Kitagawa Europe Ltd

Kitagawa Europe offers you a scalable, cost-effective, and rapid method to enable fourth axis rotary tables to become part of your manufacturing process.

How many times have you dismissed purchasing a fourth axis rotary table because you thought that your vertical machining centre would need to undergo a costly and time-consuming retrofit?

If you purchase a Kitagawa rotary table with its own ‘Quinte’ controller, you can have the rotary table up and running in a very short period of time, connected with your machines M-code and safety circuits, allowing either standard indexing or more complex functions to meet your requirements. 

However, the greatest advantage of Quinte-controlled rotary tables is that they can be removed from one machine and placed onto another regardless of their control systems. For example if one machine has a Fanuc control and the other a Heidenhain control the Quinte can connect with the each machines M-code and safety circuits. 

This adaptability allows you to allocate your fourth axis rotary table to the most suitable machine for a particular job, streamlining your rotary table purchases to precisely match your production needs. Fully integrated rotary tables become temporarily obsolete when not required for particular manufacturing tasks on any one vertical machining centre, as they cannot be easily transferred to another machine. Quinte-controlled rotary tables offer unmatched flexibility.

The Quinte series comes in three model types: the QTC100 for single axis rotary tables, the QTC200 for double axis rotary tables and finally the QTC300 for larger single axis rotary tables with faceplate diameters of more than 320mm. Additionally, each type of Quinte has various motor size options to best suit Kitagawa’s wide range of rotary tables, allowing for the perfect solution tailored to your machines and workpieces.

The Quinte series has been designed with ease of use and high-speed performance in mind. By adopting high speed EtherCAT technology, the Quinte series reduces indexing time with instant communication from Quinte to the rotary table. Programs can be rapidly written on a computer before being uploaded onto a multimedia card (or SD Card) and transferred directly into the front of the Quinte unit.

Adjustments to your program and parameters can be easily conducted via the Quinte’s clear display. The Quinte’s high resolution screen makes operating much more intuitive by clearly displaying the current position, the program that is running, motor information and more.

The manual operation pendant (MOP) allows precise manual control for the quick setup of origin positions and also conveniently displays position or program information to reduce setup times.

With the remote-control option, you can use the CNC control on your machine and macro programming to directly send indexing commands to the Quinte via the RS232 cable. There is no need to have separate programs on the machine and the Quinte. Lines of the macro program are automatically transferred from the machine through the RS232 cable to the Quinte, when the Quinte receives a start signal from the machine M-Code it will execute one line of the macro program. When the communication protocols and signals are set up correctly there should be no need for the machine operator to interact with the Quinte.

NEW Technology on display

Automation

With the new series of Kitagawa Robot grippers demonstrating pick and place. Display also showing Swift Klamp, the superior 5 Axis workholder and the MK200 series rotary table.

Robot Gripper

Robot gripper with built in measuring scale! Measure up to four diameters and ensure your workpiece is within tolerance at all time - live demonstrations available! 

Quick Change BR/BT

BR and BRT, the next generation standard chucks have been given a very special quick-change upgrade! Come and see this in action for yourself

The complete MK series is on display and operational

Enhanced Performance
Improved Mounting
Wide Selection of Rotary Joints

Big and Bold! New RKT500

This impressive table allows you to machine a work piece of up to 500mm diameter!
Best suited to aluminium workpieces and will fit on small machining centres with No.30 taper spindle

So many more exiting products on display!

Welcome back to the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel!

In this episode Hamish, Sophia and Andy focus on some of the capabilities of the ARG – Application Research Group and the next generation standard chucks.

The ARG are a global group of Kitagawa engineers who focus on the most difficult Workholding problems. What this means, is when a sale representative is discussing a work holding issue with you, they are backed up by an expert team to give you rapid answers and quotes to provide you with the timeline and knowledge you need to move forward with your production.  

Large Batch Size Production

Special chucks will always have their place in the industry! With features such as sealed bodies and  pull-down action, accuracy and longevity are easily achievable. Special chucks are the ideal product for large batch sizes. Top tooling can be designed and manufactured by the ARG team with ease. Options can include air seat confirmation, through coolant, ground backstops and machined jaws to suit. All we would require from the customer to design the perfect Workholding solution would be:

• Machine information
• Part drawing
• Machining details
• Any other specific requirements

We can then do the rest!

Small – Medium Batch Size Production

With the release of the BR three jaw and BRT two jaw power chucks, small to medium batch production has been revolutionised. This is by offering the accuracy of a special chuck but the affordability of a standard chuck. Chasing those extra microns is no longer a laborious task! The BR and BRT series offer a 10-micron repeatability when using Kitagawa standard soft jaws. These chucks have been manufactured under much tighter tolerances and make precision engineering much more cost effective.  Available in the following sizes:

BR: 6,8,10,12” sizes available in stock

BRT: 6,8,10” sizes available in stock

If changing jaws on a regular basis, we can supply the optional extra TNUT-PLUS. The TNUT-PLUS offers a much tighter fit between the base jaw and soft jaw groove. The result of this is not having to reform jaws when re-installing, saving you money from not having to constantly buy new soft jaws and time from not reforming soft jaws on a regular basis. You will still achieve the same 10-micron repeatability!

Hamish and Sophia are back on our focus channel to showcase Kitagawa's quick change robot gripper systems. In our previous video, they presented the standard range of robot grippers we have available. These standard grippers are perfect for mass production systems where the workpiece rarely changes however what options exist on the market if you have high mix-low volume production runs?

Until now, a common solution has been to provide a robot with an automatic robot gripper exchange interface system. These systems are inevitably complex and expensive. In addition, these exchange interfaces add additional weight onto your robot arm reducing its capability and ultimately reducing the size or weight of the workpiece that the robot cell will be able to handle.

