Watchful Eye

Standalone hydraulic vises like these repeatedly (and easily) provide 17,600 pounds of clamping force.

I’m glad I get the chance to attend international trade shows and visit overseas manufacturing facilities. It gives me a chance to encounter select technologies and equipment that I don’t see being applied in U.S. shops very often. One such product that comes to mind is the standalone high-pressure vise—a workholding device that’s more popular in Europe than it is here.

High-pressure vises are able to safely generate a significant amount of workpiece clamping force using integral mechanical or hydraulic power boosters. You’ll never see a shopfloor worker using a hammer or cheater bar on one of these…there’s simply no need.

The high-pressure vises offered by Arnold Workholding, for instance, provide as much as 17,600 pounds of repeatable clamping force with minimal operator effort. This repeatable clamping force enables aggressive machining of difficult materials.

Read this article to learn more about them.