Machining Vise Jaws

[jspangler]

Hi

Alot of the multi fixture machines I have seen have machined jaws on the vises for second ops.

 

How do you make these? Obviously you need the alumium jaws, but when you cut the part, do you space it out to actual size by clamping a chunk of aluminum between the jaws?

 

Thanks for any help

 

John

[EPettus]

That is my normal practice in doing them. I Think it is a must to pre-load your vise, fixture, etc.

[Jim Whipple]

I make a lot of soft jaws. When I go to machine them I use 123 blocks or a piece of steel to load the vice so when the jaws are closed the Z heights are right. No tilt, in other words

I also make blank jaws up in advance just to speed myself up

Jim

[Matthew]

I always preload the vice jaws. What I typically do is put a 1-2-3 block in between the 2 jaws. This way I have room to plunge away from the material (My soft jaws are CRS). Then when I do my program in Mastercam I xform one jaw away 2" to mimick how the machine is set.

[Matthew]

Ah Jim, you beat me to the 1-2-3 suggestion while I was typing it!

[Jim Whipple]

This computer racin is tough eh?

Jim

[iowajim62]

Hi,

You might want to machine slots in your jaws instead of holes and c/bores that way you don't have to take the screws all the way out everytime you change jaws.

[Jim Whipple]

quote:

---

that way you don't have to take the screws all the way out everytime you change jaws.

---

You been lookin over my sholder???

 

Jim

[iowajim62]

No sir.

Just thinkin' out loud !!!

[Matthew]

I can't think of the name right now but there is a company that makes jaws with slots and they use a shoulder bolt type of screw to fasten them down. The only hole through the entire jaw is just big enough to fit an allen key through. They also make jaws with multiple V's in the same jaw, and then the movable jaw has pistons that move to take up any difference in workpiece diameters. I wish I could remember the name. I saw at the last trade show in Toronto (probably 1 year ago now).

[Jim Whipple]

I think that's Mastermachine...right down the street from me. The whole set of jaws is quite spendy though. Has V jaws, sine jaws and a bunch more. More geared towards a toolmaker than production though

I'll see if I can find more info

 

I made my own set after seeing theirs..

 

Jim

[maestro]

The company that Matthew is referring to is called SnapJaw. Find them at www.snapjaw.com. We use their jaws on all of our machining centers. Really cuts down on setup time. We also make our own soft jaws the same way.

[heeler]

We use a lot of aluminum soft jaws. I usually put a 1/8 parallel between them.

[jspangler]

Hi

Ok, how much over do i want to preload the jaws to make sure they grab. My second op is hold a 2D part upside down by grabbing a 3" Dia. circle that's about 1" tall. bascially i'm wondering if i should space them out, say an extra 1/8" inch, to make sure they really grab.

 

Am I on the right track? launching parts from the vise scares the heck out of the guys in the shop.

 

Thanks

 

John

[Jim Whipple]

John

I use 1 by 2 alum for jaws so if I need 3" dia I would make the jaws so I was cutting about 3/4" into the jaws. In otherwords your Y zero would be 3/4" off the jaw face. Then go however deep you need

It's the surface area that holds the part more than the jaw pressure

 

1 1/2" spacer between the jaws

Jim

 

[ 12-12-2002, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: Jim Whipple ]

[iowajim62]

Hi,

If you make your jaws 8" long or so you could load up 2 parts at a time with more than enough holding capability.

HTH

[McRae]

Remember this

Collet Jaw Thread

[Jerry Crofoot]

You can also take your vise jaws and raw material, convert it into a solid or put surfaces on them and then convert (save) them as a STL file. When you "Verify" your toolpaths use the saved STL file instead of the jobsetup. This way you will see your vise jaws and material and how the toolpaths interact with them.

[F. JAVIER]

Add to the previous suggestions the fact of whether this will be for a repeat job, long production or oncey tooseys... etc. Planning is everything!!

Javier