So, Kitagawa designed two simple manual quick change gripper systems that allow an operator to set up a robot gripper for a new workpiece in less than ten seconds. As there are still machine operators within most factories this robot gripper exchange will have minimal impact on their time and ensures the robot cell starts operating with a new workpiece with little downtime. Many automatic gripper exchange interfaces can also be slower than Kitagawa's manual quick change options. With the manual interface, the robot quick change gripper weight can be kept to a minimum, therefore maximizing the size of the workpiece for a particular robot cell.

Kitagawa has produced two different types of quick change gripper systems. The most versatile system is the quick plate change grippers. This allows the operator to exchange the faceplate (front) of the gripper within ten seconds using a C-spanner. The faceplates can either be two or three jaws, therefore, allowing round and irregular workpieces to be handled. An additional advantage is that the faceplate set-up (gripper fingers and top-tooling) occurs offline and therefore will not have any additional effect on production time.

However, if you know that you're always going to be handling a variety of round parts then Kitagawa can supply you with special sets of master base jaws for your standard NTS3 grippers. These base jaws allow you ultra-fast exchange of the top jaws and can also be set up to rotate 90 degrees, allowing you to grip four different diameter workpieces without having to change the top jaws at all as demonstrated by Sophia.

As the world appears to be heading more and more toward complete automation, Kitagawa believes although the human operator's role is becoming more complex there still exists the requirement for human operators to interact with their machines. If this interaction can be effective, time efficient, and with the major advantage of keeping your costs to a minimum then there is a place for Kitagawa's quick change gripper systems. Thus, ensuring you get the maximum potential out of your robot cell.

Kitagawa is a leading global manufacturer of clamping devices, rotary tables and accessories for machine tools headquartered in Japan. Our products enjoy an excellent reputation in the world of metalworking and workpiece clamping and are standard equipment for many machine tool manufacturers. Our branch in Germany, which is responsible for advising, supporting our customers and selling our products in large parts of Europe, is looking for two new sales representatives to represent us in Bulgaria and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

If you:

• Enjoy an interesting job with a motivated and supportive international team
• Find technology in the field of machine tools an interesting topic
• Enjoy communicating with people
• Like to provide customer satisfaction
• Have a high degree of self-organisation
• Have the confidence to work independently in your territory after extensive training and to further develop and expand the local market for our products
• have an effective level of the English language

Then get in touch with us and become our representative in one of the assigned territories.

We offer an interesting and varied job with many development opportunities in a sales area that has not been directly managed up to now. Our international team from the other European branches is always at your side with help and advice and will support you with all technical and commercial questions relating to our product range.

After your extensive training period, you will become the contact person for our customers in Bulgaria or the described Baltic states, who you will be responsible for supporting and developing to a large extent. Visit customers with the car provided by the company, advise and create offers. You develop the essential parts of communication with your customers, organize our trade fair appearances in your country and take part in international trade fair appearance.

If all this sounds interesting to you, then take your chance and send your CV to our HR department.

email: Saskia.Lau@kitagawaeurope.de

tel. +49 2102 12378-36

Welcome back to the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel. In this episode we focus on Kitagawa's range of standard robot grippers.  These are the latest range of products released by Kitagawa Japan.

Kitagawa have utilised their extensive steel and aluminium material knowledge to produce an impressive range of standard robot grippers that are lightweight, accurate, have a high gripping force and are extremely durable.

Designed specifically to be used in the metal cutting industry, these work ‘handling’ products complement Kitagawa’s renowned range of work ‘holding’ products. Kitagawa chucks and rotary tables have often been supplied with various pneumatic or electronic sensing systems and rotary joints, allowing the work holding to be loaded/unloaded via automation. Kitagawa’s venture into work handling robot grippers enable you the customer to purchase all the necessary automation accessories from the same source as you work holding. This also allows Kitagawa to further guarantee the accuracy of an automation cell as the workpiece’s movements are all completed by Kitagawa products.

Kitagawa’s NTS standard range of grippers are at the forefront of gripper capabilities and have an impressively high specification, including high grip force relative to the size and weight of the gripper.

If even higher gripping force is required than the standard NTS range, Kitagawa have released a new model called the NPGT series. NPGT grippers can deliver up 58% more grip force compared to the NTS range within a small size. In addition these NPGT Grippers can be supplied with a built in measuring function, with an accuracy +/- 5 microns when measuring a workpiece diameter. This built in measurement function can reduce or eliminate a requirement for manual CMM post machining process,  enabling you to have products completed and ready for shipping in a cost effective manner.

Kitagawa has produced such a comprehensive range of grippers that Sophia and Hamish didn't have time to go into the range of quick change grippers. These will will be featured in another presentation soon. Be ready to tune into the next episode of the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel!

Hamish and Sophia are back on the Kitagawa Europe focus channel presenting the YS modular system. This system utilises a static cylinder that can be mounted onto your machine bed. The static cylinder itself is extremely low-profile, a key benefit of this compact design is the capability of keeping the cylinder installed on the machine bed whilst machining on other fixtures. This reduces the requirement of multiple set up times for different operations, and allows you to have a number of different Workholding options installed on a single machine bed.

Click here to see the video

Once the static cylinder is required you have many workholding options available from a three jaw power chuck, collet chucks or even expanding mandrels. Depending on your machine size we can provide cylinders to actuate 6" (165mm), 8" (210mm), or 10" (254mm) chuck sizes.

The YS1415K or 6” Kitagawa static cylinder has a height of just 77.5mm and can be easily mounted to milling and drilling machines. This low height allows you to mount larger Workholding or workpieces and not interfere too much with the overall Z height. The 10” static cylinder series can deliver up to 20.8KN pull force with pneumatic actuation or 51.9kN pull force with low pressure hydraulic actuation (1.5MPa) with up to 20mm of piston stroke. The cylinders capability allows you to mount a huge variety of “high accuracy rotary workholding systems” to a stationary fixture.

