Which type (Hydraulic, shrinking, ER Collet, Weldon, Milling Chuck) of toolholder is the best?
I guess this is million-dollar question and answering this question have always been tricky and have put me in uncomfortable situation in over 4 decades while working in toolholding systems industry.
Over the period I have learnt that an answer to this question cannot be given in general terms as this depends on the particular application of the customer. When choosing the right toolholder, one of basic prerequisite is what is your application and second is selecting amongst different toolholding systems the right toolholder based on its features & characteristics that suits the application.
This compatibility test is very important if we want to select the toolholder which will ideally suit the application and would be efficient choice from different toolholding systems available in the market.
A comparison of different tool-holders is very difficult task, as they offer different benefits with regard to working principle & design. A rating can only be done when considering the requirements of the particular application and matching the features of each toolholding systems which can go close to ideal toolholder for the said machining process and operation.
A very rigid tool-holder is not appropriate for every application. A toolholder, which is perfectly suitable for high-speed machining, may not offer the needed values and at the same time be competitive with regard to some other requirements.
The toolholder is an important connection between the machine spindle and the cutting tool and can be define as
“A link between the cutting edge and the spindle nose to obtain successful and flexible manufacturing in machining centres.”
Importance in choosing the optimum toolholder is substantial as the quality of the toolholder has a great influence on the results of the complete machining process.
If anyone asks for my advice, I believe that hydraulic toolholding system is my first preference to clamp any shank tools (which is controlled in h6 tolerance) as it offers superior benefits such as better run-out accuracy, vibration damping, set-up time reduction and flexibility with help of reduction sleeves like no other toolholding systems.
If anyone asks for my advice, I believe that hydraulic toolholding system is my first preference to clamp any shank tools (which is controlled in h6 tolerance) as it offers superior benefits such as better run-out accuracy, vibration damping, set-up time reduction and flexibility with help of reduction sleeves like no other toolholding systems.
However, there are few areas where I will not suggest hydraulic toolholding such as difficult to access machining application or where there is continuously cutting load for more than a shift, which incase of inadequate coolant can result in premature worn-out of seal because of overheating and thus resulting in failure of inbuilt hydraulic system. This application area is ideally suited for shrinking toolholding or Die Mold chuck.
I hope this article & comparison chart of different toolholding systems helps you in selecting your right toolholder.
Further, if you have any query or need additional information on toolholding products, we will be very delighted to serve you. Please get in touch with us on email: marketing@ktaspindletoolings.com
