Toolholders

The Toolholder is the essential connection between the machining center and the cutting tool. The toolholder fits into and is secured by the machining center’s spindle, and in turn, secures the cutting tool such as a drill or end mill by clamping onto its shank. The taper of the toolholder matches the toolholder interface of the particular spindle. Toolholder tapers are often conical, including CAT and BT taper specifications. A different kind of taper, HSK, is not tapered at all, but instead includes a variety of flanges for securely locking the toolholder in place. Toolholders use different mechanisms for clamping the tool including set screw, collet, hydraulic compression and shrink-fit.

PowRgrip Responds to Three Tooling Trends
Toolholders

PowRgrip Responds to Three Tooling Trends

Rego-Fix’s PowRgrip tooling system has expanded over the past 20 years to incorporate a wider range of tool sizes, as well as automation.

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ESSENTIAL READING

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How to Manage Cutting Tool Inventory in a Small Job Shop — The One-Person Shop #4

Working in short lead times means maintaining a large range of tools to be ready. What is the right way to stock and organize this investment?

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Cutting Tool Technology Aids Lights-Out Machining Applications

These features can help improve cutting tool stability, standardize cutting performance and extend tool life, enabling shops to confidently run unattended shifts.  

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Toolholders

What To Consider When Adding Angle Heads

Angle heads can enable a three-axis machine tool to be more versatile. That said, this shop explains that there’s more to getting started using them than simply loading them into a machine’s spindle.

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Basics

Video Shows How to Check Toolholder Runout

Here’s a video that explains how to check the runout on a collet chuck toolholder.

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Basics

A Machinist’s Guide to Toolholder Maintenance

Techniks’ “Machinist’s Guide to Toolholder Maintenance” can be a handy reference for inexperienced machinists and shop veterans alike.

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Toolholders

Why the Y?

See how Y-axis toolholders enable Swiss-type lathes to realize better chip control.

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Scientific Cutting Tools offers over 8,000 tools.

Latest Toolholders News And Updates

Toolholders

Rego-Fix Toolholder Enables Aggressive Turning Operations

The PG48 toolholder is designed for large-diameter tools and dynamic machining applications.

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Toolholders

Walter Turning Toolholder Features Flexible Coolant Connection

The Walter Turn toolholder features rake-face cooling to help break and control chips, and double flank-face cooling directly at the cutting edge to extend tool life.

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Zoller Showcases Automated Tool Measurement System, Toolholders

IMTS 2024: Zoller Inc. is showcasing a range of products for heat-shrinking, tool balancing, toolholding, smart storage and inspection, including the CoraMeasure LG automated tool measurement system. 

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Holemaking

ETP Transmission Toolholders Feature Hydraulic Clamping

IMTS 2024: ETP Transmission showcases its Hydro-Fix Swiss hydraulic clamping toolholders, designed to handle 26 different shank sizes, accelerating cutting tool changes.

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Automation

Lexair Handling Solutions Shorten Operation Times

IMTS 2024: Lexair Inc. is showcasing four products: the hydrodynamic Mini Rhinobar bar feeder; its Gen 3 Collet Closers; the Unload Pro unloader for unloading round workpieces and the Breuning IRCO Profimat magazine bar feeder for small to medium production runs. 

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Advanced Machine & Engineering, Hennig Inc. Showcase Machine Tool Solutions

IMTS 2024: Hennig Inc. and Advanced Machine & Engineering are exhibiting a wide range of machine tool solutions together.

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Featured Posts

Toolholders

Making the Most of Mixed Toolholder Assemblies

While nearly all ER systems will have cross compatibility, they’ll have small differences across manufacturers that make their implementation at the shop level not as standard.

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Toolholders

Five Common Mistakes Shops Make with ER Collets (And How to Prevent Them)

Collets play a crucial role in the machining process, so proper tool assembly and maintenance is important. Here are five potential pitfalls to avoid when using ER collets.

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Toolholders

How to Troubleshoot Issues With Tool Life

Diagnosing when a tool is failing is important because it sets an expectation and a benchmark for improvements. Finding out why gives us a clue for how to fix it.

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Simulation and Tooling Secure High-Value Work

Simulation software and careful attention to tooling parameters have enabled Major Tool to take on ambitious projects with its complex machinery.

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IMTS Takeaways From the Modern Machine Shop Editorial Team

The first in-person IMTS in four years left the MMS editorial staff with a lot to digest. Here are a few of our takeaways from the show floor.

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Fixturing for the Automated Age

Koma Precision’s booth at IMTS 2022 features practical demonstrations of rotary tables, right angle heads and more.

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FAQ: Toolholders

What is a HSK toolholder?

HSK, meanwhile, works by elastically deforming the toolholder. Fingers inside the hollow shank of the toolholder clamp the holder by pushing out. High spindle speed helps this interface, because the centrifugal force strengthens this clamping.

Source: Testing Measures Impact of Toolholder Interface Rigidity

How does a hydraulic toolholder work?

The hydraulic toolholder works by using fluid to compress an internal membrane within the holder body. The hydraulic fluid delivers uniform pressure around the membrane allowing it to compress equally around the periphery of the cutting tool. Basically, that’s how the hydraulic toolholder delivers its high concentricity specs.

Source: Why Use Hydraulic Toolholders

What is a toolholder?

The toolholder is the connection between the machining center and the cutting tool, employing clamping mechanisms such as set screws, collets, and shrink-fit.

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Toolholders Supplier Categories

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