The theme at this year’s Southern Manufacturing show for 1st Machine Tool Accessories is ‘Don’t wait to automate’. The workholding and automation equipment specialist will show a sample of products for raising output and maximising return on investment from machine tools.
The company believes that UK manufacturing needs to adopt a higher level of automation to achieve economical production but says a big investment in expensive robotics is not a prerequisite for success and often cannot be justified in smaller factories.
Automation can take many forms, for example, hydraulic, rather than manual, clamping, adding axes to three- and four-axis machining centres, choosing a full length magazine bar feeder and installing a full robotic machine tending system.
Products showcased will include the Kitagawa QJR with quick-change chuck to reduce set-up times and the Kitagawa BR for improved repeatability with T-Nut Plus (the new chucking standard). Visitors can also see V-Tech’s zero-point plates for quick-change pallet systems, Chick Workholding’s multiple component clamping for long machine running times, the Swift-Klamp for automated loading / unloading on machining centres, four- and five-axis Kitagawa rotary tables, short, long and multi-spindle IEMCA bar feeds and for automating loading / unloading or both turning and machining centres, the Halter robots.
A consultancy service can identify the optimum production solution, either off-the-shelf or bespoke to address particularly difficult applications. The company also offers a variety of clamping and automation products.
Visit 1st Machine Tool Accessories – Stand G205