Market segments are defining the clamping technology of the future

Mr Schmidt, you handed over official responsibility for clamping technology to Mr Minder at the start of the year. What brought you to this decision?

Jochen Schmidt: The entire company is currently undergoing realignment. Part of the organisational restructuring is increasing the focus on market segments. At the start of the year, I took over overall responsibility for the General Machining market segment. Since 2018, Dennis Minder and I had already been planning for him to take over clamping technology product management from me eventually. Since then, he has gone through all areas of clamping technology and learned everything about our products, customers and the markets from scratch and gradually grown into his role. When we introduced our redesigned chucks, he had already taken responsibility for this.

Mr Minder, what are your plans for clamping technology at MAPAL?

Dennis Minder: Having already been able to play a role in the clamping technology journey in recent years, I plan to stay the course. The transfer of responsibility took place smoothly, and there was therefore no rough cut – apart from the contact partner, there will be no major changes. We will continue to give our all to putting customer needs first. 
 

あなたが歩んできた旅を一言で表すと何ですか? 

デニス・ミンダー氏: 私たちは現在、変革のプロセスを進めています。 チャックはかつては単なる工具ホルダーでした。 現在では、システム全体のアプリケーション指向のパフォーマンス向上要素としてますます重要になってきています。 これを継続するために、将来的には個々のマーケティング部門にさらに焦点を当て、市場の特殊な要件に対応するチャックを開発する予定です。 マパールの各製品部門とマーケティング部門は、この件に関して緊密に連携して取り組んでいます。そのため、ヨッヘン・シュミット氏と私も引き続き緊密に協力していきます。

ヨハン・シュミット氏: これだけは確信しています。マーケティング部門管理では、特定の市場の顧客の個別のニーズに集中的に取り組み、それらを活用して、それぞれの製品管理と協力して、対応する標準製品とカスタムソリューションを生成します。 これまでにも同様の取り組みが行われてきましたが、今後は個々のマーケティング部門への注力を強化していきます。 最適にカスタマイズされたシステム全体により、ユーザー、つまりお客様に最大の付加価値を提供することができます。

最近発表された新しいデザインの 2 つのチャック、UNIQ DReaM Chuck 4.5° と UNIQ  Mill Chuckはすでにこの方法で開発されたものですか?

ヨハン・シュミット氏：実はこのチャックを特別なものにしている本質的な特性は、お客様の具体的なご要望に基づいて開発したものです。UNIQ Mill Chuckではお客様が非常にダイナミックな加工プロセスで高品質の部品を加工される場合など、さまざまなマーケティング部門で対応する案件が実際にありました。私たちは、お客様が高度でダイナミックな加工プロセスで、高品質な部品を加工される際にどのような場所でも対応することができます。

デニス・ミンダー 氏：私たちは、航空産業や金型産業などのお客様から寄せられたこれらの要求をUNIQ Mill Chuckに反映させました。このハイドロチャックによって、これらの加工プロセスで最も重要な条件であるプロセスの信頼性を最大限に高め、懸念を払拭させることができました。

What makes the new UNIQ Mill Chuck so special, besides its process reliability?

Dennis Minder: For the new chuck, we developed our existing MillChuck HB further, which has, for example, proven itself many times over with trochoidal milling. We also designed the new UNIQ Mill Chuck for highly dynamic processes with spindle speeds of up to 33,000 rpm. To do so, we adjusted the entire geometry, technology and design. For example, the contour is optimised for dynamic processes. Both the UNIQ Mill Chuck and the UNIQ DReaM Chuck 4.5°, therefore both chucks designed according to the new industrial design, offer clear added value – not only in terms of their function, but also with regards to their ergonomics and handling. 

Which customer requirements does the second chuck, the UNIQ DReaM Chuck 4.5°, meet?

Dennis Minder: Due to the few tool restrictions on the shrink chuck, many parts were previously only able to be machined with it, meaning that parts with critical contours were reserved for shrink chucks. Now hydraulic chucks however offer indisputably significant advantages over shrink chucks. To enable our customers to use these benefits, we implemented the original contour of a shrink chuck in a hydraulic chuck. This is possible as the tension in our UNIQ DReaM Chuck 4.5° is fed into the collar – without any technical disadvantages for our customers. They only have advantages with the new chuck – easy handling, better surface finishes and a very ergonomic chuck. If customers switch their machining to our UNIQ DReaM Chuck 4.5°, they also do not have to plan any new calculations for tool restrictions, but can directly use the chuck as a “plug and play” solution.

Jochen Schmidt: In general, with this new chuck, we are accompanying our customers in switching to the hydraulic chuck. We meet them where they are – and in many cases, that is the shrink chuck. To make the switch as easy as possible for the user, we attach instructions directly onto the product. For example, the chucks feature a prominent symbol with the instruction “Do not shrink”. This is because the original contour may otherwise lead to confusion in manufacturing and a hydraulic chuck must never be used in combination with a shrink unit.
 

These are just the first two chucks in the new industrial design. What’s next? Are other chucks planned?

Dennis Minder: Of course, other chucks in the new design are on the way. These will be able to be identified with the UNIQ in their name. UNIQ represents the unique quality of the chucks – but more on that later. Currently, we are focusing on offering the UNIQ Mill Chuck and the UNIQ DReaM Chuck 4.5° in other versions. For example, we are currently seeing a high demand for a BT30 interface for the UNIQ Mill Chuck in Asia. We are working on implementing this requirement and will launch the corresponding chuck on the market this year. Both hydraulic chucks will also soon be available with new clamping diameters. Furthermore, we are working on other products to add to our programme – we will have more to report on this soon.

Thank you for the interview.