Eight station Kurt CTU6 CarvLock Cluster Tower features unique combination of jaw steps for handling many different size parts in small product runs on a 12 pallet HMC.

Kurt's Custom Engineered Workholding Increases Machining Center Productivity - Stepped Jaw Design Handles 15 Different Size Parts

Minneapolis, Minnesota: Need to find new ways to increase machining center productivity? The Custom Engineering Workholding Team of Kurt Manufacturing Company provides workholding solutions that greatly improve throughput while improving quality.

Kurt designs custom workholding fixtures and tombstones for specific parts and processes. The workholding maximizes machining center output through high density design and fast load/unload features.

The application picture shows the stepped jaw design on a Kurt ClusterTower, which handles 15 different size parts simply by rotating the jaws. A quick-change feature allows repositioning a set of three jaws on one side of the tower in less than a minute. The workholding setup handles many different size parts in relatively small production runs. A series of these towers maximizes the output potential of a 10 pallet horizontal machining center while providing flexibility needed to handle many different size parts.

Kurt will partner on a project from start to finish including research, design, development and building workholding systems and fixtures, often within a few weeks. Whether the project requires vises mounted on tombstones or hydraulic actuated clamping fixtures for vertical or horizontal machining centers, Kurt provides the solution.

Kurt vises mounted on tombstones are designed for close tolerances. Vises are matched, so when mounted on tombstones, optimum accuracy is achieved with minimum variation from vise to vise.

Kurt offers either steel fabricated tombstones for high rigidity, or cast iron tombstones for vibration damping features. When more than one tombstone is required for horizontal machining centers with multiple pallets, Kurt will match the tombstones for maximum precision.

Kurt's hydraulic actuated fixtures are designed with internal hydraulic lines providing clean, safe operation.

To insure workholding systems that are both maximally productive and operator friendly, Kurt engineers design high density workholding systems with ergonomics in mind. Pre-clamping methods for easy loading and unloading of parts are used. All custom workholding systems are designed to provide repeatable and reliable clamping force similar to Kurt vises, which are the world standard in precision machine vises.