Customers and partners of BIG KAISER teamed up to generate a $7,283 donation to benefit the National Robotics League (NRL). The amount is nearly 10 percent more than last year and the fourth year-over-year increase in NRL funding from BIG KAISER.

The donation is a 2% match of all qualified orders from NTMA and AMT (Association for Manufacturing Technology) member companies during the final two months of each calendar year. Manufacturers placed orders for cutting tools, tool holders, workholding and tool measurement systems, earning funds for the NRL at the same time.  

“We need to get involved at every level to grow the next-generation workforce. Our company does that by partnering with local schools, our community colleges and the trade associations,” says Chris Kaiser, CEO of BIG KAISER. “NRL is just one more way for us to engage kids and promote careers in manufacturing.”

“We’re not just fighting a skills gap in our workforce, we have an ‘interest gap’ too. The NRL helps create excitement about manufacturing technology and STEM careers,” says Roger Atkins, president at NTMA (National Tooling and Machining Association). “We appreciate BIG KAISER’s continued support year over year, and of course all of the NTMA and AMT members who participate in the program to support the NRL.”  

The National Robotics League (NRL) is a manufacturing workforce development program of the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) where students design and build remote controlled robots (Bots) to face-off in a gladiator-style competition.

Through the manufacturing process of Bot building, students’ imaginations are captured as they design, build and compete with their own robotic creations.

Through this hands-on effort along with industry partnerships, students gain practical knowledge of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) – all essential skills for manufacturing.

Please welcome Tim Fugazi to our Next Generation Tooling team. Tim will be working in Northern California as Regional Manager for our principals.

Tim graduated from San Joaquin Delta College with a Certificate in Computer-Aided Drafting December in 1999 and finished up his Associate Degree in Machine Tool Technology  in May 2010 at the same college.

Tim spent 7 years as a Auto CAD Technician and then added Laser programming to the mix. For the past 18 years Tim has worked as a Machinist, SolidWorks Technician & Lab Technician.

His experience with SolidWorks software was to provide mechanical drawings for production, fabrication and/or machining. He operated SolidWorks & HSMWorks software to produce “G” code for vertical mills and lathes as well as working in quality control and dealing with customer warranty issues.

Our principals  and distributors will be excited to know that Tim has a great understanding of shipping procedures so he has a great understanding of your capabilities and expectations.

BIG KAISER is hosting its annual Breakfast & Learn event May 13-16. Each morning, they will have a new technical presentation and serve a complimentary breakfast to get the body and mind ready for the day. After breakfast, you can head next door to attend DMG Mori’s Chicago Innovation Days.

Attendees can tour BIG KAISER’s showroom equipped with tool presetters, extensive tooling displays and zero-point workholding solutions. This is a perfect opportunity to talk to engineers, get a presetter demo and discover how BIG KAISER can help when it comes to achieving higher performance on the shop floor.

Technical presentations start each day at 8:30 a.m.

Monday, May 13
Workpiece Stabilization and Non-Traditional Fixturing for Machining Other Processes
Fixturing requirements are becoming more complex as workpiece complexity increases. We will look at how parts that have traditionally posed workholding challenges are being held rigidly and securely with modern-day solutions.

Tuesday, May 14
Making the Switch from Negative to Positive Tool Offsets
Learn how setting up tools outside the machine optimizes spindle time and reduces the chance of human error. Understand the difference between negative to positive tool offsets, why it’s important, and how it saves time and reduces the burden on operators.

Wednesday, May 15
Closing the Loop on Automatic Boring
Today’s machine operators are relying more and more on digital equipment to help produce parts. Discover the advantages of automatic boring vs. manual boring processes, breakthrough technologies aiding automatic processes and learn to pick the right applications for closed-loop boring. We’ll also unveil details on BIG KAISER’s EWA program.

Thursday, May 16
Anti-Vibration Technology
Vibration and chatter due to long reach tooling cause lost productivity and is harmful to the health of machine and spindle. Dampened tooling systems can be the cure.

Hoffman Estates, IL – BIG KAISER, a global leader in premium high-precision tooling systems and solutions for the metalworking industries, announces the MEGA Micro Coolant Nut, a solution developed to provide precise coolant supply to micro cutting tool applications at high speeds.

Efficient coolant delivery prevents chip jamming, which can cause machine stoppages, service calls, and increase tool wear and poor surface finish. As spindle speeds continue to increase, getting the coolant to the cutting tip has become more challenging.

