Clamping small or odd-shaped work pieces for machining can be awkward. Why not freeze them in place? The "Kryotool" clamping fixture does just that by holding the work piece in a frozen gel.

During operation, a refrigerating machine directs cold air to the clamping plate, itself fixed to the machining table. The freezing process, controlled by microprocessor, takes just a few seconds. Once machining is completed, air temperature to the clamping plate is raised to thaw out the gel.

A pair of cooling circuits on the refrigerating machine allows two clamping plates. While one is in use, the other is pre-cooled, ready for clamping.

Horst Witte Geratebau, Bleckede, Germany; Tel: +49 5854 8901; Fax: +49 5854 8940; [email protected].

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