Custom Gear Manufacturing Workholding

Our customer engineers and manufactures precision servo actuators, gearheads and gear component sets. Their request is to create a precision 7-inch diameter custom chuck. Capable of clamping the outer diameter (O.D.) and face of a variety of parts.

The Workholding Challenge

Our customer requires a versatile workholding solution that can handle multiple part sizes with exceptional accuracy.

The goal is to clamp the O.D. of various parts while also providing face clamping. This task requires the development of a custom air chuck with both diaphragm chuck O.D. clamping capabilities and special swing arm clamps. Additionally, the solution needs to incorporate multi-part size clamping with easily interchangeable top tooling.

The Custom Northfield Precision Solution

To address this challenge, we designed a custom four-port air chuck that combines our diaphragm chuck O.D. clamping capabilities with three unique swing arm clamps.

This innovative design allowed for both O.D. and face clamping in a single unit.

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Axial Locator:

[caption id="attachment_22701" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Axial Locator[/caption]

Mounted at the center of the chuck is an interchangeable hardened and ground “Axial locator". Three different stops accommodate the range of part diameters. These stops are ground to a flatness of .0001 inches, therefore, offering an accurate axial location surface for the precision gear datum surfaces.

Top Jaws:

[caption id="attachment_22700" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Top Jaws[/caption]

The diaphragm plate features three interchangeable hardened and ground “Top jaws". Three different sets to cater to various part diameters. Once mounted and loaded, these top jaws grip and center the O.D. of the precision gears with a total accuracy/repeatability of .0002 inches TIR. Additionally, these jaws have a natural pull-back action that helps in drawing the part back into the custom axial locators.

Contact Pads:

Affixed to the swing clamps are three interchangeable hardened and ground “Contact pads". These pads swing into place after centering the part, providing firm clamping support. Each arm independently swings and clamps to make sure there is evenly distributed clamp forces on the part. This custom package includes three different contact pads to accommodate a range of part diameters and heights.

The Result

By integrating all these interchangeable precision components, the customer achieves:

• The capability to broach their precision gears to the required tolerances.
• Each clamping stage of the chuck assembly can be individually fine-tuned using specific air pressures
  • diaphragm plate open
  • diaphragm plate close
  • swing arm clamps open
  • swing arm clamps close
• This fine-tuning capability ensures that each part is held with the utmost precision, thereby enhancing the quality and consistency of the manufacturing process.

Conclusion

At Northfield Precision, we excel in creating custom workholding solutions tailored to our customers' specific needs. Our ability to engineer precise, adaptable, and reliable chuck assemblies ensures that our clients can maintain high standards of accuracy and efficiency in their production processes. If you require a bespoke workholding solution that meets the highest precision standards, contact us to discuss how we can assist with your unique manufacturing challenges. 

Explore more about our custom workholding solutions and see how Northfield Precision can elevate your production capabilities to the next level.