Shrink Fit:

The High Accuracy Toolholder of Choice

Requirements in the mold industry are much more precise than general machining, so more attention must be paid toward the selection of the appropriate toolholder in regards to its features and benets

ithin the last 10 years, the acceptance and integration of shrink t toolholders in the

reduce or completely eliminate polishing or spotting time on their molds. This can be accomplished in numerous ways including the use of EDM sinker machines, hard milling of steel or cutting closer to net shape from the beginning of the machining process. In order to address this challenge, the mold and die shops have been forced to look at their entire process. For example, choosing the correct machine tool for the

of the toolholder in the machine tool spindle. 2. Accuracy Accuracy comes from minimal run-out at the cutting edge of the cutting tool. 3. Balance Balance comes from a balanced assembly of the toolholder (including all accessories such as pull-studs) and cutting tool combination.

mold and die industry has continued in aiding all world-based mold shops in remaining globally competitive. Toolholding for milling machines in general had often been overlooked by most manufacturing facilities throughout the world especially Asia. However, it was the mold and die industry that was really the rst segment of the manufacturing market to look for more precise toolholder options. Due to numerous inherent benets, shrink t toolholders have predominately become the high accuracy toolholder of choice for the mold and die market. The Challenge As the mold and die industry in Asia has become much more of a globally competitive market, the need to reduce expensive labor intensive practices has become an absolute necessity for shop owners. The goal for most shops is to
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job is no longer the only consideration. It However, the requirements in the mold is important to investigate and decide on and die industry are much more precise than general machining, so more the appropriate machine control, CAD/ attention must be made toward the cutting tools in order to complete the job selection of the appropriate toolholder for the job. most efciently CAM software package, toolholders and For example, a mold shop often must The Toolholder Solution When looking for toolholder solutions for think of the following: any type of machining, it is always good to rst focus on three main features that a toolholder must bring you: 1. Rigidity Rigidity comes from sufcient taper contact and proper clamping Geometry of toolholder to avoid collisions with the workpiece. In regards to the EDM process, electrodes must be machined accurately and efciently. Often times, deep ribs are required in

the part process and often present challenges. Also, deep cavities such as large door panel or bumper molds require deep reach with extreme clearances. Cleanliness of the toolholder to avoid excessive run-out, especially when machining graphite. Extending cutting tool life since high-end cutting tools are needed to obtain the best performance in the shortest time possible. These cutting tools often have exotic coatings that lend to an expensive price. Finish. Higher speeds and feeds are used with lower depth-ofcuts, which translates into better surface nishes. This makes balance even more important to minimize vibration at the cutting edge of the cutting tool. Also, proper chip evacuation provides better nishes. Based on these additional requirements, most mold shops have found that due to some inherent benets, shrink t toolholders give them the best opportunity to accomplish the job competitively and accurately. Also, the evolution of inductive shrink t machines has made the shrinking process easier, quicker, safer and less costly to invest in this technology up front. Shrink Fit Advantages There are 10 inherent benets that a

