To Begin, We Ll Examine Everything That Comes with the Machine at Time of Purchase

INTRODUCTION

Framon’s new Sidewinder 2 takes our original Sidewinder one step further with the ability to code cut as well as duplicate. Code cutting is accomplished with the addition of depth and space rods to control carriage positioning. Included with the machine is everything you need to duplicate any high security key in use today. Out of the box, the machine can code cut Volkswagen & Honda high security keys. Additional depth and space rods can be purchased separately.

MACHINE & ACCESSORIES

To begin, we’ll examine everything that comes with the machine at time of purchase.

In addition to the machine itself, you will find an instruction manual, warranty card and coupon for a free copy of Genericode ME, Framon’s code retrieval program. Be sure to fill in your warranty card and fill out the request for Genericode. This information can be mailed or faxed in.

You will need to attach the feed handle to the machine prior to use. The handle simply screws into the top of the machine & controls the x-axis, which is cutter depth.

You should also find the VW/Audi depth & space rods in a separate bag with the machine.

Inside the drawer you should find the following:

Six cutters and three guides; these include 3/32” (for Lexus type keys that are cut up the center of the key), 3 mm for Volkswagen, Porsche & Audi, and and 5/32” which cuts all externally cut keys such as Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Honda, and the new GM high security keys.

Two sets of vises are included with the machine. Typically machines are shipped with the A/B vises mounted on the table and VW vises are located in the drawer. Side A of the standard vises will be used for almost all keys. The B side of the standard vise holds Mercedes two track keys. The VW vises hold Volkswagen, Porsche & Audi keys.

Also in the drawer are two allen wrenches and a hand-held tip stop. The 3/32” allen wrench is used to change depth & space rods on the machine. The 1/8” is used to change the cutter & guide. The hand-held tip stop is used to gauge all tip-stopped keys.

If any of the above items are not included with your machine please contact Framon Manufacturing immediately.

SETTING UP THE MACHINE

To begin using the machine, let’s examine some of the important parts & features.

Vises on the Sidewinder 2 are easily interchangeable. To change vises, simply loosen the thumb screws and pull the two halves of the vise apart. Lift the vise straight up & off of the machine. Mount the new vise in the same way. Be sure the vise mates with the aluminum guide posts prior to inserting a key in the vise. Both halves of the vise must be flush with the aluminum posts or damage to the table may result.

The table has a guide lever that controls table movement. The lever moves the table both in & out and side to side.

The left collet holds the guide. When changing guides, insert the guide into the collet & push it all the way up until it bottoms out. Tighten the allen screw with the 1/8” allen wrench.

The right collet holds the cutter. We will cover aligning the cutter & guide in a few moments.

At the top left side of the machine is the guide dial. The dial detents in the SET position. The dial should be on SET whenever you are aligning the cutter & guide. On the left side of the assembly is the guide lock knob. When engaged the knob will hold the guide in a raised position used for duplicating a key.

In the front of the machine is the cutter head clamp nut. When engaged the clamp nut will hold the entire cutter head assembly in the cutting position.

On the right side of the machine is the feed handle. The feed handle is used to raise & lower the cutter head assembly.

The power switch is located to the right and behind the key vises. We recommend that you unplug the machine any time you change cutters, vises or guides to prevent inadvertently turning on the machine.

In the front and to the right side of the machine you will find the rod lock knobs. When engaged, the lock knobs turn the Sidewinder 2 into a code cutting machine. Engaging the knobs requires only screwing in the knob.

ALIGNING THE CUTTER & GUIDE

In this example, we will prepare the machine to cut Volkswagen keys. The procedure is identical regardless of what type of key you are duplicating. This step does nothing except to align the cutter & guide to each other. Key type is irrelevant.

This step must be done any time a cutter or guide is changed in the machine, or if you change vises (turning the vises over from side A to B or installing a different set). Once this step is complete, you do not have to repeat it for each key you make.

Insert two identical keys into the vises. Be sure the vises are on the same side. With the vise table all the way towards the user, insert the guide into the left collet until it bottoms out. For Volkswagen, we will use the 3mm cutter & guide. Tighten the allen screw to secure the guide in place. Be sure that the depth adjusting knob is on “SET”, the cutter head clamp nut is loosened, and the guide lock knob is loosened.

Insert the cutter into the right collet but do not tighten it. Slide the vise table under the cutter & guide so that the blank keys are positioned directly below the cutter and guide. Allow the cutter to drop down onto the surface of the key blank. Next, pull down on the spindle lever until the guide is completely compressed (there should be no up-down movement to the guide if it is fully compressed). While the guide in being compressed, you should be able to see the cutter being pushed up into its’ collet. With the spindle lever pulled down completely, tighten the cutter head clamp nut. This will hold the cutter head assembly in the lowered position & you can remove your hand from the spindle lever.

Check the guide once again to make sure there is no up-down travel. Next, tighten the cutter with the 1/8” allen wrench supplied in the drawer. The cutter & guide are now calibrated properly to each other.

PREPARING TO DUPLICATE A KEY

Before actually cutting the key, you must set the proper depth of cut for the particular key you are about to cut. This must be done without a key in the right side vise. Also, if you are cutting several copies of the same kind of key you do not have to repeat this step for each key. We will be cutting a Volkswagen key in the next step, so the 3mm cutter and guide are being used in this example.

§ Loosen the cutter head clamp nut, guide lock knob, and be sure the depth adjusting knob is indicating “SET”.

§ Insert the pattern key into the left vise and lock it into place. The key must be positioned flat in the vise.

§ Position the cut out portion of the pattern key under the guide and pull down on the spindle lever until the guide contacts the key. Continue downward pressure until the guide shaft bottoms out and the downward movement of the spindle lever stops. Do not use excessive pressure. This step is critical – you must set the proper cut depth for this particular style of key.