Multiple Workholding options

The system can utilise Kitagawa equipment or any third party power workholding systems requiring a pull or push actuation and the cylinder can be operated pneumatically or hydraulically depending on the workholding. You can order a simple protective cap to fit to your static cylinder to protect the mechanism when it is not being used.

Click here to see the catalogue page.

Welcome back to the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel

In this episode, we will be showing some of the latest tech that Kitagawa Japan will be releasing throughout the year.

Introducing the BRT Series - The next generation, two jaw, wedge style power chuck offering a repeatability of 10 microns or less when using Kitagawa standard soft jaws!

With a two-jaw chuck, you can grip irregular workpieces much easier, accurately and safer than a conventional four-jaw chuck. Available in 6,8,10 and 12” sizes.  

The BRT series will be available later this year!

Next up is the DLR series. These dual lock chucks work in a very different way to conventional chucks. This series has a pullback function, so the workpiece is gripped both radially and axially creating an incredibly stable gripping platform and a significant reduction in jaw lift. This enables you to use reduced clamping pressure, preventing deformation of a thin-walled workpiece. More info on this chuck in the coming months!

Finally, we have the MK350 “The Beast”. The MK350 is the largest in the MK series and has some incredible specifications. Offering a static clamping force of 6,000Nm and allowable mass of workpiece is 500kg! This table also has a through hole of 160mm. All of the above allows you to select long/large/heavy workpieces! The MK350 really is a Beast of a machine! 

The MK350 will be available in the Summer!

Welcome back to the latest product being showcased on the Kitagawa Europe focus channel. Hamish and Sophia reveal the strength, speed and flexibility of the Kitagawa Europe CB-F production system produced in partnership with Lang Technik.

The CB-F production system, designed to be retro-fitted to your vertical machining centre is one of the two product lines introduced earlier this year (find out more) that features a Lang Quick.Point zero point directly within the system’s trunnion bed. 

If you are already using Lang work holding and/or a rotary table you can adopt this system to further enhance your vertical machining centre.

The built in zero-point system immediately does two things, first it increases your machining envelope allowing for more workpiece space. Second the overall trunnion weight is reduced which lowers the systems moment of inertia allowing for heavier workpieces.

However the real advantages of the Kitagawa and Lang quick.point systems working in conjunction is the systems accuracy, strength and flexibility. 

Kitagawa Rotary tables have a repeatability of +/- 2 Seconds and this particular system pictured is with the Kitagawa Compact MK200 rotary table and MSR142A tail spindle combination with a static clamping torque of 1020N.m. However the same trunnion system can be attached to the high strength Kitagawa GT200 series rotary table which would bring the static clamping torque up to 1,270N.m. But what is most impressive is this high static clamping torque is achieved with pneumatic clamping alone, therefore no requirement for expensive and messy hydraulic power packs. 

Kitagawa Rotary tables also have amongst the highest allowable cutting torque (driving torque) for any rotary table systems on the market.  They are designed with large diameter, high toothed worm wheels which enable more driving torque to be transmitted to the spindle and a large mechanical advantage due to the worm wheel/worm shaft gear ratio.

Of course Kitagawa tail spindles are an essential part of a trunnion system and these need to be capable of providing a high static clamping torque as well to complement the rotary tables own static clamping torque. The Kitagawa MSR142 in this system, like the rotary tables has a multi disk clamping system built-in, providing multiple friction surfaces to increase the torque compared to conventional air clamped models.

Meanwhile Lang’s own Quick.Point zero-point system within the trunnion ensures any workpiece or work holding system using compatible clamping studs is held in place to within 5 microns of repeatability with a holding force of 6,000kgs. Quick.point is a manually actuated patented rod system that is virtually maintenance free. Sophia and Hamish demonstrate how easy and fast it is to build different types of work holding onto your CB-F production system using the Quick.Point. 

Another advantage of Kitagawa working alongside Lang to produce the CB-F production system enables both companies to provide their own work holding to interface seamlessly with the zero-point mechanism. Lang Makro.Grip vices or Kitagawa JN Series manual chucks ensures any round or square billet can be securely gripped. Kitagawa can also provide their range of static chucks which can be actuated pneumatically (or hydraulically) and serviced via a rotary joint built-in to the spindle of the rotary table. Therefore with some simple modifications the CB-F production system can be set up for automated loading and unloading of workpieces allowing for lights out production.

The high speed capability to change the different quantities, sizes and shapes of workpieces being presented to the machine spindle combined with the ability to machine multiple faces in a single operation makes the CB-F production system an excellent production multiplier ensuring you can produce a greater number and more variety of parts with higher accuracy and a reduced takt time.

Go to the CB-F Production system

Welcome back to the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel. We are releasing slightly different content this month. We have created an advert to help guide you through the Jaw Finder facility on the Kitagawa Europe Website.

This fantastic facility on the Kitagawa Europe website allows you to easily find jaws to suit a huge range of chucks, including Kitagawa, SMW Autoblok, Rohm, Samchully, Schunk, Forkardt, Bison, Hows, Strong, LMC and Tonfou. The list of jaws we have available is endless, including bar gripper jaws, hard top gripper jaws, pie jaws and soft jaws.

There is also an option on the jaw finder to select your jaws by dimensions. An older chuck may have lost its markings making it difficult to identify. By simply measuring your existing jaws you can quickly determine what jaws are available for your chuck!

The Jaw finder will give you a list of all available jaws for your chuck. It will also include overall dimensions, material, weight and how many units are included in the set. A PDF can also be created by clicking on the PDF icon at the top of the web page.

Kitagawa Europe keep a huge range of jaws in stock at extremely low prices. We also have the capability to manufacture specials to suit your work piece. Link to Kitagawa Europe Jaw Finder below:

https://www.kitagawa.global/en/jaw-finder

Two-Jaw Accuracy Revolution

The accuracy revolution continues with the imminent release of the BRT Series which is the two-jaw chuck complementary series to the three jaw BR Series recently released. Available in 6" (165mm), 8" (210mm) and 10" (254mm) sizes and all with extra-large thru-holes to accommodate bar work. Two jaw chucks are perfectly suited for gripping irregular work pieces and now with the BRT Series you can grip with less than 10-micron repeatability.