good shrink t chuck can offer a mold shop: 1. Unsurpassed accuracy A properly produced shrink t chuck should be able to guarantee 0.00012 (3 microns) maximum run-out at three times the cutting tool diameter. This accuracy is very repeatable from operator to operator. 2. Availability of slim proles Shrink t chucks are available with three-degree draft angles and very slim proles. They can also be modied to be straight walled if needed in order to prevent toolholder collision with the workpiece. 3. Gripping torque A shrink t chuck grips the cutting tool 360 degrees around the shank. This leads to a very high gripping torque that prevents the cutting tool from moving during roughing or nishing operations. This greatly aids in the reduction of scrapped parts. 4. Extended reach options Shrink t chucks can use shrink t extensions that provide the user with many options with standard products. When machining deep cavities, one can place shrink t extensions into standard shrink t chucks, getting unsurpassed toolholder lengths with very little run-out. 5. Balance repeatability and balanceable options Shrink t chucks offer the best balance repeatability of any toolholding system on the market since there are no moving parts. In many cases, if a shop purchases a properly balanced shrink t chuck with correct accessories (such as pull-studs) and uses good cutting tools without inherent unbalance (such as ats) then they can often have good balance characteristics for running at high speeds without doing an additional ne-tune balancing. Of course, if there is a need for additional balancing of the toolholder on a balancing machine after the assembly of the toolholder setup (toolholder plus cutting tool, plus pull-stud or coolant tube) then many shrink t chucks on the market come with simple to use balanceable options already built into the chucks. 6. Reduction of toolchanging time/ less toolholder accessory inventory Nothing beats the tool change time of shrink t chucks if the process is joined with a capable inductive shrink t machine. Tool changes can be done in ve to 10 seconds, and most importantly, consistently. This allows the toolholder assembly to be in the machine making chips more of the time, than out of the machine waiting to be changed. Also, a shop needs very little additional toolholder accessory inventory (i.e., collets, nuts, seal disks, etc.). This simplies the process. 7. Cleanliness of setup A shrink t chuck typically is a sealed system by design. Therefore, the introduction of contaminants in the bore are minimized (such as graphite dust or chips). If contaminants are introduced to the bore of a toolholder, oftentimes run-out accuracy is compromised. 8. Coolant options Shrink t chucks often have clever methods to deliver coolant or air/
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that sometimes are only available from one manufacturer. Selection of the Proper Shrink Fit Chuck While there are many suppliers of shrink t chucks available, there are good and bad shrink t chucks available. It is important to do research related to the selection of a toolholder for your particular application. oil mist down to the cutting edge of the cutting tool. This helps with the proper removal of chips and can also aid in providing better nishes. In addition, if a mold shop does high precision drilling, a shrink chuck makes an excellent holder for coolant through drills since no accessories or special collets are neededthe Typically, the initial purchase of your toolholders will last the life of your machine tool. Studies have found that the overall expense of toolholders equals less than 0.5 percent of the overall machining process during the life of the machine tool. subscribe to the DIN standards on the nose dimensions so that all cooling options from the shrink t machine side can be utilized. In general, it is recommended to purchase chucks with many options built-in (such as balanced so that there is under 1 gmm of unbalance in the chuck, balanceable design, bore for the data chip, form DIN B coolant delivery option, etc.) so that you are not limited in the future as your operation evolves. Finally, the company making the chucks should be an industry leader, constantly putting further efforts into research and development into new toolholding concepts that can further strengthen the role of shrink t toolholders in the mold market. For example, the recent development

The relationship between the bore of sealed design of the toolholder simply the holder and the taper lead to the allows the coolant to ow through the accuracy of the chuck. It is important to choose a company that truly makes cutting tool. their own product and specializes only 9. Consistency of setup Shrink t holders provide the best repeatability from toolholder setup to toolholder setup. This is especially benecial for those shops running lights out. For example, all toolholder setup operators set the toolholders the same with shrink t holders. There are no variablessuch as over-tightening or under-tightening a collet nut or not cleaning out a chuck sufciently. Also, as mentioned the balance characteristics are the most repeatable. This combination of consistency allows a shop to truly monitor their tool life and understand how many parts they can machine with each toolholder setupagain, this is truly an important part of getting to the point of lights out machining. 10. Availability of shrink chucks Most of the major toolholder builders in the world now offer shrink t chucks as a standard. Therefore, mold shops are not roped into proprietary high precision collets or press t systems
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in the production of toolholders. This guarantees you the most consistent and accurate toolholder available for your job. The material of the shrink t chucks is also a key element in making the correct selection. If a substandard material is used, one might shorten the life of the shrink t chuck based on limited heating

of a shrink t chuck1 that provides an anti-vibration feature in a shrink chuck. cycles. A shrink t toolholder made of the This feature helps dampen the vibration correct material should remain effective during roughing operations that had at indenitely. one time occurred with standard shrink Also, it is important that the chucks t chucks due to the extreme rigidity of the setup. Summary It is often stated by shop owners and plant managers that shrink t tooling has been the best investment they have made in the past ve years. Acceptance of the use of shrinking technology in the mold and die market has played a vital role in strengthening Asian manufacturing capabilities and preparing it for continued growth.