3-Faced Pyramid

Five-axis machining centres are capital-intensive, so both utilization and labour efficiency are key to amortizing their cost. When a machine can only work on one part at a time, every part must run through its full tool sequence, and the same tool has to be loaded separately for each part, so tool-change losses mount part by part; with short single-part cycles, operators must tend the machine constantly, making poor use of labour. The 3-Faced Pyramid is designed around machining three workpieces at once.
A pyramid-type fixture with a built-in zero-point interface on each of its three faces, it loads parts A, B and C for machining together. The machining logic shifts from "run every tool on one part, then start over" to "run one tool across all three parts before changing to the next" — each tool is loaded only once to serve three parts, markedly reducing tool-change losses. Running three at once also multiplies the cycle time, so instead of attending the machine every half hour the operator does so only once an hour or more, with ample time to set up the next group off the machine; when the cycle ends, the prepared set is swapped in seconds via the zero-point interface, running setup in parallel with cutting and lifting both utilization and labour efficiency. The zero-point plates are inset into the body, reducing tool-path interference and maximizing the machine's working space.
Two sizes are available: M-52x52(9314), Ø250 x 105mm, compatible with 52/96 pull studs and supplied with three M-52x52(8004) round plates, 12.7kg; and M-96x96(9319), Ø400 x 150mm, using 96 pull studs and supplied with three M-96x96(8053) round plates, 44kg.