§ While maintaining pressure on the spindle lever, tighten the cutter head clamp nut to fix the cutting head of the machine in place. You can now relax pressure on the spindle lever; it should remain in the lower position.

§ As a check, the cutter & guide should visually be at the same depth, and the guide should have no up-down travel to it. Also, the guide is pressing down on the pattern key and smooth movement of the table would be difficult (do not move the table yet). This will be taken care of in the next two steps.

§ Turn the depth adjusting knob to the “10” position. You should feel a detent at this position. This adds ten thousandths of clearance between the guide collet and depth screw. You will not see any movement of the guide in this step, however.

§ Lift up on the guide until it stops. You should notice a very slight upward movement of the guide (ten thousandths of travel). Hold the guide in this position with your right hand and tighten the guide lock knob. This will hold the guide in the upper position. You should now be able to move the table back and forth without any resistance.

§ Insert the key blank to be cut into the right vise and tighten it into place. You are now ready to cut the key.

ALIGNING KEYS PROPERLY

There are two ways on the Sidewinder 2 to align keys, tip stop and shoulder stop.

If the keys have a shoulder, such as BMW, Mercedes four track, or Volkswagen, simply slide the key into the vise until the shoulder touches the edge of the vise and clamp the key.

If the key has no shoulder, such as Lexus, use the hand-held tip stop, holding it flat against the end of the vise. Slide the key up to the stop & clamp the vise.

In either case, be sure that the vises are clear of key shavings and you hold the key flat in the vise.

CUTTING PROCEDURES

Using proper cutting procedure will assure smooth cuts and cutter longevity. Determine what type of key you are cutting from the illustrations and follow the cut direction as shown.

Four Track Type

The four-track type key is used on some Mercedes Benz and BMW models, as well as the new Honda key. This type of key has cuts on the left and right side (as the key is laying flat) as well as both the top and bottom side of the key. All keys in use today are the “convenience” type, which means the cuts on the top and bottom side of the key are the same. Cuts on the left and right side of the key, however, are different.

When cutting this type of key on the Sidewinder, begin your cut at the head of the key, on the right side. Slowly allow the cutter and guide to enter the cut area, hold pressure to the side, and move the table slowly down the side of the key towards the tip. One pass is all that is required when using the 5/32” cutter and guide.

Continue around the tip of the key and move back up the left side of the key. Simply put, cut around the key in a “U” or horseshoe shaped pattern. Once you establish cutting the key on the right side, the cutter and guide should stay in contact with the key all the way around to the shoulder on the left.

Once this side has been cut, back out the table, turn over the key blank (there is no need to turn over the pattern key) and cut the same way on the opposite side of the key.

Two Track Type

The two-track key is the most common of the side milled keys. The bitting is along only one edge of the blade; either the left or the right when looking from bow to tip. The key is a convenience type, having the same cuts on both side of the key. Although spacing and depths vary from one manufacturer to the next, the duplicating procedure is the same. If the bitting is on the right side (again, looking from bow to tip) begin at the shoulder or just before the first cut nearest the bow. If the bitting is on the left side, begin at the tip of the key and work toward the head of the key.

Once the first side has been cut, turn over the key blank (no need to turn over the pattern key) and cut the second side.

Internal Cut Type

This type of key has cuts up the center of the key. Due to the smaller cutter size required, it is important to minimize cutter chatter/vibration, as it will easily chip the teeth of the cutter. Use a firm hand when beginning the cuts on this type of key, and try to begin your cutting from an edge of the key that has no cuts, as opposed to running the cutter into a cut portion with nothing to hold pressure against.

When cutting this type of key, begin from the tip on the right side of the key. Feed along the right side from tip to bow, then reverse for the left side.

Once this side has been cut, turn over the key blank and cut the second side.

DUPLICATING A VW KEY

Since the machine is set up for Volkswagen, let’s see the machine in action duplicating a key.

We previously aligned the cutter & guide to each other, and we have the Volkswagen vises on the machine. We set the proper depth for the VW key earlier. Now it’s time to actually cut the key.

Insert the key blank in the right vise; our pattern key we used to set the cut depth is already in the left vise.

We are showing the duplicating procedure with both code rods installed in the machine. The rods do induce a slight drag on the carriage when duplicating, if you prefer a smoother motion you can remove them when duplicating; it is not necessary, however.

With both pattern key & blank installed, we are ready to begin cutting the key. As discussed earlier, begin cutting the VW key at the right side tip and work the cutter up the right side of the key. Once you reach the bow of the key, move your pressure onto the left side of the key & work your way down towards the left tip.

Once the first side has been cut, remove the key from the right vise. Be sure to remove any key shavings in the vise before you reinstall side two. It’s also a good idea to run a flat file over the surface of side one to remove any burrs on the key.

Repeat the cutting procedure for side two. Once the key is cut, back the carriage out & remove the key. If you plan on cutting additional Volkswagen, Audi or Porsche keys you can leave the machine in this position.

If not, put the machine back in the “ready” position by loosening the cutter head clamp nut in front of the machine, loosen the guide lock knob on the left side of the machine and return the dial to “SET”.

CODE CUTTING ON THE SIDEWINDER 2

The Sidewinder 2 makes code cutting a high security key a simple procedure. Please note that care must be taken when code cutting, as the user needs to plan ahead for the next cut at all times. The Sidewinder 2 replicates a “laser” cut on the key when used properly as opposed to a “plunge” cut. Using a laser type cut removes the peaks in between cuts & assures a smoother working key. Never cut a key using a plunge type cut on the Sidewinder 2, doing so can result in a key that becomes stuck in a lock.