When it comes to machining with plastic, the possibilities are boundless. With just an ABS plastic block at hand, the power to craft any prototype imaginable becomes yours, enhancing both your work environment and home with newfound efficiency.
Lathe chucks serve the purpose of securely gripping a work piece during lathe operations, ensuring precision during turning tasks. Alternatively, they can be used with an indexing fixture for milling operations, expanding their utility across different machining processes. Our team of machinists sought a method to achieve precise circular hand engraving using a 3-jaw chuck, aiming to ensure the highest level of precision and accuracy in circular writing. The ends of long parts are difficult to access without the chuck fixture! The solution that our team created ensured that they can stay stationary during engraving, but are able to rotate the part at the same time.
Starting with a block of our very own ABS plastic, the base plate was made. It was measured and machined to fit the 3-jaw chuck perfectly, creating a solid structure around the chuck. This will help keep the chuck in a secure spot when it comes to the rotation of the chuck ring.
The chuck ring was made second, it was machined out of ABS as well and securely fastens around the 3-jaw chuck. A brass metal piece with a thread was installed to clamp onto the chuck, this allows for rotation during the engraving process and the ring will still have a secure hold on the chuck.
Finally, the lock knobs have been machined! These knobs are made out of our HDPE and are affixed through the chuck ring onto the chuck knob by a brass rod and a bolt. This design securely pinches the chuck fixture, creating smooth movement during the engraving process while maintaining stability and precision.
And here is this final look! Our team has been using the chuck fixture and is extremely happy with the difference it makes. When engraving long parts it can be difficult to access without the fixture. The fixture allows our team to engrave in a circular motion more comfortably and precisely. The chuck fixture is also easy and smooth to take off, allowing quick access to the chuck at any point.
We used our own ABS blocks in the color green, and HDPE blocks in the colors lime green and blue for this project. We do not currently sell our chuck fixtures, however we wanted to get some feedback on our customers opinion of them. Is it something you would consider useful in your work environment? If you have any questions or feedback, we would love to hear it! Feel free to email us or reach out to us via chat, or give us a call at 1-833-725-6257.
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