SHOP SOLUTIONS
The Rego-Fix PG toolholding system relies on the interfer- ence between holder and collet to generate its clamping force. Unlike other clamping systems that National Jet has tried where heat or hydraulics are used to expand the mate- rial, the PG technology uses the mechanical properties of the holder material to generate tremendous gripping force with run-out below 0.0001" (0.003 mm). With its PGU 9500 unit, National Jet takes less than 10 seconds to press in a tool or remove it from a holder. And because no heat is used, the tools can be used immediately after a tool change.
The incorporation of Rego-Fix tooling at National Jet all started with high-pressure coolant. The shop acquired a high-pressure system that relied on Rego-Fix ER collets with special rubber sealing rings specifically for the through-tool coolant application. The shop received a job involving a large plate part that
required 1150 holes, each measuring 0.118" (3 mm) in diameter. To drill the part, the shop would set up one of its
machining center’s entire 21-tool carousels with all 0.118" diameter twist drills in standard ER 11 collets. The machine would then peck drill a designated number of holes, perform a tool change, and resume peck drilling more holes. This cycle would continue through all the tools, then the shop would switch out the carousel full of worn drills and continue until all the holes were drilled. With the high-pressure coolant system, National Jet went
from the time-consuming pecking process to drilling holes complete in one machine feed motion. And as a result of this success, the shop acquired six more standard Rego-Fix holders and ER 16 collets with the seal rings. “Prior to the high-pressure coolant and tooling change,
we were running at 3300 rpm and feeding at about 5 ipm [127 mm/min],” said Ed Engle, machinist at National Jet. “Now the operation runs at 9500 rpm and 18 ipm [0.46 m/min]. So when we added two more subsequent CNC machines, there was no doubt we would outfit them with high-pressure coolant and Rego-Fix tooling.” According to Engle, the shop still wanted to take its tooling to the next level, and that was when it incorpo- rated the PG system. Other exist- ing holders were unable deliver low enough levels of runout needed to further extend tool life and optimize milling and drilling operations. “Prior to PG, we would cobble together holder systems for our micro drills, but runout was always an issue,” said Engle. “To set up the tooling, we would spin the holder and tool and tap its mandrel to get it to run true as best as possible. Keep in mind, these were very delicate 0.015" [0.38 mm]-diam- eter drills. We needed performance consistency, quality, and speed as well as ease of use. Our goal was to put a tool in a holder, load that assem- bly into a machine and get basically runout-free operation.”
The shop did try several other toolholders prior to incorporating the PG system, one being heat shrink-type holders. And while these holders ran true, they lacked versatility because
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