The Dual-Lock Chuck joins in the accuracy revolution

The latest version of the Dual Lock chucks from Japan - the DLR Series has joined the new sub 10-micron repeatability standard set by the BR Series. Furthermore, the advantages of the dual-lock system remain, with the elimination of jaw lift and seating confirmation capability create an extremely stable gripping platform even when being used with a low clamping pressure. This low-pressure clamping makes the DLR chuck ideal for thin-walled workpieces. Finally, Kitagawa Japan have produced this chuck with very low moment of inertia allowing spindle acceleration and deceleration times to be reduced, increasing your part production capability.

The Beast arrives! 

We will be unveiling Kitagawa's latest 4th Axis Rotary table to the world - the MK350. With the same outside dimensions as the MR320, GT320 or TRX320 the MK350 provides an immense 6000N.m of clamping torque! This is over double the any of our previous model's clamping torque and even has a 33% higher clamping torque than our largest TR630 Rotary table! The beast has truly arrived!

This immense clamping torque is paired with excellent design and specifications. Supplied with an 160mm through-hole to accommodate large shaft work or a sixteen-port rotary joint allows for many work holding options to be applied to the table. Importantly, the weight of the Rotary table is only 200kgs along with the relative compact size makes the MK350 considerably lighter than any other contemporary rotary tables allowing for heavier and larger workpieces to be held within a machine envelope. 

Pallet Clamp system

Kitagawa is introducing a range of pneumatic zero-point systems to work along with our rotary tables or independently on vertical machining centres with an industry standard 5-micron repeatability and impressive pull-down forces.

Low Profile Steady Rest Series

Kitagawa Europe will display the KIC series Hydraulic steady rest with a built-in cylinder allowing them to have a larger gripping range to fit in a smaller space. With a series range from 30 - 680mm, available with either grease or oil lubrication options and multiple roller options the KIC series will cover all your steady requirements.

Compact Fixed length Collet Chucks 

The DKF series collet chucks are now complete and available in 42mm, 52mm, 65mm and 80mm sizes. Low-profile and able to rotate at high speed with ten second collet changes and a fixed collet position ensuring no work piece movement the DKF Series provides a reliable and stable platform of collet chucking.

Kitagawa Grippers!

The Kitagawa range of grippers have seen huge developments in recent years. High specification, well-balanced gripper. The compact body provides a stable gripping force and high repeatability. With a huge selection of grippers in the range Kitagawa are sure to have your specific requirements taken care of!

 These are just a few of many fantastic products on display at this year’s EMO exhibition.

We would love to see you at the show, please feel free to visit at any time - Hall 5 Booth D02.

Welcome back to the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel. In this episode, Hamish and Sophia demonstrate the new MK series rotary table. We go into detail on what advantages this new series offers and different ways to connect the rotary table onto a machining centre.

You can find these videos in the links below:

Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel

LinkedIn

You Tube

The MK Series has an intelligent design to meet the future requirements that the industry demands from a 4th axis rotary table. Currently available in two sizes:

MK200

MK250

MK350 – coming soon!

Kitagawa have released this new model with three massive improvements:

Enhanced Performance

The clamping torque of the MK200 has improved to 570N.m from the older standard of 350N.m of the MR200 rotary table - this is an increase of 40%! In addition, Kitagawa has made the depth of the rotary table 10% thinner to only 155mm deep. The spindle through hole has also increased to 70mm compared to 45mm on the MR200.

By incorporating friction-welding procedures into their manufacturing techniques and many years of design experience, Kitagawa has delivered a performance balanced new standard of rotary table to the future market. Of course, it must be mentioned that Kitagawa has other stronger (GT200) and more compact (CK200) rotary tables in their product range but the MK200 is designed to meet 90% of customers’ needs and, in most cases, will be suitably strong enough to withstand various machine cutting conditions demanded of it.

The MK200 also maintains the highest rotating/drive torque capability in its size and class of rotary table (270 N.m) due to a large worm wheel diameter design enabling you to produce complex workpieces with speed and accuracy.

Improved Mounting

The recessed bolt mounting design is a considerable improvement to reduce the overall footprint of the MK series compared to its predecessor the MR series. We all know that space on a machine tool bed can be extremely competitive and adding a rotary table is a big consideration. Anything that can make a rotary table take up less space to allow for more or larger workpieces is an important factor when selecting your rotary table.

The recessed bolt mounting allows you to mount any riser block from the top instead of from underneath maintaining the reduced foot print.

The MK200's overall thinner design and recessed mounting gives up to a 40% reduction in footprint size. This design also reduces chip build up around the base of the rotary table, reducing time for any cleaning cycles and ensuring no workholding system interference caused by the build up of chips. This is a very important consideration for fully automated production cells.

Wide Selection of rotary joints

The MK200 can now accommodate 'Built-in' 6 +1 port rotary joints, compared to only 4 +1 rotary joints for the equivalent MR200. This allows for more workholding on a trunnion bed arrangement to be actuated via the rotary joint housed within the large spindle bore of the rotary table.

The 6+1 rotary joint also includes a 12.5mm diameter multi-purpose hole through the centre for additional air or hydraulic services. It can also be used as a wiring duct for seating confirmation sensors, enabling you to enhance any workholding designs.

Kitagawa can now provide high pressure 25 MPa (4-port and 6-port) rotary joints upon request - this will enable you to further reduce fixtures sizes and to improve clamp speeds if your design requires it.

A continuation of the Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel. In this episode, Hamish and Sophia unbox Swift Klamp. The fantastic work-holding product to suit your 3 and 5 axis machines. It’s also suitable for rotary table applications!

