5C Vise/Dovetail Fixture

Johnny SolidWorks · Jan 19, 2018

Anyone know of an off-the-shelf dovetail fixture or small vise that's made to work in a 5C setup?

I've been Googling around without any luck, and have hit the usual suspects (5th Axis, Lang, Jergens, Kurt, etc.) and I'm just not seeing anything.

Danke.

LockNut · Jan 19, 2018

I would make my own. You can buy solid 5C plugs. Mount a small dovetail fixture to it. The Raptor RWP-001 or RWP-026 might be perfect candidates.

Paul

JMC · Jan 19, 2018

Like this one?

.75 Inch Fixtures : RWP-3

Johnny SolidWorks · Jan 19, 2018

JMC said:
Like this one?

.75 Inch Fixtures : RWP-3

That's pretty much what I was looking for, but other than that diameter being 1-1/8" I don't understand how it mounts in a 5C closer/indexer. It looks like it's short enough to not need to be keyed, but why wouldn't you want to key a 5C vise into a 5C indexer? I'm also not quite sure how the 3/8" tapped hole is used to secure this. The pictures on the Raptor website all show this mounted into a solid block, not an indexer. It's weird.

Am I missing something, or am I just demonstrating my ignorance?

G00 Proto · Jan 19, 2018

JMC said:
Like this one?

.75 Inch Fixtures : RWP-3

That's a cute little son of a gun.

I do a ton of 5C 4th axis mill work. I feel that without a positive anti-rotation feature in the assembly, I get movement rotationally inside the 5C collet assembly. If you do make one, I suggest starting with a 5C fixture faceplate:

1 Inch Head Length, 2 Inch Face Diameter, 9747213 - MSC

That improved my success compared to just machining a blank with a 3/4" round shank and clamping it in a 5C collet. I have also used square and hex 5C collets, but it proved to be more of a hassle than just buying the $40 faceplate above.

SeymourDumore · Jan 19, 2018

JMC said:
Like this one?

.75 Inch Fixtures : RWP-3

OK, now I have to ask: Just what EXACTLY is in that thing that makes it worth $460?

I mean seriously? And out of Aluminum to boot?

Granted, I do have a wire EDM to make it easier, but the last time it took me less than a day to make two sets of these
things out of 17-4SS, 2" x 2" x 4" long, along with the clamps.
( No, I am not selling them, just had to come up with a solution for a bunch of parts I was wire cutting for a customer who uses Raptor on their 5 axis )

And I strongly agree with Proto that it would be far better if it was made out of a true 5C fixture block as it can then be keyed to the indexer.

Johnny SolidWorks · Jan 19, 2018

SeymourDumore said:
OK, now I have to ask: Just what EXACTLY is in that thing that makes it worth $460?

I mean seriously? And out of Aluminum to boot?

Granted, I do have a wire EDM to make it easier, but the last time it took me less than a day to make two sets of these
things out of 17-4SS, 2" x 2" x 4" long, along with the clamps.
( No, I am not selling them, just had to come up with a solution for a bunch of parts I was wire cutting for a customer who uses Raptor on their 5 axis )

And I strongly agree with Proto that it would be far better if it was made out of a true 5C fixture block as it can then be keyed to the indexer.

I was kind of wondering the same thing about the price on that. It doesn't seem to be anything crazy, and none of the tolerances are outrageous...

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