Spindle Knowledge

Tool clamp

There are various standard designs for drilling and milling tools that have different interfaces depending on their function.   The standard tools are clamped in basic mounts, which most often take the form of steep tapers or hollow shank tapers on the machine side and which work as an adapter sleeve in principle. The drilling tools are mounted via a Morse taper or via cylindrical shafts in collets, which are also suitable for mounting end mills. Steep taper tools and hollow shank taper tools are also clamped with tool clamping collets for rapid automatic clamping.
Compact clamps with the smallest possible rotational mass enable speeds of up to 45,000 rpm to be achieved. An advantage of the clamping mechanism for hollow shank tapers is the acceptance of the clamping force through the centrifugal force of the clamping elements at higher speeds. In order to be able to realise the high retaining forces for processing, the tool interfaces are generally tensioned through a spring assembly. It is necessary to check the clamping force at regular intervals, because – like every other machine component – the springs are subject to ageing and wear.[WECK05]