BIG KAISER, a leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the aerospace, automotive, energy, medical and watch-making industries, today announced the AG90 Light Weight Type with BT30 (BIG-PLUS) taper, a fixed 90-degree angle head.

Part of the BIG KAISER family of angle heads, new AG90 Light Weight Type weighs less than 2kg. This makes it one of the lightest angle heads in the world, and it is therefore compatible with the automatic tool change of small machines.

By allowing vertical, horizontal and angular operations without repositioning the workpiece, BIG KAISER angle heads increase accuracy and productivity. Being able to use just a single set-up, and to easily change the angle of the cutter over a 360 degree range, speeds up production and eliminates errors due to multiple set-ups.

Angle heads enable users to benefit from new capabilities without replacing their current machining center, saving the cost of a new machine.

“The new AG90 combines advanced design features and high quality components, while keeping its weight down to the absolute minimum,” says Peter Elmer, CEO of BIG KAISER. “It complements our existing range of angle heads, which enable customers to find the right solution for almost any application.”

The AG90’s compact design minimizes overhang, which adds rigidity and strength. The minimized overhang also helps to eliminate interference with the ATC and adjacent storage pockets in the tool magazine.

An advanced non-contact seal prevents coolant and particle contamination better than other sealing methods. A unique coolant jacket efficiently directs coolant coming through the stop block to the tool cutting edge, while simultaneously cooling the angle head.

To minimize noise and vibration, the AG90 is made from superior quality components, including hardened and ground chrome-nickel steel spiral bevel gears, super precision hardened and ground spindles, and high precision angular contact ball bearings.

BIG KAISER provides many different types of angle heads such as the AG90 family for milling and drilling or the AGU30 with adjustable angle. In addition, numerous special options can be ordered, and the angle head is available in a wide range of tapers, lengths and designs.

The AG90 Lightweight Type is available now.

KAISER Precision Tooling, a leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the automotive, mil/aero, energy, medical and watch-making industries, today announced the MW Boring Head, a straight shank indexable rough boring tool for small diameters between 16mm and 21mm.

Based on KAISER’s existing 319 SW series, the MW Boring Head is a twin-cutter boring tool, which means it can quickly remove large quantities of material, compared to single-cutter tools. The MW’s two cutting edges can be pre-set independently to the required diameter, with a tolerance of 0.2mm.

The MW Boring Head is ideally suited to semi-finish or finish boring operations of workpieces with die cast holes. It uses a 20mm shank, which means it is easy to clamp in commonly-used milling chucks and tool holders.

Its precision serrated connecting system ensures secure and rigid connection, and means that torque can be maximised. In aluminium, cutting speeds of up to 280mm per minute can be achieved, with a feed rate of 0.3mm per revolution and a cutting depth of 4mm.

A spiral groove improves chip evacuation. Coolant is provided directly to the cutting edges, and in blind hole boring, coolant is routed through the centre of the tool, which further helps in chip evacuation. The coolant hole can be closed when required using a stop screw.

“KAISER is the only company that can offer adjustable twin-cutter boring tools for diameters as low as 16mm,” says Peter Elmer, CEO of KAISER. “The new MW Boring Head builds on the success of our 319 SW series, and means that reliable, fast and effective boring is now possible at even smaller dimensions.”

The MW Boring Head is available now. Die steel insert holders are provided with the tool.

KAISER Precision Tooling has determined to strengthen its partnership with its long-term partner, BIG Daishowa Seiki Co Ltd of Japan, and agreed to become a company of the BIG Daishowa group as of April 15, 2015.

KAISER Precision Tooling is the leading supplier of high-precision modular boring tools. The company was founded in 1948 by Heinz Kaiser and is owned by the families of the second generation. BIG Daishowa Seiki is one of the world’s leading producers of precision tool holders and measuring accessories. It operates six manufacturing facilities in Japan.

