CFT Rizzardi: innovation in tool changing systems

CFT Rizzardi, the Italian company specialized in the development and design of tool changer and pallet changer systems for machining centers since 1987, will present two new solutions during the upcoming edition of Xylexpo, the biennial international exhibition dedicated to the woodworking and furniture industry.

During the four-day event in Milan, the company will exhibit two new tool changer and magazine concepts: “TMA 41,” a tool magazine for high-speed pick-and-place handling with increased loading capacity, and the new “CTR 40 PF” tool changer, patented for fixed-place handling of bulky tools.

In the “CTR 40 PF,” the tool placed in the magazine with adjacent empty places, usually exchanged in the “fixed place” mode resulting in an interruption of the exchange cycle, is instead exchanged with the “random” exchange modes, i.e., without an interruption of the cycle. “A mode that is not feasible with tool changers currently on the market,” the company explained to us a few weeks before the event.
Highlights of this solution also include its compact size, exchange speed and versatility. “An innovative patent designed to optimize passive tool exchange times and suitable mainly for machines with high productivity or that require frequent tool exchanges“.

CHAINLESS TECHNOLOGY

“And staying on the topic of innovation we cannot fail to mention the international patent Chainless Technology introduced by CFT Rizzardi in 2010 and then becoming the basis for the production of innovative tool magazines, characterized by the absence of the use of chains for tool handling“.
Less wear and tear over time, simplified maintenance and greater lightness are some of the features of the patent, which makes it possible to eliminate or minimize adjustment interventions resulting from chain elongation and to replace each individual unit instead of removing the whole chain and to have a lower total weight.

The system is also extremely flexible: different types of tool cone (Iso, Cat, Hsk or Capto) can be mounted on the same structure, also allowing the type of cone to be quickly changed if necessary.
“But the most innovative feature of the Chainless patent is the ability to move the tool holder sleeve quickly and easily for its positioning in the exchange zone. In fact, the tool can be transferred linearly or tilted 90 degrees by means of pneumatic cylinders depending on the space requirements of the magazine inside the machining center“.
The version of the magazine called CTA HSL also allows the magazine to be developed in two planes at right angles to each other: this makes it possible to optimize the insertion of the magazine in the spaces available on the machine.
“Thanks to the continuous search for new solutions and operating in co-engineering with customers, we have managed to meet the most complex requirements and gain an excellent commercial position both nationally and internationally“, the company concluded.