Integral-V Linear Guides Earn Stripes with TigerStop Solution

TigerStop®, a metal and wood working design company, has spent 17 years providing sophisticated stop gauges and push systems for accurate and consistent metal/wood cutting

Their goal is to reduce scrap product, save money and improve time to process for their customers, which perfectly aligns them with PBC Linear’s Design on a Diet approach. Recently, the two collaborated together on the linear motion design for TigerStop’s new metal cutting push system: TigerRack™. After reviewing the design with TigerStop® engineers, PBC Linear recommended their Integral-V™ linear guide system to reduce mounting components, improve alignment and provide ease of installation across scalable working lengths.

When accuracy and bomb-proof durability are a must, the TigerRack® stop gauge and push feed system bring repeatable automated cutting with less set-up time and scrap. Originally, the rack-and-pinion driven push system used an internally designed linear guide; however, TigerStop® decided to integrate the advantages of PBC Linear’s Integral-V™ Technology (IVT) into the product. Comprised of a structural aluminum extrusion embedded with steel races, IVT is precision machined to hold accuracy tolerances to ±0.025mm/0.001’’. The embedded steel races and machining also ensure easy install and alignment with 40% fewer mounting components further reducing set-up time. Going from concept to drawing in just two months, the entire design process was completed via rapid prototyping in less than six months!

Built metal tough and combined with Integral-V™, the TigerRack™ provided accurate cutting for band saws, punches and brakes by holding precision to 0.008’’. The cam roller design of IVT allowed it to roll smoothly through metal or wood chips without stalling or misalignment. Another advantage of using Integral-V was overall length. Equipped with IVT, the TigerRack assembly could be sealed to meet application needs from 8’ to 108’ – perfect for either individual workstations or multi-line factories. The rack-and pinion drive accurately pushes material at 300 fpm at loads ranging from 300 lbs. to 720 lbs. (with roller table). All in all, the Tiger Rack offers a durable and cost effective push system and stop gauge in one easily assembled package.

“We have several machines in the field with IVT rails and have no major service issues with these units; they are performing as expected if not better,” says Simon Soot, design engineer at TigerStop®, “The machine in house using IVT rails continue to produce reliable and accurate parts, even with a very large load/carriage attached.”

With 70,000 machines in operation worldwide, TigerStop® has been a driving force in accurate wood and metal cutting since 1994. They manufacture several stop-gauges and push systems for scalable cutting applications, and strive to eliminate loss of product by cutting fast and accurate, every time.