Case Studies

Multiple Part Fixturing

Many parts were done using this three vise setup. Most were made from rectangular aluminum or cold finished steel bar stock. The stock was sawed to about 36″ long and placed in the vises for machining. Often, parts required positioning on more than one side to complete the work, and formed soft jaws were used.

The strip was separated into the individual parts either here or on a production horizontal mill. However, the parts shown here are die castings that are locked in place on a sub-fixture using the block toe clamps. We had two sub-fixtures that were exchanged like pallets.

Materials: Aluminum 6061, 2024, etc.
Steel 1018, 1045, etc.
Tolerances: To ± .002″

Steering Pin for Mining Equipment

This large forging will be a steering pin for heavy mining equipment. We drilled a large center hole in each end and drove the part using a dog that engaged the 2 1/2″ square by 5/8″ deep forged pocket at the end.

Material: 8620 Alloy Steel
Tolerances: To ± .0005″
Finishes: To √32 RA

Touch Screen Bezel for Military Vehicle
We undertook this project soon after purchasing the FAPT system. It involved 90% material removal in cast aluminum jig plate. Vision sensors mounted in the bezel slots fed back precise coordinates to the computer.

The first operation involved milling the outside perimeter which included an 1/8″ chamfer cut on the bottom edge. Clamps were installed, and the inside – which included many contours, bosses and filleted edges – was machined.

Next, the part was turned over and a 30¨¬ bevel was cut to remove the center section. Several holes were drilled and countersink.

We then attached two large 30-60-90 angle brackets to the fixture plate and milled the slots for the touch sensors.

This completed the part.

Material: Cast Aluminum Plate
Tolerances: To ± .002″
Reduces weight by 90%
Eliminated 5 sub-assemblies