How would you hold this workpiece?

[Antvillareal]

Hello All,

I am having trouble trying to run a 2nd-op on this part that is shown in the PDF. All I have to do is face off the backside, but I have yet to find a way to cut soft jaws without it torqueing or bending. Is there another way you would recommend or what point of contact for the soft jaws would you use? Please help, thanks!

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[awerby]

There's this stuff that jewelers use for holding onto irregular parts, it comes as loose beads of plastic that you put in water and melt in the microwave or over the stove, then form around your part. It can be reused indefinitely, as long as you don't contaminate it. Form it into a square on the outside, and you can hold it in your vise or 4-jaw chuck. https://www.riogrande.com/product/je...ompound/118221

[Antvillareal]

The compound will be rigid enough to hold onto the part and clamp into the vise and machining? I have never heard of this compound. Thanks for the feedback!

[awerby]

Yes; it sets up as a solid block of plastic.

[mactec54]

Hello All,

I am having trouble trying to run a 2nd-op on this part that is shown in the PDF. All I have to do is face off the backside, but I have yet to find a way to cut soft jaws without it torqueing or bending. Is there another way you would recommend or what point of contact for the soft jaws would you use? Please help, thanks!

Profile the soft jaws for the whole part have about .005 clamp max when the jaws are completely closed

[Antvillareal]

Profile the soft jaws for the whole part have about .005 clamp max when the jaws are completely closed

I would need microsized endmills to profile the part. I have tried a few methods already to bypass them but it still torques up with any tightness of the vise and bends easily because its 6061 aluminum..

[metalmayhem]

cut deeper than needed then cut it off with a slit saw

[mactec54]

I would need microsized endmills to profile the part. I have tried a few methods already to bypass them but it still torques up with any tightness of the vise and bends easily because its 6061 aluminum..

If it changes shape then you don't have your profile cut correctly, you can also make a block that your part fits in and hold that block in the vice

These parts where all machined and are much smaller than your part and where all held in a vice with fixtures some easier than others to do, just for a size the hole in the ceramic is only .020" the ceramic round parts where a lathe machined part

[CL_MotoTech]

I think Metal has solved your issue. I make a part with .4mm wall thickness and I do it exactly as he suggests. Since the part is small, it should be a breeze with the slitting saw.

[metalmayhem]

the nice thing about using a sit saw is it works well and it eliminates a whole other operation , If a chamfer is needed on both sides of the part then a dovetail will take care of the bottom side . . My preferred way is to slit half the part one way then slit the other half from the other side leaving only .005-.01 to hold the center . I find he parts have less tendency to break loose while machining if it's held by the center of the part , but , that may also depend upon the part

If your doing a lot of those parts then match up as many as you can to say a 12" bar then cut them , slit them , done , aside from a bit of hand sanding