Exclusively for MEGA Micro Chuck 6S, the MEGA Micro Coolant Nut is an ideal design for high-speed micro machining up to Ø6 mm. By using it instead of a standard nut, tool lifetime is increased by about 35 percent and better cutting performance is achieved for milling applications.

The MEGA Micro Coolant Nut is a continuation of BIG KAISER's efforts to drive coolant toward the cutting edge and help to maintain process security. For coolant through drills, BIG KAISER offers the MEGA Micro Perfect Seal Nut.

If coolant is required, it should be optimized to maximize its true potential. For more information please contact us!

By Jack Burley

Many shops are unaware that a lot of their spindles are BIG-PLUS, so they don’t realize the capabilities they possess that this system provides. If you identify these spindles on your floor and want to start taking advantage of them, there are some things you should know

I was recently chatting with our friends at SPS Spindle Parts and Service, LLC (Goffstown, NH). They are, to my understanding, the only certified BIG-PLUS® spindle grinder in America that performs onsite regrinds. Chris Vigneault, their onsite grinding manager, explained that most of their onsite visits, BIG-PLUS or not, are the result of a crash or poor drawbar retention that allows a tool to loosen in the spindle. That isn’t usually surprising news, but Vigneault explained that their testing and examination process often does reveal something else that is very surprising for customers: “One of the things that most customers are unaware of is that a lot of their spindles are BIG-PLUS and they simply don’t know it,” he said. “Not all, but a lot of customers lately are looking for that ability and just don’t know that they already have it.”

This is common after the purchase of a used machine tool, but shops are even more surprised when they hear this news about new machines. There are a couple of reasons this happens:

All of which begs the question, how do you find out if you have a BIG-PLUS spindle?

We have learned over the years which builders are making their spindles to BIG-PLUS as a standard or as an option, and on which models. So when I visit a customer or talk to them over the phone, I ask what brands of machines they use and compare this with the master list of authorized machine tool builders for BIG-PLUS. However, the easiest way to figure it out is to place a standard tool into the spindle and see how much of a gap there is between the tool holder flange face and spindle face. Without BIG-PLUS, the standard gap should be visible, or about .12 in. If it is BIG-PLUS, the gap is half of this amount, or only .06 in. These values change depending on 30 taper, 40 taper or 50 taper sizes, but the gap is visibly less than usual.

If you identify BIG-PLUS spindles on your floor and you want to start taking advantage, there are some things you should know. First, if you’ve been using standard V-flange tools in that spindle, you likely won’t be able to realize the full benefits of the system. Over time, standard tooling will wear the spindle in ways that change its geometries. “We were just at a shop in Connecticut checking out a BIG-PLUS spindle,” recalled Vigneault. “Because of the way it wears when you don’t use BIG-PLUS tooling – which is exactly the way this customer was using the machine – the face was very heavy, or oversized. If we were grinding it back into spec, it would probably take quite a bit of work. We would have to take a lot of material off the face to get there.”

Because both taper and face contact are what make the system shine, the geometry is critical. If someone trying to transition to BIG-PLUS tooling after learning they have the spindle doesn’t understand that, they won’t experience the performance they expect. There’s also the factor of maintenance.

If a shop didn’t know it had BIG-PLUS machines, it’s a safe bet they didn’t take the preventive steps to help preserve the crucial geometry. These include keeping the spindle, tools and carts clean; misaligned automatic tool changer arms can also harm a BIG-PLUS spindle. These very reasons are why we offer spindle and tool taper cleaners, as well as arm alignment tools. Also, resist the temptation to use less expensive, unlicensed dual-contact tools if you want to give the system a shot. These tool makers do not have the master gauges necessary to create the correct geometry . . . for reference, read my Depth of Cut column titled “Is BIG-PLUS an International Standard?” It shares comparative test results and details the risks.

There’s really one proven way to restore a BIG-PLUS spindle to proper specifications: with a certified regrind. Just as tool makers need the right gauges and measuring devices, so do spindle grinders. If you discover you have BIG-PLUS spindles and want to take advantage, keep these factors in mind to see what the system can do.

Jack Burley is the vice president of sales and engineering at BIG KAISER Precision Tooling Inc., 2600 Huntington Boulevard, Hoffman Estates, IL 60192, 847-228-4011, Fax: 847-228-0881, jack.burley@us.bigkaiser.com, www.bigkaiser.com.

We are very excited to announce that David Edge has joined the Next Generation Tooling team. David has a wealth of experience from his 45+ years in the metalcutting industry.  He not only knows the technical aspects of cutting tool applications but also the procedural functions that are important to manufacturers, Industrial distributors and machinery dealers.