Which steel for fixture clamps

Hi

I need some advise about which steel to use.

I'm using some Mitee bite Talon grips at the moment. But I need allot of them for a fixture.
I would like to make them myself. My knowledge of steel is not enough to make a decision between all the different types.
I was thinking about P20 steel. Good to machine and pretty durable. And doesn't need some kind of heat treatment.

tcncj said:

I was thinking about P20 steel. Good to machine and pretty durable. And doesn't need some kind of heat treatment.

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If you are not going to heat treat them then it doesn't matter what you use, it's all the same.

Strength of steel is directly related to its hardness.

The Mitee-Bite TalonGrips are made of hardened A2 tool steel. The reason for this is that they need to bite into the workpiece to achieve their relatively high workholding strength over a small area.

Without knowing the material of your workpiece, it is impossible to accurately recommend a material that would work without hardening. If you are machining a soft material, like aluminum, then any carbon steel will work. For example, 1215 would be a good choice, because it is easy to machine. Another possible choice would be 1117, which is not as easy to machine, but can be case hardened if desired.

If you are machining alloy steel, stainless steel or other relatively hard material, then the hardened A2 of the original product is probably the right way to go.

Thanks for the useful information
It's only for Aluminium

tcncj said:

Thanks for the useful information
It's only for Aluminium

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Sounds like P20 should be excellent for your aluminum-holding needs as it is typically HBW 300 or around HRC 30. Easy to machine and no heat treat needed. What’s not to like? (But the A2 mentioned above is very very easy to heat treat if you ever need it)

Denis

Ok great
Then I will use P20 for now. And buy some A2 stock to expirment with.

One more question.
I need to make a small fixture to hold Aluminium parts.
It's like a small vise but a little bit different.

Should I also use P20 for this?
I'm not going to give them a heat treatment because I have to grind all surfaces after the HT.