Like other high-tech industries, motor sports teams demand precision manufacturing. When a machine shop produces critical parts for cars that operate at high speeds and high RPMs, every job must meet specs on the nose. In the hands of skilled operators, high-quality tooling and machine tools go a long way toward achieving that precision, but the results fall short without high-performance toolholding. For three essential reasons, teams need toolholding that matches the rest of their production processes.
Rigidity and Balance
Toolholder stability helps eliminate runout. The REGO-FIX powRgrip toolholding system delivers accuracy in today’s high-speed machining, with Total Indicator Runout (TIR) of less than 3 µm. That same precision increases part quality and extends tool life for everything from roughing to finishing. The powRgrip system carries a 5-year, 20,000-cycle warranty – and most importantly, it’s an entirely press fit design.
To achieve the rigidity and balance required for high-precision motor sports machining, powRgrip skips the hydraulic and shrink-fit approaches. Hydraulic toolholding relies on a fluid-filled system that grasps the tool through force applied to the tool shank. Hydraulic systems are good for drilling processes, but the fluid bladder is susceptible to deformation during horizontal milling operations, which leads to a substantial loss of rigidity. With shrink-fit systems, a constant sequence of heating cycles expands toolholder dimensions, complicates tool setup and requires cool-down time before tool use. Exposure to heat alters the crystalline structure of both tools and toolholding, which limits toolholder grip and system life.
Precision Equals Performance
Every aspect of toolholding is critical to motor sports machining. The invention of the collet system in the 1960s solved the basic problems of concentricity and stability that plagued set-screw toolholding, but collets’ greater grip sometimes caused them to get stuck in toolholders. REGO-FIX invented the ER collet and patented it in 1972, setting standards for every aspect of the system, including the elegant grooved design that holds securely and releases with ease.
Beyond ER, the REGO-FIX powRgrip system features precision that excels in machining: TIR of <0.0001 (≤3 µm) throughout a 5-year/20,000-cycle warranty, and length adjustment repeatability of less than 0.0004″ (10 µm). With easy-to-use REGO-FIX automatic toolsetters, setups require less than 10 seconds with up to 9 tons of clamping pressure – and tools are ready to use immediately. Shank interfaces provide superior vibration damping and clamping force from toolholder to collet and collet to tool shank. The result is a unified system of long-lasting toolsetting for all types of tool shanks without heat, chemicals or fumes.
Speed Accommodates Change
Motor sports are synonymous with speed both on and off the track. Every minute of shop time is valuable, and speedy toolholding setup transforms down time into work time. The powRgrip system sets up toolholding in less than 10 seconds through a tool setting unit that anyone can learn to operate in 15 minutes. REGO-FIX prioritizes ergonomics in every aspect of toolholding, including the ease and convenience of tool setting performance.
Precision is the name of the game in motor sports, and teams rely on their toolholding to meet tight machining tolerances. REGO-FIX toolholding solutions help these racing team shops succeed, with quick, easy tool setting and precise toolholding performance. The same precision also helps shops in all industries achieve the performance they need to compete.
To see how REGO-FIX matches up with motor sports machining, join us for Indy Days, May 13-14, 2026, presented by the Center for Machining Excellence (CME), the REGO-FIX manufacturing, education and innovation facility at our North American headquarters in Whitestown, Ind.