The two companies have had a close technology and distribution partnership since 1980. BIG Daishowa produces KAISER boring tools under a license agreement and sells under the brand BIG Kaiser in the Asian market. In June of 2003, BIG Daishowa expanded its strategic alliance to KAISER’s North American operations near Chicago, and that company was renamed BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.

“During the past 10 years, our partnership has steadily increased through the creation of two joint ventures in the U.S. and Germany and an exclusive distribution arrangement for BIG products in Europe,” says KAISER CEO Peter Elmer. “Today the distribution channels are practically grown together and the combined products are an excellent portfolio.”

Executive management will remain in place following the transaction, with Peter Elmer as CEO leading European operations, and CEO Chris Kaiser overseeing North American operations. The original KAISER facility in Ruemlang, Switzerland, will continue to have an integral role in the company’s worldwide R & D and manufacturing strategy.

“Our family has been working for some time on a succession plan to ensure the continued growth and success of this company,” says Chris Kaiser. “With 35 years of successful collaboration with BIG Daishowa, we are confident KAISER is in the right hands for the future.”

The strengthened alliance is expected to help the company balance manufacturing resources and market and currency fluctuations around the globe. Customers will benefit from a fully consolidated portfolio of tooling solutions and ancillary products. Following the alliance, BIG Daishowa will have approximately 900 employees.

Image caption: Chris Kaiser, Chairman of Kaiser Precision Tooling Ltd, with R. Kitaguchi, Chairman of BIG DAISHOWA SEIKI CO LTD, in the KAISER facility in Ruemlang, Switzerland, on April 15, 2015

KAISER Precision Tooling, a leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the automotive, mil/aero, energy, medical and watch-making industries, today announced its latest digital boring tools, which improve efficiency compared to the analog heads they can replace. The digital heads are also typically 20 per cent quicker to set than analog equivalents.

KAISER’s digital boring tools dramatically increase accuracy and process reliability in the machine tools industry. This is because setting errors by handling are virtually eliminated due to the large, easy to read digital display, which delivers ultra-precise accuracy of 0.001mm in diameter. Reducing errors saves time and reduces the amount of waste produced and therefore reduces costs.

Specially built to run on small machines, the EWD 2-32 features a concentric insert holder and a wide range of accessories for an optimized tool set up within a diameter range of 2 to 32mm. The EWD 2-32 has a tool body diameter of 50mm.

With a tool body diameter of 38mm, the EWD 41 is the world’s smallest digital precision boring head with an integrated digital display. The EWD 41 provides laterally-loaded cutting for a range of diameters from 41 to 53mm.

KAISER developed the electronics itself, having set up an in-house electronics lab. This means it retains control of this key part of the boring tools, and it is able to ensure the highest quality product for customers.

To ensure compatibility with customers’ existing equipment, all insert holders and boring bars of KAISER analogue tools can easily be used with the new digital versions. The complete KAISER range of digital boring tools covers diameters from 2 to 3000mm, including tools with centered and side insert holders. All digital boring heads belong to the modular KAISER system, which means they can be plugged in any shank with a standard CK connection, and thus used in a huge range of machine tools.

“Digital is the future – digital boring delivers precision and consistency, saving time and money by dramatically reducing operator errors,” says Peter Elmer, CEO of KAISER Precision Tooling. “With the compatibility offered by KAISER, it’s simple for customers to get these benefits by replacing their existing analogue heads with new digital models – and our electronics lab ensures that the digital heads are high quality products, which maintain KAISER’s excellent reputation.”

The tools are individually tested by KAISER at its factory to ensure reliability, and have a long lasting battery life of more than 5000 diameter adjustment cycles. Standard batteries are used, so replacements can easily be purchased at any electronics store. IP69K-rated protection, highest possible, ensures the tools are resistant to the ingress of dust and water, even under high pressure and in extreme environments.

