Don't Think Twice About the RotaVice - Save Programming and Set-up Times With This Workholding Solution!

It’s ideal for production shops where manual mills may still be in operation. And equally well suited for use on a CNC vertical machining centre (VMC).

The RotaVice, with its manually adjustable indexing head, is just one of a selection of efficient and cost-effective work-holding solutions provided by us here at 1st Machine Tool Accessories.

More about the Rotavice…

Produced in the UK, the unit is designed to be secured in a One-Lok workholding device manufactured by Chick in the US, for which 1st MTA is the sole agent in the UK and Ireland.

You can speedily set it to position a component, at a wide range of rotary angles in the horizontal plane for both milling and drilling.

The use of expensive fixtures and the need to change machine set-ups can be largely avoided, saving you both money and time.

A great example of use is if you have a smaller job shop; a couple of machine programmers and deploying 4-axis VMC equipped with a full or indexing rotary table.

You can employ an operator at a lower entry skill level, saving you salary costs, and set up a component manually for existing 3-axis machining.

Speed is of the essence.

Everything about the RotaVice is fast, which is great for your production process and efficient customer service targets.

First, a One-Lok may be bolted quickly onto a VMC table. Next, positioning the moveable jaw using the built-in, time saving ratchet mechanism leaves only a few turns of the handle to clamp the indexing head into a special RotaVice jaw (also available from 1st MTA) which replaces the standard One-Lok jaw.

And lastly, the workpiece is secured in a horizontal orientation using an array of workholding options, which include a 3-jaw chuck.

Adjusting the angle is also rapid and accurate. Set it to motion by turning a circular locating plate to the required angle and inserting a pin into the relevant hole; an array of which are pre-drilled into the plate at the most common angles.

In the standard configuration, 5, 10 and 45 degrees are available. The standard plate can be changed for a plate of your specification to suit any job that involves the use of non-standard angles.

Another advantage of the RotaVice is that once the angle has been selected, it uses the clamping force of the One-Lok to secure the rotary angle. This force, which is much higher than that offered by standard dividing heads, allows significantly heavier machining cuts to be taken and delivers improved surface finish.

Altering the angle for a subsequent machining operation on the same component is similarly achieved without having to re-clamp the part, thereby avoiding loss of accuracy through tolerance build-up.

Intermediate angles can be set using a rotary dial with a one-degree increment scale, while very fine adjustments down to ± 0.5 degree can be made using the toggle lever mounted at the top of the unit.

Lastly (and importantly)…

RotaVice has a large through bore with a taper and an internal thread, both of which can be configured for use with chucks, mandrels, special fixtures and backstops. These are normally not associated with standard dividing head systems.

RotaVice is available from 1st MTA to existing users and new users of Chick One-Loks in Britain and Ireland.

The system can also be exported to manufacturers worldwide that use similar equipment.

That’s all from us, now over to you…

We’re always happy to discuss any of your workholding requirements to see if we’re able to help. It might be that we can’t, but give us a call to find out!

1st Machine Tools Accessories – 01725 512 517

Have you used the RotaVice in your manufacturing workshop? Feel free to share your experiences.