Why is there a gap of several times in the production efficiency of the same machine?
The fixtures or clamping used for CNC machine tools are not suitable, which greatly reduces the production efficiency of CNC machine tools.
How to improve the utilization rate of CNC machine?
The use of clamps has a lot to do with it. There is still a lot of work to be done in the selection and application of CNC clamps, because it contains considerable potential economic benefits.
Clamps are one of the indispensable arrangements in CNC production. There are many types of CNC machine tool clamps. However, the selection of clamps for CNC machining must be complementary to CNC production requirements. If you choose an incorrect clamping method, the workpiece and the tool may be damaged due to vibration, impact, breakage of the tool tip, loosening of the workpiece, etc. These factors will cause errors in the CNC machined products. Here is a detailed introduction to the correct selection and use of CNC clamps.
What Is A CNC Clamp?
Common CNC turning clamps or milling clamps are workpiece clamping tools or devices used to position and clamp workpieces during processing. They can withstand large cutting forces and guide the tools during cutting to ensure fast transition, smooth operation and all The production of parts maintains consistency and interchangeability. Most clamps are designed as a combination of two parts, one of which is fixed on the fuselage and immovable, and the other part is one or more movable parts (clamps). CNC clamps are usually made of low carbon steel, stainless steel and other alloy steel materials, with different sizes and configurations. The ultimate goal is to improve the economy.
How To Choose CNC Clamp Correctly?
The correct selection and use of CNC clamps is the basis for efficient machining. Before purchasing CNC clamps, you must first understand the characteristics of machining and the types of CNC clamps. Machinery manufacturing includes two types: single piece, multiple varieties, and small batches; few varieties and large batches.
The following are some guidelines for choosing the right type of CNC clamping system for small and high-volume CNC production.
Choose CNC Clamps For Low Volume Production:
In general, modular clamps are suitable for small batch production.
Building Block / Combination Clamps
Combination clamps, also called “building block clamps”, are composed of a series of standardized design, different functions, different specifications, and sizes of clip components.
Customers can quickly assemble various machine tool clamps such as “building blocks” according to processing requirements.
As the modular clamp saves design and manufacturing time, greatly shortens the production preparation time, thereby effectively shortening the small batch production cycle and improving the production efficiency.
In addition, the modular clamp also has the advantages of high positioning accuracy, large clamping flexibility, reusability, energy saving and material saving, and low use cost.
Therefore, for small batch processing, especially when the product shape is more complicated, modular clamps are preferred.
The combination clip may have two additional components, as listed below.
Precision Flat Pliers:
These are the assembly parts in the modular clamp and they help to align the tools in the clamp. If the clamping force exceeds 5000Kgf, it is recommended to use them. This prevents the tool body from being affected by the clamping force. The combined precision flat-nose pliers have the advantages of fast installation (disassembly), fast clamping, etc., which can shorten the production preparation time and improve the efficiency of small batch production.
Clamping Base:
The clamp Base is a flat plate set between the positioning surface and the workpiece. These are used to precisely align the workpiece for the correct interaction between the tool and the workpiece during CNC machining.
Choosing CNC Clamps For High Volume Production
The “workpiece clamping time” of traditional manual machine tool clamps can reach 10-30% of the mass processing cycle.
In this way, “workpiece clamping” has become a key factor affecting production efficiency, and it is also a key target of the “offensive” of machine tool clamps.
Therefore, special clamps with fast positioning and clamping (loosening) should be used for large-scale processing. The following three types of machine tool clamps can be preferentially selected: hydraulic/pneumatic clamps, electric permanent magnet clamps, and clamp bases.
Hydraulic / Pneumatic Clamp:
Hydraulic/pneumatic clamp is a special clamp that uses hydraulic or pneumatic components as a power source to realize the positioning, support and compression of workpieces through hydraulic or pneumatic components. It can accurately and quickly determine the mutual position between the workpiece, the machine tool and the tool.
The position accuracy of the workpiece is guaranteed by the clamp, the machining accuracy is high, and the positioning and clamping process is fast, which greatly saves the time of clamping and loosening the workpiece. At the same time, it has the advantages of compact structure, multi-station clamping, high-speed heavy cutting, automatic control and so on.
The above advantages of hydraulic/pneumatic clamps make it suitable for CNC machine tools, machining centers, flexible production lines, and also particularly suitable for mass processing.
Electric Permanent Magnet Clamp
Electromagnetic permanent magnet clamping clamp is a new type of clamp designed by using new permanent magnet materials such as neodymium iron boron as the source of magnetic force and using modern magnetic circuit principles. The clamping and unclamping process only takes about 1 second, which greatly shortens the clamping time. These clamps are suitable for small-scale and large-scale production, where the clamping force is not less than 450Kgf.
The electric permanent magnet clamp can greatly shorten the clamping time, reduce the number of clamping, and improve the clamping efficiency. A large number of machining practices show that electromagnetic permanent magnet clamps can greatly improve the comprehensive machining efficiency of CNC machine tools and machining centers. The positioning elements and clamping elements of traditional machine tool clamps take up a lot of space, while electromagnetic permanent magnet clamps do not have these space-consuming parts.
It has the advantages of fast clamping speed, easy realization of multi-station clamping, multi-face machining, stable and reliable clamping, energy saving, automatic control, etc. It is not only suitable for small batch production, but also for mass production.
Clamp Base
The smooth clamp base can effectively shorten the manufacturing cycle of special clamps and reduce production preparation time, thereby shortening the cycle of mass production as a whole and improving production efficiency. At the same time, the manufacturing cost of special clamps can be reduced. Therefore, the smooth clamp base is particularly suitable for mass production with tight cycles.
The selection of CNC machining clamps is the task of CNC machine operators. Operators should be trained to make the right choice. This is why people should choose CNC manufacturers with long-term experience and expertise for their machining projects, such as SANS Machining. The company provides CNC production in accordance with ISO 9001:2015. At the same time, the workshop staff have rich operating experience. If we find that there is a problem in our production that causes the parts to be unusable or damaged, we will replace or repair it free of charge.