KAISER Precision Tooling, a leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the automotive, mil/aero, energy, medical and watch-making industries, today announced new insert holders for face grooving. The new parts are specifically designed to fit KAISER’s series 318 and SW twin-cutter boring heads, giving more flexibility to existing KAISER clients to upgrade their equipment.

Face grooving with boring tools is generally more efficient than milling with circular interpolation, especially when manufacturing bores with large diameters. Also, whenever a surface for sealing application is required, there is no other option except using boring tools with face grooving accessories.

The new face grooving system can be used as either a single or twin cutter grooving tool for diameter ranges from 53mm to 3000mm, with a grooving depth up to 12mm and width up to 9.5mm (5mm with a single cutter).

Using the boring tools as twin cutters, with a simultaneous adjustment in radius and length, allows the feed rate to be increased. Using the cutters in diameter offset operation enables a groove width of up to 9.5mm, and both inside and outside diameters can be adjusted separately within the smallest tolerances. Both cutting edges can be adjusted easily to the same length, due to an eccentric bolt mechanism with clear direction indication.

“KAISER products give our customers an unparalleled combination of quality, precision and ruggedness,” says Peter Elmer, CEO of KAISER Precision Tooling. “These new face grooving holders uphold that tradition, while adding additional options to the applications possible with our series 318 and SW boring heads.”

The new parts are aimed at a broad range of applications across mechanical engineering, aerospace, energy and automotive. KAISER also offers the devices in customized solutions.

The insert holders are available now.

Want to more about this product? Contact
Giampaolo.Roccatello@kaisertooling.com
nishant@mfgtechupdate.com

KAISER Precision Tooling, a leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the automotive, mil/aero, energy, medical and watch-making industries, recently announced its new EWBD precision boring head. The new head is self-balancing and ultra-light, thanks to an innovative aluminium construction.

The EWBD is ideal for deep bores which require long tool combinations. It delivers excellent precision due to its internal self-balancing mechanism. This makes it well-suited to boring for machine pedestals, gearbox housing, cranes, hydraulic manifold and vehicle manufacturing.

The new head includes the world’s first PSC interface made entirely of aluminium. This means it is 55% lighter than standard steel boring heads. To give the most choice to customers, the EWBD is also available in steel.

A large, clear digital display provides a resolution of Ø 0.001 mm. The display is easy to read, improving usability, and practically eliminates operator errors.

To enable high cutting speeds of up to 2000m/min, the EWBD is equipped with a highly accurate self-balancing mechanism on its full adjustment range. Due to the light weight of the tool, handling is easy and complications with ATC are minimized.

“With the EWBD, KAISER has applied truly innovative technology to create an industry-leading tool,” says Peter Elmer, CEO of KAISER Precision Tooling. “Light, accurate and rigid, the boring head delivers excellent results while being easy to use – a perfect match.”

There are two variants of the EWBD high performance boring head: the EWBD 100 AL aluminium version, and the EWBD 68 in steel. Both are available now.

Super light system provides highest precision and performance, and features through-tool coolant supply to the cutting edge

The system is based on aluminum extension slides of different lengths, which support a variety of aluminum and steel components for roughing and finishing tool assemblies. The mounting components are pinned to fit onto specific locations on the slides, and secured with steel bolts.

The precise positioning of the components on the slide along with incremental adjustment scales for insert holders permit diameter and length setting without a tool presetter.

The simple handling of components virtually eliminates operator error during assembly and leads to almost 100% safety during operation.

Insert holder series 318 for chamfering

Easy chamfering of large diameters
The insert holder with step-less adjustable chamfer angle from 15- 75˚ is made for front chamfering and with limitations also for back chamfering on the lightweight boring tools series 318.