You can find these videos on the Kitagawa website, YouTube and LinkedIn. Links below:

Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel

LinkedIn

You Tube

The system consists of three parts - the clamping head, the work-holder and the work-piece. Swift Klamp utalizes the HSK-A type interface, so set up is quick and easy!

Available in three different sizes:

HSK-A40

HSK-A63

HSK-A100

Clamping heads can be manually actuated or Automated.

The compact size of the clamping head and work holders allows for multiple systems to be placed within your machining centre. This allows for different machine operations or different work-pieces to be processed at the same time. The compact design of the work holders also gives incredible tooling access to the workpiece.

With five different work-holders to choose from, you will definitely find the correct one for your application. Work holders include: dovetail mount, dovetail vise, flange clamp and side clamps.

KITAGAWA TRUNNION SOLUTIONS WITH BUILT-IN LANG QUICK.POINT ZERO-POINT SYSTEMS

KITAGAWA Europe limited in agreement with LANG Technik GmbH are increasing their work holding options by building LANG's zero-point systems directly into KITAGAWA's trunnion options providing you with the most versatile trunnion systems in the world.

This combination of high specification KITAGAWA Rotary tables provides you with highly accurate, rigid, versatile and cost effective production system for your 3-axis machining centre to maximise you machine envelope.

Two main categories of the Clamping Bridge (CB) production system are available (LANG Makro.Grip Vices and work pieces are not provided within the scope of supply):

A clever trunnion designed for flexible work holding

The CB-F & CB-N production system unites the rigidity and strength of KITAGAWA rotary tables with the rapid change flexibility of LANG Quick.point zero-point products, to produce the ultimate single-sided trunnion solution for modern manufacturing. LANG Quick.point is the lowest manually actuated zero-point system on the market thus building this technology directly into the 'bridge' of the trunnion system provides an immediate advantage over a traditional trunnion system.

The reduced height in the Z-Axis maximises the machining envelope and allows for many more work holding options when compared to a standard 'blank' trunnion specification with multiple plates fixed on top of each other.

Go to Product
Catalogue Download

The CB-F production system also has the option to be transformed from an off-centre position to an on-centre position which allows for work pieces to be presented to the machine spindle with a different aspect. If necessary the reverse side can utilised by drilling and tapping mounting holes for further work holding to be mounted.

The CB-N Production system is a dedicated double sided zero-point trunnion to maximise the amount of workpeices you are able to present to the machine spindle. However low-profile our zero-point system is, there is often a requirement for dual sided systems that the rotary table and tail stock are raised to allow for larger work pieces. We can provide various heights of precision ground riser plates to accomodate your workpeice requirements.

Also the CB-F & CB-N 'bridge' can be quickly changed from a 96mm grid Quick.point to a 52mm grid Quick.point and back again as required. This provides you with multiple work holding options to either ensure a large work piece is securely gripped or provide multiple small workpieces to be machined at the same time.

 Go to Product
Catalogue Download

Note: LANG Makro.Grip Vices are not included within the scope of supply.

The New Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel. The modern world is changing fast and so is technology. Trying to keep up with the latest technology is a time-consuming enterprise! With this in mind, Kitagawa Europe have decided to release a series of short videos highlighting some of our latest products and applications to keep you ahead of the game!  

We will dive into the technical details of new Kitagawa products, specialist applications, give product demonstrations and answer just about every question you may have on a specific product.

You can find these videos on the Kitagawa website, YouTube and LinkedIn. Links below:

Kitagawa Europe Focus Channel

LinkedIn

You Tube

We will also be joined by a local sub-contractor of ours – asking the “real world questions”

In the first episode, we concentrate on the New BR series - The Next Generation Power chuck. The BR series will eventually replace the B200 and B200 series chucks and is completely interchangeable with them. Available in 6,8,10 and 12 inch versions.

Offering a 10-micron repeatability when using Kitagawa formed soft jaws, this chuck is here revolutionize the market. A standard product with a standard price tag offering unbeatable performance. Other features also include improved gripping force at max speed and reduced jaw lift.

We also look into the optional extra TNUT PLUS. The TNUT that allows you to re-install formed soft jaws without having to reform again!

Make sure you subscribe to the Kitagawa Newsletter to keep up to date with our latest content!

Kitagawa Europe are putting all their technical teams from the United Kingdom, Germany and India together under one banner called the Application Research Group or ARG for short.

The Application Research Group consists of individuals who have extensive experience in using all our work holding products before focusing on certain products, be it rotary tables, steady rests, power chucks, etc. The ARG is based across three of our offices in Salisbury, U.K., Ratingen, Germany and Bangalore, India. Throughout our sales territory the ARG works along-side an extensive sales and support network.

What this means, is when a sale representative is discussing a work holding issue with you, they are backed up by an expert team to give you rapid answers and quotes to provide you with the timeline and knowledge you need to move forward with your production.

This group will as ever work in close partnership with our colleagues at Kitagawa Corporation in Japan and Kitagawa Northtech in America. Between the three companies the work holding knowledge and experience is extensive which enables us to provide rapid, reliable and cost-effective designed solutions to a multitude of different and complex work pieces either for a lathe or a machining centre. 

Kitagawa Corporation is now over 100 years old and has been operating in Europe and America for many years, gathering diverse work holding experience. We know that providing you with a dedicated work holding solution to suit a particular work piece can significantly reduce the operations needed to manufacture your workpiece. We can ensure your workpiece is held and supported in a rigid enough manner to enable you to remove maximum amounts of material in the minimum amount of time, reducing your takt time, enabling you to meet production deadlines and stay competitive.

These advantages of a designed solution ensure a quick return on investment.  All designs are held in our database allowing us to re-produce spares or indeed the entire solution again within a rapid time frame in the case of an increased production or a breakdown. If necessary, we can even hold spare parts in stock to keep your critical production lines operating.

The ARG will continue to use it's robust and well used processes to offer in-house applications engineering, custom engineered Workholding and productivity enhancement programs.

