Keyway cutter saves time

A new device developed by Command Tooling Systems, Ramsey, Minn. (www.commandtool.com), the New Axis Keyway Cutter, harnesses the machining center's coolant system for power, letting it cut keyways and splines — without spindle rotation — in bores down to 0.5-in. in diameter. It is available in five shank sizes: BT 40, CT 40, CT 50, HSK63A, and straight shank. Four head sizes are each matched with one of three cutter diameters. Odd-sized keyways can be created using multiple passes. The coolant drives a positive-displacement ball-piston motor and provides all the power, with light-duty application needing coolant pressures of 300 psi and heavy-duty jobs needing 1,000 psi or more. The new cutter also loads easily from automatic tool changers.