Leader ZeroClamp uses face and taper design principle

Leader Chuck says that this principle also removes any machining induced vibration, minimises thermal effects and compensates for hole misalignments of up to ± 0.1 mm as the tapers always compensate towards the centre of the clamping position. The ZeroClamp's tapered bolts are produced from case hardened 42 CrMO2 steel, allowing the workpiece or raw material to stand on them for storage. Only one design is used instead of the three different bolt designs that 'Fixed' systems usually require. Another advantage of the taper bolt design is the ability to tilt the pallet or workpiece during loading and unloading without fear of damage, making heavy and unbalanced workpieces easier to handle. It also means the units can be fitted at any angle, so they can be used in conjunction with tombstones or similar fixtures on horizontal machining centres. By contrast fixed systems are usually restricted to vertical machining centres as they need to be lifted parallel or they can deform or lock together. A stack of precision manufactured segmented spring steel collars lock the taper bolt in. The collars are opened by an expanding bellows which is inflated by compressed air at standard shopfloor pressure. The bellows are guaranteed for 1 million operational cycles. The simple design uses just a few high quality stainless or corrosion resistant steel components so it is very robust and is unaffected by swarf or coolant ingress. The pots can be quickly cleaned out with a blast from a standard airline gun. The Leader ZeroClamp avoids the disadvantages of hydraulic systems and its reduced height preserves more of machine tool's working envelope capacity. As Leader Chuck Systems managing director Mark Jones points out: "This is an important point as the fixturing is often fitted to the worktable and it therefore reduces the distance between the spindle nose and the workpiece. We have kept this to a minimum so that larger parts can still be loaded and machined."