CUSTOM ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The Application Research Group is dedicated to solving parts machining challenges

Extensive Custom Engineered Rotational & Stationary Solutions

The Application Research Group has expertise designing, engineering and manufacturing an extensive range of work holding and tooling for turning or prismatic applications. Simple or tough, let the Kitagawa Europe's Application Research Group solve your machining problems.

MK Series - A New Standard in Rotary Tables to upgrade your machine

The MK Series  is an intelligent design to meet the future requirements that the industry demands from a 4th axis rotary table. Kitagawa's focus has been to improve the standard of their rotary tables in three areas:

- Enhanced Performance
- Improved Mounting
- Wide Selection of Rotary Joints

Enhanced Performance

The clamping torque of the MK Series has improved by 40% to 570N.m from the older standard of 350N.m of the MR200 rotary table or 1000N.m for the MK250 compared to 600N.m for the MR250 Rotary Table. In addition, Kitagawa has made the depth of the rotary table 10% thinner than the previous MRSeries Rotary tables. By incorporating friction-welding procedures into their manufacturing techniques and combining this skill with their design capabilities from many years of experience Kitagawa has delivered a performance balanced new standard of rotary table to the future market. Of course, it must be mentioned that Kitagawa has other stronger (GT Series) and more compact (CK Series) rotary tables in their product range but the MK Series is designed to meet 90% of customers needs and in most cases will be suitably strong enough to withstand various machine cutting conditions demanded of it.

After rigorous testing the MK Series adheres to the same standard of clamping torque test required of ALL Kitagawa rotary tables. For example, for the MK200 a 570N.m of clamping torque is determined as the force at which 30 microns displacement of the worm wheel diameter occurs. Kitagawa determines displacement above this to be a failure as the accuracy you demand from Kitagawa tables cannot be maintained. This is markedly different from many of our competitors who use the 'pull-out torque' or slipping torque figure to determine their maximum torque. Kitagawa view slipping torque as a catastrophic and dangerous failure if you have pushed a rotary table to this extreme. So you can rest assured that even if you do push your Kitagawa table to its limitations of the clamping torque indicated in the instruction manual then your Kitagawa table will maintain its accuracy where others fail. This increase to the standard clamp torque significantly increases the allowable cutting torque your machine is able to deliver to the workpiece, reducing takt time to increase your productivity. The MK Series also maintains the highest rotating/drive torque capability in its size and class of rotary tables due to a large worm wheel diameter design enabling you to produce complex workpieces with speed and accuracy.                                                                                   

You will notice that the MK Series rotary tables is supplied without a standard faceplate which will allow you to specify exactly what type of face plate you require - with t-slots or standard pre-drilled holes like the current MR Series rotary tables. The major advantage of this is that a chuck, trunnion bed or any workholding device can be mounted directly onto the rotary table's spindle, reducing the distance from the spindle bearing. This compact assembly reduces the loading to the spindle bearing therefore increasing the rotary tables rigidity and longevity.

                                                                       Catalogue download

Improved Mounting                                          

The recessed bolt mounting design shown above is a considerable improvement to reduce the overall footprint of the MK Series compared to its predecessor the MR Series. We all know that space on a machine tool bed can be extremely competitive and adding a rotary table is a big consideration. Anything that can make a rotary table take up less space to allow for more or larger workpieces to be included in the overall workholding design is an important factor when selecting your rotary table.                                                                                      

The recessed bolt mounting allows you to mount any riser block from the top instead of from underneath (as shown above on an MR200) maintaining the reduced foot print.     

Above shows the MK200's overall thinner design and recessed mounting gives up to a 40% reduction in footprint size. This design also reduces chip build up around the base of the rotary table, reducing time for any cleaning cycles and ensuring no workholding system interference caused by the build up of chips. This is a very important consideration for fully automated production cells.

Wide Selection of rotary joints

The MK Series can now accommodate 'Built-in' 6 +1 port rotary joints, compared to only 4 +1 rotary joints for the equivalent MR Series. This allows for more workholding on a trunnion bed arrangement to be actuated via the rotary joint housed within the large spindle bore of the rotary table. This avoids interference issues you can encounter with tubing and wear if you have to bring the workholding actuation forward of the rotary table face. The 6+1 rotary joint also includes a 12.5mm diameter multi-purpose hole through the centre for additional air or hydraulic services and it can also be used as a wiring duct for seating confirmation sensors, enabling you to enhance any workholding designs and further increasing your workholding capabilities. Kitagawa can now provide high pressure 25 MPa (4-port and 6-port) rotary joints upon request - shown below, this will enable you to further reduce fixtures sizes and to improve clamp speeds if your design requires it.

YOUR COMPLETE SIX-FACE MACHINING SOLUTION

Swift Klamp offers you high accuracy and quick setup times, this efficient solution keeps your machine’s doors closed and cutting material to produce the greatest number of finished work pieces per shift - giving maximum return on investment.

Click on this 3 minute and 46 second video link to see 

the full range of Swift Klamp capabilities available. 

The industry standard HSK interface between the clamping head and work holder is renowned for its a large surface area with great rigidity and high accuracy and in the Swift Klamp system is used to greatly reduce setup times.  Work holders can be changed in as little as 10 seconds making the system very efficient to produce accurate parts quickly.

Compactness

The manual or hydraulic Swift Klamp heads can easily be setup on your machine whether it has 3 axis,  3+1 axis, 4 axes with an integrated rotary table or full 5 axes capability. The compact size of the clamping head and work holders allows for multiple systems to be placed within your machining centre. This allows for different machine operations or different work-pieces to be processed at the same time.

Swift Klamp Workholding examples

Off line set-up

With 3 different sizes of HSK interface Swift Klamp heads and a wide range of work holder options, it is easy to find the best work holder to suit your workpiece and machine.  With multiple work holders it is possible to setup numerous work pieces off-line in advance, with the confidence of knowing that when the workpiece is loaded into the machine, the highest accuracy will be achieved in minimal time.     

