We have just released the NEW 2018-2019 Masa Tool Catalog! Our first batch of new catalogs is shipping directly to our IMTS booth in Chicago for release, but you can download your own copy right here!

OCEANSIDE, CA - Masa Tool has just released the newest product in the Microconic line of cartridges for swiss machine workholding. The NEW push type F37M10 Cartridge replaces the standard TF37 collet in your CNC spindle. This enables you to use our Microconic collets to achieve concentricity guaranteed to be within 5µm (0.0002") in production use.

The  F37M10 Cartridge is a micro-workholding system for use in high precision, small diameter CNC turning applications which enables you to move more work to the sub spindle operations and reduce cycle time.

​Compatible with spindles that accept DIN 1536E, Meister Swiss 563, Schaublin F37 (76-740),  Southwick & Meister TF37, KEB (MasWerks) MC37,  Hardinge TF37 / 4619 collets.

Masa’s Cartridge and Collet assembly is designed to vector the chucking force directly over the holding surface.  This means that the chucking force can be reduced while at the same time the holding power is increased. This opens up the possibility of moving part operations to the sub-spindle and dramatically reducing cycle time.  20% ~ 40% cycle time reduction is commonly achieved.​

This new cartridge will be demonstrated for the first time at IMTS 2018 in the West Building, Level 3 & Annex - Tooling & Workholding Systems - 432232

Matt Saccomanno, the Co-Founder of Masa Tool and inventor of the Microconic Workholding sytem will talking about process innovations in the metalcutting manufacturing industry during the International Manufacturing Technology Show, IMTS, in September at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. 

Swiss-type CNC machines have gained in capability and demand as the machined components they produce are trending toward higher precision and micro-sized features. As the machines have become more sophisticated, the underlying basics of workholding remained unchanged until recently.

​This presentation is an overview of new developments as well as traditional approaches with relevance to today’s highly capable sliding headstock “Swiss-type” CNC turning centers. The goal is to summarize best-practices for optimizing use of both main and sub-spindle to maximize productivity and overall equipment effectiveness. The material presented is useful for machinists, CNC programmers, tool crib personnel, manufacturing engineers, estimators, and hands-on managers.

If you would like to reserve your spot in this technical presentation and discussion please click the below button.

Set ups are quicker and more repeatable with Microconic™. You can document the micrometer-adjust collet closure in your set up plan so it's done the same every time, regardless of operator skill and without relying on "feel". ​

OCEANSIDE, CA.  Masa Tool has expanded their line of Microconic over-grip collets to include a new style called a "T-type."  The T-type over-grip collet has a longer gripping surface than the original W-type. We designed it specifically for longer parts such as bone screws with wide pitch threads.

Typically with over-gripping applications, a shorter land length/clamping pad length/grip length is desired because of limited space available to hold the workpiece behind the enlarged head or flange that it is reaching over. That is what our original W-type collet was optimized for.

However, with longer parts, with more surface area for clamping and gripping room, a longer land length is often preferred to provide more stability to support the longer length workpiece.

Due to the extreme opening capability of our overgrip collets , workpiece ejection must be very reliable to prevent a part from becoming stuck in the slots of the collet. ​Therefore we have developed  the Microguide™ ejection guide sleeve to prevent parts from falling inside the collet instead of ejecting into the part catcher.  ​

State-of-the-art LFV is a widely applicable cutting technology designed to avoid the problem of spiraling chips, entanglement of chips and built-up edges. Benefits include increased cutting tool life, reduced heat generation and reduced power consumption. 
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The popular Citizen CINCOM L20 series sliding headstock lathes are now available with Low Frequency Vibration (LFV). 

This widely applicable cutting technology – able to handle a broad range of machining shapes and materials – is ideal for cutting difficult-to-cut materials.  The state-of-the-art LFV suppresses various risks associated with these materials, such as entanglement of chips and built-up edges.

Depending on the material being cut, a variety of problems can be caused by chips getting entangled with each other, including increased cutting resistance, scarring, changes in the texture of the machined surface, tool nose damage, and built-up edges due to cutting heat.  In LFV cutting, “air cutting” time prevents the machining temperature from rising, which both prolongs tool lives and gives relief from various problems caused by chips.

Microconic’s cartridge is made of exotic high-chromium tool steel, triple tempered and cryogenically treated to provide stable construction. All functional seating surfaces are ground with extreme precision on a one-piece, ultra-rigid body structure.

“The cartridge can be used as a calibration gage to verify the machine spindle accuracy,” Co-owner Chip Prescott notes.

Microconic collets are finished to exacting standards with a five-step grinding process that removes the effect of heat-treat warpage. Also, the proprietary Microconic form of the closure surfaces is inherently more accurate than traditional collets, providing for a greater full-accuracy working range.

Cartridges are available to fit in push-type dead-length collet closers and also draw-type closers: F20M10 (for TF20 collet replacement), F25M10 (for TF25 collet replacement), and 5CM10 (for 5C collet replacement). All of these cartridges use the same Microconic UM10 collets, with more cartridge sizes in development to be released soon.

Masa Tool is introducing its Microconic workholding system for use in subspindle Swiss-type machine operations, enabling the operator to switch operations from the main to the subspindle so that usage is balanced. This capability is said to reduce cycle time in ways that are not possible with conventional collets.

​The Microconic system consists of two primary components: a cartridge that fits in the machine’s standard TF20, TF25 or 5C collet closer, and the collet itself, which fits into the cartridge. Each cartridge model has a solid extended nose and can accept both regular and over-grip collets. The over-grip collets open up to 0.157" (4 mm) larger than the clamping diameter.

​The Microconic cartridge’s extended nose design directs all of the chucking pressure directly over the workpiece for concentricity and rigidity. Total indicated runout (TIR) for the Microconic system is guaranteed at 0.0002" (5 µm) at the workpiece, absent any runout introduced by the machine structure or other elements of the setup. The system capacity ranges from 0.008" to 0.394" (0.2 to 10 mm) in diameter, with all sizes available from stock.

We got a very unexpected present in the mail this past week! We where very excited to learn that our Microconic workholding system for small diameter part machining was featured in the Rapid Traverse section of the June 2017 issue of Modern Machine Shop!!!

We've got pictures of the article below in case you don't currently subscribe to Modern Machine Shop.  You can also download a PDF copy of the entire June issue below in the link. It starts on Page 25 of the PDF download.  If you have the print edition it's on Page 22, or you can just read thought the screen shots below.  

We want to really extend a very big THANK YOU to Matt Danforth at Modern Machine Shop who wrote this article.  Matt really did an awful lot of work learning about the various features of our system. We know there where many many hours that he spent to develop this story just from the sheer number of follow up questions and conversations.  We really have an awful lot of respect for the entire MMS team and the effort they put into getting their story's "just right".