Enhancing an automated process with the Northfield Model 450W Sliding-Jaw Air Chuck

Our customer has an automated process requiring hands-free ejection of his parts into a parts collection bin. We developed a custom air-eject/spring-retract Part Ejection System.

A Custom Northfield Model 450W Sliding-Jaw Air Chuck[/caption]

With the jaws opened, the automated parts loader on our customer’s machine loads the part into our chuck, after which, the jaws will clamp onto its OD to await the machining operation. After the machining operation is performed, the jaws are opened and air is applied to eject the part; the integral spring then returns the ejection plunger to its home position to await the next part.

The custom ejection system[/caption]

Mounted in the center of this chuck in the photos is the ejection system that is key to its operation. It consists of a centrally-mounted Axial Locator attached to the face of the chuck. That system has the provision for Changeable Stop Pads that allow the customer to change them to accommodate various size parts with the same setup and without removing the chuck from the machine.

In addition to being able to eject the parts automatically, the tolerance stackup within that system allows for face runout on the annular surface in contact with the part to be no greater than 50 millionths of an inch. This allows our customer to achieve an exceptionally-accurate machined finish within an automated process and with minimal operator intervention.