Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: part holding

Keith Clark wrote:

>I just remembered a friend of the family who was an outstanding
>machinist for General Motors in Michigan. He used a magnetic chuck
>in his garage shop. I also saw a used vacuum chuck at the local
>machine tool store this week. What about these two options? Is
>this an old question or fruit for a good discussion?
>
>

magnetic chucks are most frequently used on surface grinders.
I think the milling forces are too great for the holding power of a magnetic
chuck. (You will also note that surface grinders are often
installed next to walls, so if the power on a line-powered
magnetic chuck fails, the part hits the wall, rather than sailing
through the shop at 250 MPH!

Vacuum chucks are used with small fragile parts , often made of plastic,
and with routers cutting wood, plastic and composite parts.
Generally not used with steel parts, as the cutting forces will
overpower the vacuum even more easily than a magnetic chuck.

(Obviously, the magnetic chuck will only work on ferrous parts.)

Jon