At every IMTS, manufacturers from around the globe announce new products and machinery for the machine-tool industry (and others that come to borrow the most adaptable technology). This year’s IMTS 2016 is no different.

Exciting news for end-of-arm tooling at IMTS 2016

What we’re seeing this first full day of the show is a lot of new products geared towards improvement of end-of-arm tooling. Consider linear scales from Mitutoyo that use electromagnetic induction technology.

This kind of linear sensing resists the ingress of cutting fluids, oil and water. Plus the shape and location of the detector track in the aluminum frame are specifically engineered to resist contamination of the scale and sensor.

• Technology: Linear sensor
• Manufacturer: Mitutoyo
• IMTS 2016 Booth: E-5215

Another example of innovation to get better performance from end-of-arm tooling is the TENDO Platinum toolholder from Schunk for milling, drilling, and reaming applications. Schunk uses advanced brazing and hardening on the toolholder (all in the same cycle) so it’s particularly rigid and durable for clamping. Tool-grade steel also gives the toolholder long life.

With vibration damping and run-out accuracy of better than 0.0001 in. at 2.5 times clamping diameter, Schunk’s TENDO Platinum works with machine spindles and cutting tools to reduce wear and damage.

• Technology: Toolholder
• Manufacturer: Schunk
• IMTS 2016 Booth: W-2000

New gearheads and industry partnerships announced at IMTS 2016

In other news, DieQua announced its new partnership with Taiwan manufacturer Sesame to offer more planetary servo gearheads.

DieQua’s existing lineup of gear technologies plus Sesame’s makes for a comprehensive servo-gearhead offering.

Sesame and DieQua are co-exhibiting at IMTS 2016, and 15 different planetary and planetary bevel models are at the booth.

• Technology: Servo gearing
• Manufacturer: Sesame and DieQua
• IMTS 2016 Booth: E-4742

Sesame’s product development has let it expand worldwide. The relationship with DieQua gives the manufacturer an established partner in North America that leads in electromechanical motion control applications (and with a distribution network).

Sesame products include inline planetary and right angle planetary bevel designs with standard shaft or rotary flange output options. There are four performance levels to satisfy a range of motion-control demands — from positioning to general-purpose motion profiles.

DieQua’s Chris Popp posted about the gearheads here — and explains how one given motor is often used for a range of applications with wildly different accuracies. He then details how gearhead choice is much different.

New option for isolating delicate machine-tool spindle parts from shock of collision

In other news, GAM — designers and manufacturer of source for couplings, gear reducers, linear mounts, and other automation technologies — is displaying their spindle safety system at IMTS 2016.

More specifically, GAM’s Spindle Safety System immediately disconnects the power transmission at the interface between headstock and spindle motor during any axial or radial crashes. That shields delicate spindle-motor parts (especially its bearings) from impact forces of collisions.

Existing designs for protection use CAD/CAM programming and reactive damage reduction methods that leverage electronic sensors and mechanical overload clutches.  Machine spindle damage is common and repairs or replacements can run thousands of dollars (not including the cost of downtime).

Check out more covering this design at the manufacturer’s website — gamweb.com.

Gary Michalek of GAM will present on the technology on Wednesday, September 14 at 3:15 pm in Booth W193-A.