Modular Fixture
A customer told us that by using an Elijah Tooling Universal Common Modular Fixture (UCMF) his setup times were reduced by 92%!
So what's so great about an Elijah Tooling UCMF?
Repeatability
- Tight tolerances combined with exacting workmanship result in a highly repeatable setup.
- Setup times are reduced or completely eliminated since you're only "dialing up"once.
Flexibility
- 2" grids allow the use of off-the-shelf modular components to "build up" the fixture when necessary for round, cast, or forged parts.
- Invert-A-Bolt™ fasteners add the ability to hold hog-out parts in unique ways. You can snug them up close to the part, or mill right over the top of them!
Superior to other modular systems for hogout machining
- No other components are used except for those already embedded in the fixture plate. In other words, no setups and no break-downs of the setup.
Practical
- Eliminates dedicated fixtures
- Eliminates tool design
- Eliminates tool build
- Eliminates tool storage and maintenance
- Provides additional cost savings from creation of standardized workholding methods
The tombstone shown is loaded with an Invert-A-Bolt™ UCMF. The UCMF is a unique fixture in which all the holding and locating elements are embedded below the face of the fixture. The "flat face" fixture employs multi-purpose holes (bushed and inserted) to locate and Invert-A-Bolt™ fasteners to hold a part throughout machining. By using such a fixture, it is possible to manufacture many types of parts with the same fixture, especially hog-outs that are machined in a picture frame with tabs (shown above).
Advantages of this setup:
- Any size part can be machined on the same fixture as long as it can physically fit on the fixture.
- Obstructions to machining have been minimized/eliminated since the Invert-A-Bolt™ fasteners are below the surface of the fixture plate.
- Setups are always the same: no dialing in for each new part to be machined.
Cost savings achieved by this setup:
- One fixture does it all--completely eliminate the use of dedicated fixtures for machining.
- Standardized workholding means "we always know where we're at" when it comes to the tooling. UCMF's are marked with row and column designators which makes it easy to specify which locators and which fasteners are to be used.