Stick to the Story

Briney Tooling Systems (Bad Axe, MI) recently worked closely with a manufacturer to develop a special Dual Contact CAT50 stick turning toolholder for an Okuma MacTurn 550 milling/turning center. The customer had some special turning stick tools that were 1.5 in square, and there was no standard for the lathe stick tools. Because Briney is well-known for their custom and special toolholder design and build capabilities, they were able to analyze the tool and determine the correct cutting angle required for the stick tooling, and built custom adapters that ultimately saved the customer from having to re-engineer their entire catalog of stick-type lathe tooling.

Many of today’s machining centers like the Okuma MacTurn 550 are equipped with dual contact spindles, where there is dual contact between the machine spindle taper and the toolholder taper shank. The benefit is improved rigidity that insures accuracy and surface finish, extends tool life and minimizes deflection and vibration for high speed machining.

Combine that spindle with a Dual Contact toolholder and you have the best of both worlds. The dual contact of the toolholder taper shank and the toolholder flange is a method to eliminate pull-back of the toolholder. The steep taper contacts the spindle taper and flange contact on the spindle face, making a solid union in both the axial and radial planes. As a result, dual contact toolholders are resistant to axial movement because the face contact prevents the toolholder from being pulled up into the spindle at high speed.

Briney has been providing dual contact toolholders for many years, so applying that capability to the Okuma MacTurn lathe tooling was easily accomplished. With comprehensive in-house CNC turning and grinding capabilities, including in-plant heat treatment where the control of the carburizing and hardening process insures that all tools have.050 minimum case depth to maximize tool life and reduce distortion, they were able to design, produce and deliver the special lathe toolholers to the customer in 5-6 weeks.

Briney Tooling Systems designs and manufactures industry leading CNC, Shrink-Fit, HSK and collet-style tool holders for drilling, reaming and milling. Founded in 1989 and well known in a wide array of industries, their name continues to stand for toolholder quality, reliability, design and engineering. Located in Bad Axe, Briney Tooling is a division of Gemini Group, which designs and manufactures a wide array of engineered plastic and metal products.

With 14 locations in the United States and Mexico, Gemini serves customers in automotive, aerospace, medical, defense, and energy-related industries. Interrelated processes and collaborative engineering afford them the flexibility to meet exceptionally diverse demands in component and assembly manufacturing. Located in Bad Axe, Gemini Group employs 1,700 professionals and is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise.

Briney Tooling Systems, 700 East Soper Road, Bad Axe, Michigan 48413. Telephone 989-269-9558, www.brineytooling.com.