If you have multiple machines the use of the standard HSK clamping head means that work workpieces can easily be transferred between each machine while preserving the highest accuracy and achieving the shortest setup times.

In-line/Off-Line work-piece measurement

For quality control and feedback of any required adjustments work-pieces can be measured in line directly on the clamping head in the machining area or transferred to a camping head in a coordinate measuring machine for off-line measurements, giving you confirmation that the work piece tolerances have all been reached.

High Positional Accuracy of the Swift Klamp system

Standardisation - the first step towards automation

Standardising with Swift Klamp across your production cell or site can enable a high level of automation, allowing work holders to be robot loaded/unloaded from machines and transferred between different stations for measurements, cleaning etc before the workpiece is completed and removed.  Kitagawa Europe has a wide range of work holding and work handling products suitable to prepare your machines for full automation. YOUR COMPLETE SIX-FACE MACHINING SOLUTION.  

A chucking revolution - next generation standard chuck, transforming conventional machining methods.

Kitagawa's standard chucks is now in a new era.

Gripping accuracy of 0.01mm T.I.R.^※3 or less immediately after jaw forming
Reduced jaw-lift provides stable machining quality.
Use of optional "Tnut-Plus" maintains gripping accuracy of 0.01mm T.I.R.^※3 or
less even after detaching and attaching formed jaws.
No jaw reforming is required.

Kitagawa’s latest independent rotary table control system called the ‘Quinte’ is a major upgrade from their venerable ‘Mac Mini’ system. The Quinte series comes in three model types - the QTC100 for single axis rotary tables, the QTC200 for double axis rotary tables and finally the QTC300 for larger single axis rotary tables with faceplate diameters of more than 320mm. Additionally each type of Quinte has various motor size options to best suit Kitagawa’s large range of rotary tables, allowing for the perfect solution catered to your machining conditions. The major advantage of installing an independent rotary table control system is that your rotary table can be used on multiple vertical machining center on your shop floor.

Product Information

Catalogue Download 

Connected with your machines M-code and safety circuits allowing either standard indexing or synchronised machining (machining whilst the rotary table is rotating)

The Quinte series has been designed with ease of use and high speed performance in mind. By adopting high speed EtherCAT  technology, the Quinte series reduces indexing time with instant communication from Quinte to the rotary table.

Programs can be rapidly& written on a& computer before being  uploaded onto a multimedia card (or SD Card) and transferred directly into the front of the Quinte  unit. Adjustments to your program and parameters can be easily conducted via the Quinte’s interactive touch panel display. The Quinte’s high resolution screen makes operating much more intuitive by clearly displaying the current position, the program that is running, motor information and more.

The manual operation pendant allows precise manual control for the quick setup of origin positions and also conveniently displays position or program information to reduce setup times.

With the remote-control option, you can use the CNC control on your machine and macro programming to directly send indexing commands to the Quinte, via the RS232 cable. There is no need to have separate programmes on the machine and the Quinte. Lines of the macro program are automatically transferred from the machine through the RS232 cable to the Quinte, when the Quinte receives a start signal from the machine M-Code it will execute one line of the macro program. When the communication protocols and signals are setup correctly there should be no need for the machine operator to interact with the Quinte.

Product Information

Catalogue Download 

Advancing the global chucking standard for performance, precision and cost saving.

The B200 Series chuck and its close cousin the large through-hole BB200 Series have been the industry standard on many lathes for decades. These series of chucks have been around for so long it has proven that the design was truly reliable and has remained the bench mark within the chucking industry.

Kitagawa have been busy developing a revolutionary new chuck - called the BR Series - taking years to conduct testing, refining and retesting the design to ensure that when it came to market then it would truly be a revolution - in the chucking industry anyhow!

Many manufacturers claim that their standard chuck is ‘high accuracy’ but none can surpass or match the accuracy of the BR Series. The industry standard repeatability of a three jaw wedge chuck with a set of formed jaws (where the jaws are turned to match the diameter of the workpiece) was 20 microns between actuations (opening and closing of the chuck on the workpiece). The BR Series has increased this accuracy to below 10 microns as a standard - no matter if your gripping with a 6” (170mm) Chuck or a 12” (315mm) Chuck. This degree of accuracy makes the requirement for many specialist chucks obsolete as the BR Series can accomplish the accuracy required as a standard specification.

BR Series chucks come with a range of improved specifications as well, naturally they all feature an extra large through-hole (the same as the BB200 Series) as standard and intelligent design has enabled the jaw lift to be significantly reduced. This increases suitability for workpiece transfer from main-spindle to sub-spindle. The gripping force of the chuck at maximum speeds has improved by 10-15% showing less grip-force ‘fall-off’ by centrifugal forces, this is due to a redesigned and patented master base jaw. 

The overall appearance of the BR Series is different from other Kitagawa chucks with a rounded bevel on the edge of the chuck and with a coloured Kitagawa ‘K’ Stud on the face, so if anyone is visiting your production plant and understands the industry they will know if you have this chuck on your machine you are capable of machining to a extremely high degree of accuracy. Every chuck will include a QR code on the side to allow you to pull all the necessary data about that chuck directly from the chuck! 

Naturally the machine spindle interface of the BR Series is common with the B200, BB200, QJR Series and many other Kitagawa chucks and therefore is interchangeable. So you will not require additional cylinders, draw-tubes, adaptors and connectors when replacing your old Kitagawa chuck. Of course we can supply the various adaptors and connectors so that the BR Series chuck can also be installed on almost any lathe if necessary.

   Catalogue Download

   Video Link

KITAGAWA, EMO 2019 Hannover, Germany. Hall 5 - Booth D70

Kitagawa will be displaying the next generation of workholding products at this year’s EMO exhibition in Hannover. Whether it is autonomy, accuracy or cost-effective solutions, Kitagawa have the answer for all of your work holding requirements!

