Milling machine soft jaws

Discussion on all milling machines vertical & horizontal, including but not limited to Bridgeports, Hardinge, South Bend, Clausing, Van Norman, including imports.

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Mr Ron
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Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: Vancleave, Mississippi

Milling machine soft jaws

Post by Mr Ron »

Are aluminum soft jaws on a vise used the same as on a lathe? In other words, do you machine the jaws so as to hold a part for repeatability?
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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Harold_V
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Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 11:02 pm
Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: Milling machine soft jaws

Post by Harold_V »

The options are yours. They are commonly contoured when used with a CNC, and there's no reason why you can't do the same thing on manual machines, although complex profiles limit the ability. For simple configurations, you can use a milled pocket as a stop as an example, or create clearance for a projection that would limit, if not prevent, holding an unusual part in hard jaws.

Armed with that thought, one of the advantages of using aluminum jaws when milling is that you can machine away a part of the jaw when gripping unusual parts. I did that when I machined this latch, of which I had to produce 200 pieces to fill the contract. The latches are small. The spike shown below them is a common straight pin. The image was created with a scanner with the parts placed on the scanner bed. That's why they appear to be floating.

Antenna Latches.jpg

Key to success is one's imagination. There are no hard and fast rules. That's why soft jaws present so many advantages.

I have a habit of using jaw height parallels when gripping parts that can't be held in straight jaws. That, too, expands one's options, so keep that in mind when you have a part to mill that isn't friendly towards hard jaws. Again, use your imagination.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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