While there are many suppliers of shrink fit chucks available, there are good and bad shrink fit chucks available. It is important to do research related to the selection of a toolholder for your particular application.

Typically, the initial purchase of your toolholders will last the life of your machine tool. Studies have found that the overall expense of toolholders equals less than 0.5 percent of the overall machining process during the life of the machine tool.

The relationship between the bore of the holder and the taper lead to the accuracy of the chuck. It is important to choose a company that truly makes their own product and specializes only in the production of toolholders. This guarantees you the most consistent and accurate toolholder available for your job.

The material of the shrink fit chucks is also a key element in making the correct selection. If a substandard material is used, one might shorten the life of the shrink fit chuck based on limited heating cycles. A shrink fit toolholder made of the correct material should remain effective indefinitely.

Also, it is important that the chucks subscribe to the DIN standards on the nose dimensions so that all cooling options from the shrink fit machine side can be utilized.

In general, it is recommended to purchase chucks with many “options” built-in (such as balanced so that there is under 1 gmm of unbalance in the chuck, balanceable design, bore for the data chip, form “DIN B” coolant delivery option, etc.) so that you are not limited in the future as your operation evolves.

Finally, the company making the chucks should be an industry leader, constantly putting further efforts into research and development into new toolholding concepts that can further strengthen the role of shrink fit toolholders in the mold market.

For example, the recent development of a shrink fit chuck1 that provides an anti-vibration feature in a shrink chuck. This feature helps dampen the vibration during roughing operations that had at one time occurred with standard shrink fit chucks due to the extreme rigidity of the setup.

It is often stated by shop owners and plant managers that shrink fit tooling has been the best investment they have made in the past five years. Acceptance of the use of shrinking technology in the mold and die market has played a vital role in strengthening North American manufacturing capabilities and preparing it for continued growth.