New towers have been introduced by Roemheld UK Ltd (www.www.roemheld.co.uk) for clamping multiple workpieces on the table or pallet of horizontal machining centres.

TS towers feature four vertical faces for holding four, eight or 16 parts, while TS TriStar versions have three
faces for securing three, six or 12 parts.

The latter have the advantage of allowing improved spindle access for machining components from the sides.

All use a patented guidance and sealing system without the need for sheet metal covers or plastic wipers, and the monobloc design provides high stability and accuracy.

There are two sizes of the four-sided tower — TS 100 and 125 — and three of the three-sided tower — TS 80, 100 and 125 TriStar — the numbers representing jaw width in millimetres.

The stroke is up to 476mm, and the maximum clamping force ranges from 20 to 40kN.

The manual operation of the vices delivers reproducible clamping force, which may be low to avoid deforming delicate components, making the towers suitable for a wide variety of applications on the shopfloor.

Alternatively, the largest of each type can be equipped for hydraulic operation.

In the Vector versions of the towers (applicable to all but the smallest TriStar model), a fixed jaw can be arranged in the centre on each face, or two fixed jaws can be supplied instead.

Workpiece weights above 15kg can be accommodated. There is also a version of the clamps featuring a ‘third-hand function’, which has only one clamping spindle per face that moves both the upper and lower jaws simultaneously towards a fixed jaw positioned in the centre or to one side.

This avoids having to juggle two workpieces during the clamping process by retaining the lower workpiece first, allowing the second to be inserted and held with one hand before operating the handle again with the other hand
to finish the clamping of both parts.

The maximum workpiece weight using these towers is 15kg. An extensive range of accessories — including jaws and jaw inserts — is available, as are drawings and CAD models of the equipment, an advisory service and bespoke work-holding arrangements.