Make workloading more productive

 Most machine shops in the Middle East today use vises as their primary workholding tool. There are good reasons for this. The most important are versatility and economy. A significant amount of planning may be applied to the machining process; however it must begin with the workholding method. Generally, the most cost effective and adaptable workholder is a vise. The size and configuration of the vise is dictated by the workpiece shape and the machine it is used on. The cycle time length, if very short, may make using a power operated vise desirable to reduce the time of the clamping cycle. The material to be machined and other production factors also impact the final choice of vise types.
 The objective of virtually all machining setups requiring workholding and the use of vises is maximum productivity. This means making chips with only minimal interruptions, providing an opportunity for the operator to tend additional machines during the unattended machining cycle. This is true for simple knee-type milling machines and complex, high-speed machining centres alike. Equally important, the workholding needs to cover most of the available machining area of the machine to maximize the machine's number of parts per set-up and thus productivity.
 Vises are simple, relatively fast and easy to operate. They are basic to machining operations and have been for hundreds of years. Many refinements of the basic vise concept have been made, particularly in the last 50 years to improve precise repeatability, increase part density within the workholder and to automate its operation with pneumatics and hydraulics.

Design and operation considerations
To address the workholding needs of a particular machining operation, one needs to consider part size, material, machine speed, feed rate, and the quantity of parts to be produced. Single part production or low quantity requirements generally make a single vise setup a good choice. The part configuration will point toward either contoured jaws or any number of standard or special jaws. The gripping area for the planned operation must allow for sufficient depth of jaw engagement (bite) to safely allow the planned operation to take place.
Higher quantity lot sizes make multiple vise setups desirable. The workpiece size determines the spacing between the vises as well as the vise size itself. Generally attempts must be made to produce the maximum amount of parts per cycle. Many additional operations by the same operator can then be done simultaneously. The key to freeing the operator is quick clamping and the highest efficiency of the workpiece loading cycle. This includes prepping the work area for thorough chip flushing and cleaning. There are times when the NC machine can be programmed to flush the chips with programmed moves. Other ways to keep the machine in the cutting mode on smaller parts include palletizing the workpieces and then exchanging pallets in the vise as a pallet receiver. The actual workholding in these applications is best done with miniature wedge clamps that have similar features as the original "Anglock." These wedge clamps will not loosen under vibration and can clamp two parts with the turning of one screw.
Deciding to use a multiple vise setup requires considering the cost of the setup itself. When using a multiple vise setup, it is common practice on large quantity lot sizes that repeat periodically to mount the entire setup on a base plate or tombstone so it can be stored intact between uses along with all the cutting tool holders. When this is not feasible, grid plates with dowel hoNike LeBron 16