Some of the latest products on display at this year’s EMO exhibition are described below:

Lights out machining

Introducing the Kitagawa AJC system (Automatic jaw change) We will be demonstrating the future of all machining workshops. The AJC will allow you to work autonomously regardless of batch size! We will have a live demonstration with the use of a robot loader, CK250 NCRT and AJC system. For a demonstration video please click here.

Accuracy without the price tag 

Kitagawa have the pleasure of introducing the BR Series. “The new standard” - This chuck is capable of maintaining a repeatability of 0.01mm T.I.R or less after changing jaws, eliminating the need to re-form jaws. This accuracy is achieved by simply installing the special “GO NUTS” to the BR chuck. Turn harder and faster with a clamping force increase of 10-15% at maximum speed.  Fully interchangeable with the B200, BB200 and QJR series, this chuck is bound to become an industry leader! – Now stocked un Europe! For a demonstration video please click here.

Strong and Compact

The NEW MK Series, Kitagawa’s latest 4^thaxis rotary table. This rotary table has 40% higher clamping torque than its predecessor, highest driving torque in class and a new compact design, all giving increased workpiece capability. – Now stocked un Europe! For a demonstration video please click here.

Redefining the Standard

Kitagawa Europe collet chucks have been under the microscope this year. We have completely re-designed the range. We are introducing the new DKF42, DKF52, DKF65 and DKF80 fixed length collet chucks.  Compatible with popular quick-change collet clamping heads and optional collet changing device for quick and easy changeover. The new range have undergone a huge weight loss program, ensuring maximum room for your workpiece and turret!

Gripping!

The Promano range of grippers have seen huge developments in recent years. Promano is a high specification, well-balanced gripper. The compact body provides a stable gripping force and high repeatability. With a huge selection of grippers in the range Kitagawa are sure to have your specific requirements taken care of!

Swift Klamp

One of Kitagawa Europe’s latest products - Swift Klamp is a workholding system specifically designed to be used on 5-axis machining centres but can also be used on vertical machining centres with or without a 4th or 5th Axis rotary table. It is also suitable for horizontal machining centres as well. The system primarily utilizes an HSK interface for securing different types of workholders. We will have a live demonstration with the use of a robot loader and a 4^thaxis rotary table (MK200)

These are just a few of many fantastic products on display at this year’s EMO exhibition.

We would love to see you at the show, please feel free to visit at any time - Hall 5 Booth D70. The beer will be cold and the service will be warm!

The MK200 is an intelligent design to meet the future requirements that the industry demands from a 4th axis rotary table. Kitagawa's focus has been to improve the standard of their rotary tables in three areas:

- Enhanced Performance

- Improved Mounting

- Wide Selection of Rotary Joints

Enhanced Performance

The clamping torque of the MK200 has improved to 570N.m from the older standard of 350N.m of the MR200 rotary table which is an increase of 40%. In addition, Kitagawa has made the depth of the rotary table 10% thinner than the previous MR200 Rotary table to only 155mm deep and has increased the spindle through hole to 70mm from 45mm of the MR200. By incorporating friction-welding procedures into their manufacturing techniques and combining this skill with their design capabilities from many years of experience Kitagawa has delivered a performance balanced new standard of rotary table to the future market. Of course, it must be mentioned that Kitagawa has other stronger (GT200) and more compact (CK200) rotary tables in their product range but the MK200 is designed to meet 90% of customers needs and in most cases will be suitably strong enough to withstand various machine cutting conditions demanded of it.

After rigorous testing the MK200 adheres to the same standard of clamping torque test required of ALL Kitagawa rotary tables. The 570N.m of clamping torque is determined as the force at which 30 microns displacement of the worm wheel diameter occurs. Kitagawa determines displacement above this to be a failure as the accuracy you demand from Kitagawa tables cannot be maintained. This is markedly different from many of our competitors who use the 'pull-out torque' or slipping torque figure to determine their maximum torque. Kitagawa view slipping torque as a catastrophic and dangerous failure if you have pushed a rotary table to this extreme. So you can rest assured that even if you do push your Kitagawa table to its limitations of the clamping torque indicated in the instruction manual then your Kitagawa table will maintain its accuracy where others fail. This increase to the standard clamp torque significantly increases the allowable cutting torque your machine is able to deliver to the workpiece, reducing takt time to increase your productivity. The MK200 also maintains the highest rotating/drive torque capability in its size and class of rotary table (270 N.m) due to a large worm wheel diameter design enabling you to produce complex workpieces with speed and accuracy.

You will notice that the MK200 rotary table is supplied without a standard faceplate which will allow you to specify exactly what type of face plate you require - with t-slots or standard pre-drilled holes like the current MR200 rotary table. The major advantage of this is that a chuck, trunnion bed or any workholding device can be mounted directly onto the rotary table's spindle, reducing the distance from the spindle bearing. This compact assembly reduces the loading to the spindle bearing therefore increasing the rotary tables rigidity and longevity.

                                                                       Catalogue download

Introducing ‘Swift Klamp’ - the latest addition to the Kitagawa Europe family. Using time-proven HSK tool interface technology, Swift Klamp provides a secure, low-interference, quick-change 5-axis workholding system.

•     Catalogue Download
•     Manual Clamping Head options
•      Automatic Clamping Head Options
•     Workholder Options
•     Video Link

The system consists of three parts - the clamping head, the work-holder and the work-piece.

The clamping head is supplied either as a manually or automatically actuated HSK clamp. The work-holder is made up of the HSK interface at the bottom and multiple work-piece interface options at the top, including flange clamps and side clamps. However, the most efficient clamping system is the dovetail interface due to its low clamping surface area. The final part is the work-piece, which in the case of the dovetail work-holder will require an initial dovetail slot to be machined into the raw billet to interface with the work-holder. However the Swift Klamp system can accommodate work pieces of up to 200mm square or diameter.