West Manufacturing News • November 2015 • Additively Manufactured Hydraulic Chuck

With the HighTorque Chuck (HTC) with narrow contour, MAPAL has succeeded in combining the benefits of the hydraulic expansion technology with the 3° back taper known from the shrink chuck. This is made possible by the additive manufacturing process employed at MAPAL in the form of selective laser melting (SLM). SLM is a powder bed-based process. Loose metal powder is melted layer by layer onto the areas where material is required by means of a laser beam. The part is built up from bottom to top.

During the production of the hybrid HTC with narrow contour, the functional area is applied to the conventionally manufactured tool body by SLM. "Due to the additive manufacturing, the clamping range can be positioned very close to the chuck tip which would not have been possible with conventional manufacturing. This provides an optimum radial run-out of < 3 |m at the location bore and < 5 |m at 2.5x diameter, as well as high shape accuracy with good vibration damping. The damping in the system reduces microstructure cracking at the cutting edge. That in turn ensures longer tool life and less strain on the machine spindle. Furthermore, the additive manufacturing eliminates the need for the soldered joint that has always been a limiting factor until now," said a company spokesperson.

"The HTC with narrow contour has all the benefits of the MAPAL HTC (HighTorque Chuck) technology, whereby the "T" stands not only for high torque transmission, but also for thermal stability. The wide operating temperature range up to 170 °C ensures additional process reliability. The balancing quality is G=2.5 at 25,000 revolutions per minute."

"The new chuck offers significant benefits not only for moldmaking, but also for applications in the automotive and aerospace sector. The HTC with narrow contour is suitable for all machining operations in contour-critical areas. It allows quick and simple clamping of the tool," said the spokesperson.

The HTC with narrow contour is available in the clamping diameters of 6, 8, 10 and 12 mm for HSK-A63 and SK-40.Intermediate sleeves enable additional diameter ranges to be covered. In addition, the chuck is optionally available with dynamically balanced HSK. "For the first time it has become possible to dynamically balance components with HSK connection, because the mass imbalance that has been caused by the different depths of the key block slots has now been eliminated in the optimized HSK," said the spokesperson.

For more information contact: MAPAL Inc. 4032 Dove Road Port Huron, MI 48060 810-364-8020 info@us.mapal.com www.mapal.com