Features

• Versatile system for various applications such as roughing, finishing, pin turning and face grooving
• Coolant supply through all components to the cutting edge
• Absolutely safe mounting of the components on the extension slide for highest safety in operation
• Boring range: Ø 200 – 3000mm
• Flanges with CKN connection for highest torque transmission with lightweight tools
• High strength and hard coated aluminium, and nickel coated steel components for scratch resistant and rust protected surfaces
• Accurate balancing without balancing machine by means of two-piece counter weight with slide and scale
• Large dial disc for a parallax-free reading of the adjustment
• (1 DIV = 0.01 mm in diameter)

Hamilton is a global leader in laboratory automation and medical technology. The head office of the family-run company is located in Bonaduz, a mountain village in the Swiss Alps.

Working where others go on vacation, in Graubünden, Switzerland’s no. 1 vacation hot spot is a reality thanks to Hamilton Bonaduz AG. The company with it’s head office in the idyllic mountain village of Bonaduz is one of the largest employers in South-East Switzerland and has

been growing rapidly for many years. So rapidly, in fact, that it can barely cover its demand for well-qualified employees, and there is no end in sight to this growth. On the contrary: 200 new jobs will be created over the next two years. Hamilton is therefore making great efforts to attract qualified staff from the metropolitan areas to the sparsely populated Canton of Graubünden. 170 days of sunshine per year, hundreds of kilometers of ski pistes and mountain bike trials in the immediate vicinity make the offer even more attractive.

Opportunities through vocational training
At the same time, the company tackles the problem by placing greatest importance on its own vocational training. In the present time, Hamilton employs 59 trainees – mainly polytechnicians (20) and design engineers (13). Elias Kalt, Head of Production, is responsible for training the polytechnicians. “Our own experts are our insurance for the future,” he comments. The state-of-the-art operations, varied work and great importance placed on vocational training give trainees the advantage of a top-class qualificationqualification, he adds. Riccardo Bieler is one example of the high quality of training provided by Hamilton. He came in eighth place at the WorldSkills Leipzig 2013. Participating in the vocational world championships alone is an achievement in itself as only the best trainees of each country in each vocation are able to enter the competition. Straight after completing his training, Riccardo Bieler won the 2012 Swiss master title in CNC turning and thus secured himself the ticket to the world championships. That year, Hamilton had two reasons to celebrate: Remo Cadonau won silver in CNC milling. “The next potential

candidates are already raring to go,” announces Elias Kalt. He knows what he is talking about: he has supported and trained several young Hamilton polytechnicians for the Swiss and world championships in recent years.

Breakthrough thanks to microliter syringe
Clark Hamilton, the founder of the company, is the reason why Hamilton requires such a large number of qualified staff and announces record sales every year. The American Chemical Engineer created his masterpiece in a small garage in 1947. He invented the microliter syringe, the first syringe for measuring and pipetting in the microliter range, which has become an integral part of all modern hospitals and laboratories.

This was Clark Hamilton’s breakthrough. His business in the USA started up quickly, bringing with it the inevitable expansion into Europe. He took the risk of personally crossing the Atlantic to search for a suitable production site in Europe. As he loves the mountains, he also travelled to Switzerland where he discovered the perfect location in Bonaduz. He found the place to be ideal as it was close to the Zurich Airport and, of course, the mountains. His office in the new building constructed in 1960 was designed so that he could enjoy the phenomenal view of the glaciers nearby.

The company remains family-run to this day – and Clark Hamilton’s groundbreaking innovation is still the foundation for the syringe production. The company founder’s invention has been often copied by now, which is why Hamilton has established additional company pillars, namely the divisions Medical, Liquid Handling and Laboratory Automation.

Hamilton’s key pillar, the Medical Division, specializes in the development and production of innovative ventilators. The aim of these products is to improve the life of ventilated patients. They are primarily used in hospital intensive care units, and the Swiss air rescue service REGA also trusts these products “Made in Switzerland”. It is becoming apparent that digitalization does not stop at ventilators. Hamilton ventilators are fitted with intelligent control units with microprocessors and touchscreen operation.

