Makino has patented a vise that we've named the Rotary Smart Vise. It is a vise that allows you to place the intermediate plate in between two grippers in grooves manufactured into the plate. By clamping between centers, it isn't necessary to hold the workpiece very tightly because the cutting forces are relatively small compared to the clamping forces (one-half to two tons).

The Rotary Smart Vise design allows us to clamp through the part as opposed to a conventional vise, which can cause bending after machining, particularly in a thin part with a complex surface. This allows for much higher accuracy during production of the intermediate plate.

This vise allows for good access and no distortion. It provides access to the front, back, and even sides of the component, in one setup. This allows for bench-free production with limited setups.

Some of the beauty of the function of this vise is the way it actually holds the part. We cut a concave form into the workpiece. Into the rotary workform on the jig side, we cut a convex form. Now we have a repeatable form on both the jig and workpiece, so if we ever need to come back and rework the part, it's easy to do. It's also a very effective method for holding a part while still giving us access to both sides. This particular device also allows us to have the workpiece out in space, providing excellent accessibility. Here we're looking at the clamping of the vise.

This patented device lets us mill the core and cavity, mill the pocket of the sliders, drill the water holes, and drill and tap the rear side, all in one setup. This minimizes setup, teardown, and improves accuracy by eliminating a lot of stack-up error.

The other thing that can be done using the Rotary Smart Vise is you can actually cut the core and cavity simultaneously in the same block of material. We can cut the core on one half of the block and the cavity on the other half. The accuracy of the core and cavity can be outstanding in this way, while minimizing your setup. Later, you separate the block with a wire EDM.

Here we have another example of that same part where we have both the core and cavity, machining simultaneously on the same block, accessing the sides of the part. When we've completed all the machining, we'll wire-cut the block to separate the core and cavity. Another thing about the Rotary Smart Vise is we'll be using it to manufacture the intermediate plate, but it can also be used in 2D mold production to minimize setups and to aid the machining of angled surfaces in a production environment. It increases productivity and improves surface quality, allowing you to index the Rotary Smart Vise. This allows you to make one simple, straightforward cut when cutting angles.

Here's an example of drilling for water holes. We're indexing the part around 180 degrees and drilling access, heating, and cooling holes.

The Makino Rotary Smart Vise provides a technique for accessing both sides of the intermediate plate for continuous machining. It also facilitates the production of the channels consistent with the part profile, but also maintains a uniform distance for the best possible thermal characteristics. It also provides access for side water holes, ejectors, etc. and is a chip-friendly design in that the part is supported in space, so chips easily fall away from the part. It also allows for shorter tool reaches for more rigid tools.

Here's another example of machining on both the core and cavity. We're cutting both on the same plate, using the Smart Vise to gain access to the front surface, back surface, and the edges.

Makino's contribution to this weldless process is the highly accurate machine and the Makino patented Rotary Smart Vise function, allowing the intermediate plate to be manufactured.

Therefore, the optimum way to produce a 3D weldless mold is with a Makino and a Rotary Smart Vise, which also allows you to minimize setups and improve accuracy on all complex mold work.