Vice Jaw Plug-in Connection for Zero-Point Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vices with exchangeable top jaws face difficulties in quick jaw changes and precise clamping due to inaccessible screw connections and imprecise interlocking surfaces, leading to wear and inaccuracy in clamping, which necessitates frequent reworking of clamping surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A high-precision plug-in connection between the top jaw and base jaw using positioning pins and clamping screws, allowing for easy access and precise alignment, ensuring zero-point positioning without wear, and enabling quick jaw changes without tilting or play.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If threaded screw connections are used to fasten top jaws to base jaws, then quick replacement of top jaws is enabled, but the screw connections become difficult to access from the clamping space direction
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping screw is positioned outside the clamping space, allowing access from a different spatial dimension (from the side or top of the vice rather than from within the clamping space). This resolves the accessibility problem while maintaining quick replacement capability.
2Loss of time
If conventional plug-in connections with positioning pins are used, then top jaws can be quickly exchanged, but play occurs between the connection surfaces leading to imprecise clamping
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is segmented into distinct functional elements: positioning pins for precise alignment, clamping screws for secure fastening, and a run-in bevel for surface contact. This segmentation allows each element to optimize its specific function while working together to achieve both quick exchange and high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The run-in bevel on the positioning pin performs preliminary action by making initial contact with the clamping surface and guiding the top jaw into precise alignment before the clamping screw is fully tightened. This preliminary alignment action ensures high precision clamping from the start of the fastening process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple top jaws are repeatedly exchanged using conventional connections, then versatility is improved, but wear on interlocking surfaces increases causing increased play and loss of precision
Solution Approach 1:
The wear-prone clamping function is extracted from the positioning pins and transferred to the clamping screws. The positioning pins retain only their positioning function with hardened surfaces, while the clamping screws handle the clamping force, preventing wear on the precision positioning surfaces during repeated exchanges.
Solution Approach 2:
The run-in bevel acts as a cushioning element that absorbs misalignment and distributes contact forces during the fastening process. This protective feature prevents direct impact and wear on the precision positioning surfaces of the positioning pins, maintaining reliability over repeated use.
4Manufacturing precision
If the clamping surface on the top jaw is precisely adapted to the workpiece shape, then high precision clamping is achieved, but the surface wears and tilts on the clamping jaw requiring remilling
Solution Approach 1:
The potential harm of wear is converted into a benefit by designing the run-in bevel as a self-lubricating, wear-resistant surface that actually improves clamping precision over time through controlled deformation. The bevel surface distributes loads and compensates for minor irregularities, turning what could be a wear problem into a precision-enhancing feature.
Data Source
AI summary
The top jaw (10,11) is connected with a base jaw (8,9) by a detachable connection. The top jaw is fixed at the base jaw with a plug connector. The plug connector has two position pins (20) arranged on same height parallel to each other. The position pins are arranged between the base jaw and the exchangeable top jaw.