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Product category: Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: NCMT
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 31 July 2000

Dixi to use BIG-Plus spindle tooling
system

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Swiss jig borer and machining centre manufacturer, Dixi, has made a license agreement with BIG Daishowa Seiki, Japan, whereby the latter's BIG-Plus spindle tooling system will be standard on all new D

Swiss jig borer and machining centre manufacturer, Dixi, has made a license agreement with BIG Daishowa Seiki, Japan, whereby the latter's BIG-Plus spindle tooling system will be standard on all new Dixi machines, renowned as amongst the most accurate on the market The agreement applies to every 7/24 taper machine manufactured by Dixi for world markets, namely those with BT, DIN69871, JIS and CAT/ANSI 30, 40 and 50 spindle noses

These cover the British, Continental European, Japanese and American standards respectively.

The toolholding system was introduced three years ago in competition to the HSK short-taper tool.

BIG-PLUS features the same face-and-taper contact for high accuracy machining particularly at high speeds, but unlike HSK tooling, has a traditional taper to allow it to be clamped in standard spindles as well.

Sole UK agent is NCMT, Thames Ditton.

To achieve contact between the back of the tool flange and the front of the spindle nose as well as contact along the length of the taper, both spindle and toolholder are precision ground and a drawbar pressure of 800 kg is used, deforming the taper slightly to allow simultaneous face contact.

The advantages are well documented, one benefit being that rigidity and hence machined finish are improved owing to the increased diameter where the tool meets the spindle.

In the case of a conventional BT/DIN/JIS/CAT 40 taper tool, for example, the contact diameter is 44.45 mm whereas with BIG-PLUS the usual 2 mm gap between flange and spindle nose is eliminated, increasing the diameter of contact between tool and spindle to 63 mm.

This eliminates any discernible vibration and reduces radial tool deflection, both of which promote higher machining accuracy, particularly at elevated spindle speeds up to 40,000 rpm.

Furthermore, face contact has the additional benefit of squaring the tool in the spindle reliably after every toolchange, resulting in a high level of repeatability.

Tests show a positional variance of less than one micron over a large number of automatic toolchanges. Request free introductory details about products from NCMT ...

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