“Problem solved” with KAISER tools
Whereas barely any machining is required in the Medical Division, the Robotics Division, which develops fully automated robotics systems, has been relying on KAISER tools for many years. The production of the “96 Probe head”, a specialized robot that can fill 96 syringes at once to the exact microliter, is an example of how these tools are being used. The pipette positions must be absolutely exact, which is why all holes are drilled with extremely accurate tolerances – a complex task considering the depth of the drill holes. Andreas Rageth, Team Leader Milling, is one of Hamilton’s 80 machining specialists. He places great value on KAISER turning tools due to their reliability. He feels that this is indispensable as the company’s operations are becoming increasingly automated. “We cannot afford to make any compromises. That’s why we often tell ourselves that we turn to achieve the required precision.” At Hamilton, KAISER turning tools stand for “problem solved”, he adds. Although Hamilton continuously monitors its established processes and also tests new approaches, KAISER tools have beat the competition time and time again.

Even the company location in Bonaduz has long become an attraction in Andreas Rageth’s eyes. “The countryside, people and weather are all excellent.” The passionate biker also loves the numerous mountain passes with little traffic – sparsely populated areas have their advantages.

KAISER Precision Tooling, a leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the automotive, mil/aero, energy, medical and watch-making industries, recently announced its EWH precision boring head. The EWH has been developed specifically for effective use with exotic materials such as titanium, making it ideal for the aviation industry.

Built for use with coolant pressures of up to 70 bar, the EWH is designed to the highest standards, with an ultra-rigid monoblock construction. This means it can meet the requirements of rigid tools and high coolant pressure that are needed for the efficient machining of difficult work piece materials.

The new boring head is available with a length of 95mm or 155mm and includes HSK/SK/PSC interfaces.

The EWH hydraulic clamping delivers a form- and force-locked connection that clamps the tool holder perfectly, with high pressure around the entire circumference. This is a superior solution to clamp over side lock screws, which have a point and line contact on the circumference.

High coolant pressure of over 50 bar is important to ensure effective cooling, especially when cutting HRSA and titanium work pieces with low heat conductivity. If coolant was supplied with insufficient pressure, it would vaporize, and temperatures would therefore rise – reducing the hardness of the cutting material, and decreasing the lifetime of the cutting edge. The high coolant pressure supports chip breaking and helps achieve enhanced chip forming.

“Its robustness and advanced design make the EWH an ideal solution for the aviation industry, and other applications that include exotic materials,” says Peter Elmer, CEO of KAISER Precision Tooling. “By enabling high coolant pressure and rigid clamping, the new head improves the quality of boring, and saves money by increasing cutting edge lifetime.”

Rough boring with a tool that allows different cutting methods without the need for length adjustments or additional accessory components – this was the challenge for the design of a new twin cutter boring head.

The solution is simple and with a touch of genius:
A tool body with supports for insert holders of different heights, and insert holders of different lengths permit the adjustment of the cutting edges to the same length or to different lengths, just by a transposed mounting of the insert holders.

An adjust screw with a defined pitch permits individual diameter setting in both directions for each insert holders. Accordingly both cutting edges can be set to the same diameter for rotationally symmetrical roughing (RSS) or in diameter and length displaced, for double offset roughing (DVS). The selection of the roughing method is made according to the stock to be removed. With the RSS method approx. 10 % of the final diameter and with the DVS method approx. 20% of the final diameter can be removed in one cut.

Ground serrations on the mating surfaces of both tool body and insert holder permit a rigid connection and an accurate tool length. A diameter scale on the insert holders allows diameter adjustment without presetter. Tool body and insert holders are completely protected against corrosion by a high quality coating.

The new twin cutter tool program consists of 8 boring heads for roughing in the diameter range from Ø 20 – 203 mm. The boring heads with the KAISER connections CK1 to CK7 are equal in length and adjustment range to the KAISER precision boring heads EWN and EWB.