Workholding Technology for CNC Rapid Prototyping and Low Volume Machining
Blue Photon saves time and money for rapid prototyping, one-offs and low volume parts because of its capability to easily hold near-net shaped parts, including parts that are generated by additive manufacturing. This results in lower fixture costs and quick turnaround times. Blue Photon’s universal workholding fixture allows users to configure a reusable fixture to hold complex parts for machining.
Blue Photon expands the capabilities of workholding platforms used in your facility including Jergens, MPower, Toolex, PAWs, 5th Axis, Raptor, System 3R, Erowa, Chick, Schunk and others.
Benefits:
- Unrestricted five-sided part access, in some cases, six-sided access
- Easy fixturing for complex and near-net parts
- Dramatically reduces fixture design, build time and cost
- Eliminates part distortion and defacing caused by mechanical clamping forces
- Bonding the part takes place outside the machine cycle
Watch the Blue Photon workholding system in action in this heavy-milling, one-off application.
Do you have a workholding challenge?
Universal Fixture Kit
Custom workholding is often required when producing prototypes, which can add time and cost. While some solutions include 3D fixture printing and sacrificial fixtures, producing and changing fixtures consumes valuable time, adds cost and often introduces error.
Blue Photon has developed an adaptive fixturing system with the demands of rapid prototyping and low volume production in mind. Together with the Blue Photon photo-activated adhesive workholding system, the universal fixture kit enables a prototype producer to quickly machine complicated parts in a wide range of materials, including metals, ceramics and composites. Blue Photon’s reusable universal fixture saves time by allowing for multiple parts and operations to be set up on the same fixture depending on part size.
The Universal Fixture Kit includes gripper arms and locator assemblies that can be set up to hold a workpiece for five- and even six-sided tool access.
Application Example
Manufacturers often have to machine “hard-to-hold” metallic workpieces using conventional fixturing. In these special cases, machined feature quality typically suffers from set-up related errors, or set-up lead time suffers from the extra time necessary to check and correct for them. In this case, the Blue Photon workholding system was used to secure a “hard-to-hold” bracket casting for low volume machining at a contract manufacturer. A comparison to the existing conventional solution revealed that the ultraviolet workholding technology yielded substantially better machined feature quality, lead time and cost.
Contact our technical team for a hands-on demonstration.