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When you want to automate your production but don’t want to spend $100K on a complex system, CNC Spindle Grippers are the answer. This system uses YOUR MACHINE as its own robot to load and unload parts, and you can get a complete automation system with an automated vise and spindle gripper for as little as $3,100. Programming is fully-automated with our Program-Generator.
Our Through-Spindle Air (TSA) and Through-Spindle Coolant (TSC) CNC Spindle Grippers are perfect when your machine already has through air or coolant, letting your machine load and unload its own parts. Since these Grippers have a ¾” Shaft, they are universal for virtually all CNC Machines with TSC or through air.
Our patent-pending Rotary-Bypass Universal CNC CNC Spindle Gripper is the most versatile and powerful gripper on the market. By combining our Through Air Gripper with a custom-machined integrated Rotary Union, this gripper combines all the benefits of a Through Air Gripper with the ease-of-integration of a Bypass-Air Gripper. This is the only gripper on the market that can M19 Spindle Orient (rotate) while using an external air source in the form of our Bypass Block.
Our Patent-Pending Vacuum Part Grabber is the only solution on the market that turns your CNC Machine into an automated loading cell with little to no adjustment. The proprietary Venturi Generator creates up to 12 PSI of vacuum, and is turned on by simply turning on your machine's Through Spindle Air Blast.
Our Part Flipping Station lets you merge two or more operations into a single cycle. The CNC Part Flipper receives the part from a Spindle Gripper loaded in your mill, flips your partially-milled component, and then transfers the part back to your Spindle Gripper for Second-Op Loading.
Our Instant Solenoid Kit gives your machine-controllable M-codes in a matter of minutes. Controls two integrated solenoids and can also be manually actuated with the optional Manual Control Pendant.
CNC Spindle Grippers, also known as CNC Spindle Grabbers or CNC Part Tending Grippers, are the most cost-effective and easiest-to-implement form of CNC Machine Tending Automation. Unlike many other forms of Machine Tending Automation, CNC Spindle Grippers are the only form of CNC Machine Tending Automation that uses your CNC Machine itself to accomplish the movement of your components to be machined into and out of the workholding.
CNC Spindle Grippers are there to free up machine operators and let the machine tend itself automatically. Instead of eating up an operator’s entire day loading and unloading parts, the CNC Machine itself is able to load and unloads its own components, allowing operators to focus on process improvements, QC, and programming. While no form of CNC Machine Tending Automation eliminates the need for skilled operators, CNC Spindle Grippers often allow an operator to monitor and maintain five to six machines instead of only one.
Programming your CNC Spindle Gripper for Automated Machine Tending is surprisingly easy. Check out our Programming Article for complete instructions. Since this was the biggest hurdle for our customers, we created a Program Generator to allow you to generate programs fully-automatically for single operation machine tending automation. For two-operation automation, such as what you might use with our Two-Op Automation Pallet, we provide you with a free comprehensive template, which makes programming parts to run fully automatically as simple as programming a single two-operation part.
We make a variety of CNC Spindle Grippers including:
Our 3/4" Through-Spindle Coolant and 3/4" Through-Spindle Air models can use any type of tool-holder. The 3/4" TSA Model can use any holder out-of-the-box. The 3/4" TSC Model can use any holder, but may require drilling a hole into the side of the holder to allow coolant depressurization.
Our Patent-Pending Rotary Bypass models are the only solution on the market that allow you to use Spindle Grippers for Machine Tending on a machine that lacks Through Spindle Air or Through Spindle Coolant.
Our Grippers are strategically size to work in almost any tool-changer without taking up more than a single tool-slot. We’ve tested hundreds of machines from Haas, Doosan/DN, Brother, Fanuc, DMG Mori, Hermle, Okuma, and many others. For the vast majority of Side-Mount and Umbrella tool-changers, these Grippers are tested and verified. For odd-ball tool-changers such as side-mount chain-style ATC’s, contact us to confirm compatibility.
Yes, you can do this with our Rotary Bypass Grippers, our Through-Spindle Air Grippers, or our Through-Spindle Coolant Models.
Gripper-loaded part weight essentially unlimited (to a point) depending on the finger design. We’ve had customers 3D print or machine custom fingers that hook under the part for large part loads.
For most applications (with the standard included gripper fingers), we generally recommend keeping part weight below 5 lbs for gripper part handling.
We’ve had customers move as much as 10lbs with the default gripper fingers, but you need to use 150-200psi air to make sure things are very tightly held. We’ve had customers move as much as 45 pounds using custom gripper fingers that wrap around the bottom of components.
