NEW BFS CONNECTION FOR QUICK TOOL CHANGES
MAPAL is introducing a new, patent-pending bayonet-type connection for milling cutter systems with replaceable heads to the market. Users benefit from very easy handling with rigid connection and optimal cooling. The tool manufacturer also saves carbide with the connection, conserving resources.
The patent-pending BFS connection for milling cutter systems with replaceable heads impresses with easy handling, rigid connection and optimal cooling.
The tool holder of the new MAPAL connection features a ring of cooling channel bores that channel the coolant directly to the cutting edge area. This increases machining quality and tool life.
Long tool lives through efficient cooling and high rigidity: The new BFS connection.
The functional principle of the new connection couldn’t be easier: the replaceable head only has to be inserted and turned 90 degrees to be locked. That’s a lot easier than the previous system for replaceable head milling cutters from MAPAL or comparable systems where the replaceable head is threaded and has to be screwed in several turns. The new BFS connection (Bayonet Fitting System) achieves very high rigidity thanks to the large cylindrical face connection. While the force only acts on one side while tightening a thread due to the thread’s pitch, the new MAPAL system ensures a symmetrical insertion and good distribution of force.
Together with the connection, MAPAL is also presenting a new tool holder design. The tool holder has a ring of cooling channel bores, which enables a much higher volume of cooling than conventional internal cooling is able to provide. By channelling the coolant directly to the area of the cutting edges, the tool life is extended and machining quality improved. In addition, by doing away with a central cooling channel bore, the milling head becomes much more stable. The tool holder is 10 to 15 percent more rigid than comparable systems, resulting in higher achievable form and position tolerances, smoother processes and longer tool life.
The solid carbide replaceable heads from MAPAL impress thanks to their high process reliability as no cutting edges can become loose at high temperatures. If tool breakage does occur, the connection’s simple assembly ensures that the machining process can be resumed quickly.
Modular tool systems with a steel-shank tool holder have also been marketed to conserve carbide. With the BFS connection, MAPAL is going one step further. Compared to previous connections, 70 percent less material is used, in keeping with the trend towards more sustainability.
DIVERSE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS
The connection is offered in seven different sizes with head diameters from 11.8 mm to 22.5 mm and head lengths up to 1xD, which enables a variety of applications. In addition to the replaceable heads, the tool manufacturer can also custom design the tool holder to optimise the coolant supply for particular requirements, for example. MAPAL presented two initial applications together with the bayonet connection at AMB: A five-bladed solid carbide head is used by customers from the automotive industry as a ball nose milling cutter to manufacture homokinetic joints. The soft machining of this component, which is integrated in the power train, requires a high degree of precision. Another tool is a form milling cutter for machining ball joints on drive shafts.
Dear business partners,
dear readers,
as our customers and partners, you challenge us to serve your needs even better, through new solutions, better processes or more targeted support. This drives us to continuously expand our expertise. In our technology magazine IMPULSE, we regularly report on what we’ve achieved to turn YOU and US into MORE.
One example is the aerospace industry which is experiencing rapid growth. This also raises customers’ expectations of us in terms of technologies and solutions. At MAPAL, we have been active in this market for 15 years, focusing on the challenges of machining and the product portfolio. We have analysed demanding components in terms of machining technology, developed economical and reliable processes for them, and can therefore provide our customers with quick and targeted solutions. We offer a comprehensive product range for titanium, CFRP, CFRP material combinations and aluminium. Our in-house expertise in coating technology enables us to meet tool requirements even better. We’ve shared our expertise in materials, processes and economic efficiency parameters throughout our organisation, enabling us to support our customers worldwide with the same level of expertise.
While lightweight construction has always been important for the aerospace industry, which consequently relies on aluminium among other materials, the trend towards weight reduction and thus the use of aluminium in vehicle construction has received a boost with e-mobility. The increasing importance of the workpiece material goes hand in hand with a number of developments, which in turn place specific demands on machining. The trend towards mega- or gigacasting is a prime example. Here, the size and instability of the components call for special tool geometries for low-vibration machining with high precision. Chip formation is becoming increasingly important with the use of long-chipping grades of aluminium. In high-volume machining of aluminium, more than 90 per cent of a raw part is removed, which means powerful tools are required. Due to these market developments and the challenges you face as a result, solutions and support are in demand. Our Centres of Competence for PCD and solid carbide tools and our wealth of experience in aluminium machining enable us to develop innovative and cost-effective processes, to deliver these from a single source and to provide you with sound and comprehensive support from the start of your project to the end of the product life cycle.
The markets are changing, machining is changing – and at MAPAL, we are changing too because we want to remain a great partner for you in the future. That’s why we’ve taken the last two years to become even more reliable and faster. For example, we have increased the availability of many standard tools and the level of delivery reliability. I hope you’ve noticed these changes. Try us out! For now, I hope you enjoy reading the 82nd issue of IMPULSE and gain exciting insights int0 developments in the aerospace industry and beyond.
Yours,
Dr. Jochen Kress
