Northfield Precision Instrument’s model NF-800 standard sliding jaw chuck can be customized, depending on customer needs. In one particular customization, top tooling included a set of hardened and ground subjaws and two sets of inserts. The subjaws were designed to accept the inserts, making the chuck capable of holding multiple parts and enabling quick change-over from one part to the next. The subjaws were ground in place for accuracy and repeatability better than 0.0001 TIR.
Northfield’s chucks are designed for lathes, boring machines, grinders and VMCs. Models include through-hole, high speed and quick-change. They are available in SAE and metric, in sizes ranging from 3" to 18" (76 to 457 mm).
Moving to five-axis machining enabled this shop to dramatically reduce setup time and increase lights-out capacity, but success relied on the right combination of workholding and automation.
