether the cutting point, i.e. the point at which the tool dips into the material, causes high force deflections.

“By using piezo sensors to accurately measure the cutting force, we obtain a comparatively wider data range than is achievable with standard strain gauges and, most importantly, these measurements are independent of tool length, thus they objectively reveal the actual performance of a tool holder”, said David Stucki, Divisional Marketing Manager at Kistler.

“These tests have demonstrated that BIG KAISER chucks can be used at higher Ae values than competitors’ products, while still keeping vibration levels to a minimum”, said Marco Siragna, Product Manager at BIG KAISER. “As sensors are increasingly integrated into tools, we see a growing trend towards the interconnection of systems and components comprising the production environment, which makes reliable real-world performance data essential for our customers”.

BIG KAISER has also performed Kistler cutting force tests on other products in its tool holder range, including its Hydraulic Chucks (Standard and Jet-Through), Hi-Power Milling Chuck and MEGA E Collet Chuck. In each case, the results were comparable to those achieved by the MEGA New Baby Chuck.

For more information, please visit http://kaisertooling.com.