KONTEC KSX-E: A Fully Electric Five-Axis Clamping Solution

Schunk has developed an electric clamp for machining, assembly, and manufacturing purposes. The KONTEC KSX-E five-axis clamp is designed to replace hydraulic, pneumatic, and manual screw-type clamps that mount on mill beds and other sturdy tooling support structures.

The KONTEC KSX-E five-axis, all-electric clamp. Image used courtesy of Schunk

Advantages of Electric

The four standard methods of holding workpieces in place are manual, pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric. As Schunk has demonstrated, there are some key advantages to making the switch to an all-electric clamp.

Manual clamping is cheap, but it is also slow. In manual clamping, a machinist manually turns a screw that will close like a vice on the workpiece. The force on each workpiece will vary from machinist to machinist and even throughout the machinist’s day.

Both hydraulic and pneumatic systems can quickly apply consistent pressure each time. The major disadvantage is maintaining either a hydraulic or pneumatic system. They are both expensive to maintain, requiring gasket and seal changes on a regular basis. Compressed air is the “fourth utility,” as the cost of compressing air and dealing with a leaky pneumatic system rivals the other utility prices.

Electric power takes most of the advantages of other systems and leaves behind most of the disadvantages. Actuation of the grip can be performed precisely each time and programmatically changed. There are no leaks, no complex repairs, and little manual labor required.

KONTEC KSX-E Specifications

The KONTEC KSX-E is 100% electric (24 V DC), so there are no pneumatic or hydraulic hookups or headaches. It can operate on five axes, making it versatile enough for virtually any machining environment. It is specially designed for five-sided complete machining operations. The electronics are sealed tightly against chips, debris, and coolant.

A part made with five-axis machining. The KONTEC KSX-E could replace the clamp for this operation. Image used courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

The clamp itself can hold workpieces of up to 420 mm (~16.5 in.) and can reliably and repeatedly clamp with a force of 40 kN (8992 lbf). With this much clamping force available, parts can be machined to tight tolerances without fear of slipping from the clamps or being affected by vibration.

One of the major advantages of this clamp is the ability to program all of its necessary variables. The clamping force, stroke, and jaw position can be set programmatically. By digitizing these parameters, machines can be quickly brought online after routine maintenance or reset after one-off type production tasks. Programming is performed through an IO-Link to the machine control unit, but Schunk hints that a wireless module is in the works.

Use Cases

The ability to programmatically decide how much clamping pressure is required is an incredibly useful function. For virtually any high-speed machining operation, this alone can increase throughput, as the clamp's jaws can move only as needed to hold and release the workpieces. Furthermore, converting to electricity over other sources has the potential to save on operating expenses in the long run. These two primary advantages will make this device a popular device in many production machine shops.