OEM Archives - Northfield

Spring Conversion Air Chucks

Our customer develops measurement and control systems, helping manufacturers perform at their best.

Above is our standard Model 350THS (thru-hole, stationary) Precision Air Chuck. This model extends the functionality of our 3”, thru hole, stationary chuck by adding a spring-closing feature to it.

It has been converted to a spring-closing mechanism allowing the part to remain clamped even if line pressure is lost.

Air is supplied to one port (steel fitting), while the other (brass fitting) acts to exhaust the other side of the chuck’s piston. The part will stay gripped even if there is a loss of line pressure. Also, the part can be chucked by applying line pressure, temporarily, to open it and then removing all lines to the chuck, allowing it to be gripped by spring force.

Do you have a specific custom job that Northfield can help with?

This design can be mounted on a spindle without a thru-hole, or air cannot be continuously ‘fed’ to the chuck.

Contact Northfield – Northfield

in Air Chucks, Collet Chucks, Firearms, Grinding, OEM

High Precision Bores and Finish Grinding

Working for an international OEM supplier of the world’s most accurate precision rifle barrels.

Brief:

Outer diameter clamping to grind bores in high precision bolt carriers for modern sport rifles.
Inner diameter clamping for finish grinding the outer diameter.

Challenge:

The two challenges are:

Accommodating the extended part length
Completing a second finish grinding step without damaging the first

Northfield Solution:

The first operation involves grinding a bore to finish size. This bore houses the critical components that allow the firearm to function properly.

We built a Northfield Model 620 Sliding Jaw Chuck with an extended air cylinder housing. This accommodates the long part length. The hardened and ground top jaws clamp on the rough outer diameter of the customer’s part.

During loading, the part is set down on a hardened and ground axial locator, ensuring an accurate datum location each time.

Secondly, this customer also requires work holding for finish grinding the outer diameter of the part. that they clamped on using the model 620 sliding jaw chuck in the first step.

We achieved this with a custom internal grip collet chuck with a collet diameter of .5232in. This chuck clamps on the finished inner diameter while the other end is supported with a center. The operation grinds the whole outer diameter of the part, producing an accurate O.D. dimension. This ground diameter is one of the most critical dimensions required for the firearm to function reliably.

Do you have a multi-step machining process that requires high precision work holding? Then get in touch.

in Collet Chucks, OEM, Turning

Lathe Finish Turning

Our customer is an OEM manufacturer of welding equipment.

Brief

The work holding requirement is for a lathe. Our customer needs a chuck that expands to grip the inner diameter of welding shield caps so they can finish-turn its rough outer shape.

Northfield Solution

Shown here is a highly-specialized, 4.500” diameter, Northfield Collet Chuck with custom top tooling mounted.

As the chuck’s internal diameter collet expands, it also acts to pull the part down and onto its outer banking surface shown in the photo at the right. This insures repeatable location onto the datum surface, saving time and reducing error.

This is just one of many examples of our work across a variety of industries and machining situations. Do you have a project that requires a custom solution? Then get in touch with our team and chat with a Northfield engineer to see how we can help solve your problem. Contact Northfield – Northfield or call – Phone: (516) 431-1112.

in Air Chucks, OEM

Skim Cutting Titanium

Our customer builds and supplies complete machine tooling solutions. They are working with the Northfield engineers to develop a skim cutting solution for multiple sized parts.

Brief & Challenge

The workpieces are a range of titanium parts that require skim cutting, some need to be held by the outer diameter and some on the inner diameter. The main challenge is achieving this with a single chuck.

Solution

Titanium_Grinding_Custom_Tooling — Northfield Precision Model 650 Sliding-Jaw Air Chuck

To meet this challenge, we provided a Northfield Precision Model 650 Sliding-Jaw Air Chuck (0.0001” TIR) with interchangeable and custom top tooling.

The jaws are Rockwell 60 tested therefore allowing for future regrinds and as a result increasing the jaws longevity.

This chucking setup is capable of .0001” TIR total accuracy and repeatability on all critical surfaces, those which touch the parts.

Give the engineering team a call to discuss any work holding challenges you have and learn how Northfield can support you. Phone: +1 (516) 431-1112

in Diaphragm Chucks, Grinding, OEM

The Top Brass – Custom Brass Top Tooling

Brief

A CNC and process automation customer required custom work holding solution for Grinding the outer diameter of their unique sapphire rods.

Challenge

The main challenge for the Northfield team is holding the rods well enough without damaging them or creating micro fractures in the material. Additionally, delivering the trademark repeatability and accuracy.

Custom Workholding Total Indicator Reading — Brass Work Holding – Total Indicator Reading

Solution

The work holding solution is a Northfield model DPH-400, with custom Brass Work Holding Jaws. The top tooling consists of three parts.

Hardened and ground sub jaws
A separate center button stop
Precision ground brass inserts mounted to the sub jaws

This setup ensures accuracy and repeatability whilst grinding the outer diameter to the required size.

The use of brass answers the customers need to hold their unique sapphire rod without damaging it. Brass chuck jaws prevent sliding and are very corrosion resistance, meaning there are also tough enough to operate in a grinding environment.

Do you work with delicate or uncommon material? Get in touch and see how Northfield can support you.

in Air Chucks, Grinding, OEM

Straight to the Point – Precision Drill Tip Manufacturing

Brief:

This project is for an international metal cutting solutions provider. They required custom jaws that can hold various sized drill tips.

The Challenge:

The work holding jaws all need to have ‘vee-block’ type insert-pads to securely hold a variety of square parts with our trademark accuracy.

Custom_Square_Drill_Bit_Tooling — Model 870 Sliding-Jaw Air Chuck (.0001 TIR) with custom ‘square’ top tooling.

Solution:

Introducing our Model 870 Sliding-Jaw Air Chuck (.0001 TIR). This air-actuated chuck has two moving jaws for gripping the square or rectangular parts.

The drill tips stop on the axial locator (mounted to the face of the chuck), and the Insert Pads (mounted in their sub jaws) clamp down on the outer diameter of each drill tip before grinding its shank.

Extra Feature:

The Insert-Pad and Sub-Jaw design to allows for quick changeover between sizes.

Does this sound like a familiar situation? Then give us a call (516) 431-1112 or fill out the form.