Vibration in metal cutting is familiar to every machine tool operator. This phenomenon is recognized in operations like internal turning, threading, grooving, milling, boring and drilling. There are several reasons why vibration problems occur. They are often related to the machine tool itself, the clamping of the tool, the length and diameter of the tool holder, and the cutting data to be used. Whilst anti-vibration bars are available, there is no unique fixing method for all types of machine tool, and users currently have to develop ad-hoc fixing methods due to the very varied types of machine. The objective of this project is to design and develop a standard range of toolholders to enable the maximum benefit of anti-vibration bars to be achieved. This standard range will be developed for each of the major machine tool manufacturers. Deliverables will be prototypes for a range of applications. A Norwegian company, Teeness, has developed and patented Anti Vibration Boring Bars. However, the company does not have an in-depth knowledge of tool holding, or the design information required to design toolholders for the major machine tool manufacturers. Currently, Teeness recommends the preferred clamping method to their customers, and relies on the customer to work with the machine tool supplier to provide a solution. Craftsman Tools has an in-depth knowledge in this field and is confident that it can develop a range of toolholders for all the major machine tool manufacturers. These toolholders will have interchangeable parts which will be suitable for different makes of machine tools, and ensure that anti vibration bars can be fitted to all machines, irrespective of manufacturer. The development of a standard range of anti-vibration toolholders, whilst particularly technically difficult to achieve, is an innovative progression for the industry in terms of radically improving the accuracy and rigidity of machine tools. The task is large and complex, but achievable, and a big step forward for the industry. From a company perspective, Craftsman Tools has an enviable reputation in the industry, and whilst margins are tight, and competition aggressive, the project is extremely necessary for the Company to maintain its market position with market led innovation.

This project will create a new product that will automatically improve the surface finish of boring operations in production machine tools. It combines mechanical design for optimising sensor location with advanced modelling to ensure optimal and robust correction values. It builds on the successful Innovate UK project, "Intelligent tool-holding for metal cutting machine tools" where both partners showed the feasibility of predicting the surface roughness of a turned bore when using inputs from a vibration sensor mounted in the tool holder. The innovation in the new project is that we are mounting sensors in the tool holder for deep hole boring on turning operations that will provide feedback for automatic adjustments of machining parameters, as opposed to an experienced operator having to manually adjust during the process. This will lead to improved productivity in the machining process. The main areas of innovation, in order of importance, are: 1. To take the advanced surface prediction algorithms and produce corrective models that are robust in manufacturing environments and targeted at improving surface finish. 2. To produce a generalised approach to the data acquisition, modelling and feedback to prove that the technology can be used for automatic control with different sized tooling and on different machines. 3. To improve the existing state-of-the-art models to allow control based only on data from the tool holder, rather than expensive tool-mounted sensors, which are not commonly available in industry. The project will deliver five demonstrators to show the ability of the system to be applied on different machine tool types and boring bar sizes.

Craftsman Tools Ltd is a multi-award winning UK precision engineering company specialising in innovative solutions for tool-holding, work-holding and supply chain management services and solutions. They seek to create new intelligent tool-holding incorporating “internet of things” (IoT) sensing technology that, in conjunction with dynamic models, enables prediction of surface finish during machining. Allowing the widespread take-up of new innovations from the tooling suppliers, this system will improve the productivity of the end-users of the new technology and maintain Craftsman at the forefront of global tool-holding solutions.

Advanced manufacturing is essential to the UK economy. The following extracts are from 'The UK Government Industrial Strategy, June 2019'; ''The UK automotive sector is a great success story.It is hugely important to the UK economy ... it employs 159,000 people directly in vehicle manufacturing, with an additional 238,000 in the supply chain, most outside London and the South East '' Covid 19 has had a massive negative effect on this industry. Travel restrictions have resulted in massive financial and job losses. Figures from the Manufacturing Technologies Association show that the production of cars in the UK fell by 99.7% between February and April. Advanced Manufacturing Industries use sophisticated machine tools. Craftsman Tools an SME based in West Yorkshire, designs and manufactures workholding equipment (the device that locates and clamps the component on to the machine tool) Like most companies in Advanced Manufacturing Craftsman has seen its order intake reduce significantly resulting from Covid 19, this has put a financial strain on Craftsman. This project will enable Craftsman to use its expertise to design and develop a new workholding concept initially targeted at the companies who produce electric vehicles. The device will enable a friction welding process to bind the drive shaft to individual motors. Critically we will be developing work holding equipment which will last in the harsh manufacturing environment to ensure the required geometrical tolerances can be achieved. This is essential in efficient transfer of power from the electric motor to the wheel. Currently the drive shafts are produced by subtractive machining (metal is removed to produce the required shape). The proposed development will reduce the cost of production, increase the strength of the drive shaft, and marginally reduce the amount of energy required to produce the part. Once a successful device has been developed, we intend to target all companies who are producing electric vehicles. In 2019 the sales of electric cars increased by 25%. It is expected the long-term growth will be significantly more. Electric vehicles will be crucial in achieving the government target of 'net zero greenhouse emissions. We are a company who actively pursues, equality, diversity, and inclusion in our organisation and our approach to innovation.

Manufacturing technology is essential for the creation of all modern products and contributes £6.7tr to the global economy; UK manufacturing makes up 11% of UK GVA, 54% of UK exports, and directly employs 2.6M people. Machine tools are used across all engineering industries and indirectly by almost every sector. An integral part of the machine tools are the cutting tools and workholding equipment, which are vital and essential parts of the production process. Rarely is more than 35% of time available on a machine tool used for productive work. The majority of productive time ‘lost’ on machine tooling is due to setting up and securing toolholders, and/or securing and locating accurately the workpiece (workholding). The development of the Coromant Capto quick change tooling enabled the productive time available on machine tools to dramatically increase from 35% to 45%. Craftsman Tools Ltd was instrumental in this step change and we now wish to use our experience and skills to introduce another innovative step change into the manufacturing industry by designing and developing the Quick Change Workholding. The Quick Change Workholding will dramatically reduce the time between jobs, whilst increasing productivity. This innovative new concept would replace the usual clamps, hydraulic and other complex tightening fixtures. The key innovations are a workholding easily clamped in place by ¼ turn of an Allen key; ‘off-line’ workpieces set up accurately, and interchangeable fixturing from one machine to another reducing costs and time. The first aim will be to determine the universal fixtures required for turning, milling and grinding. The second aim will be to design a functional basic prototype that will prove the feasibility of manufacturing a quick change workholding cost effectively. The Quick Change Workholding provides a production efficiency advantage in a highly competitive global market.