Recently added to the portfolio of Tamworth-based Leader Chuck Systems Ltd is the Piranha Clamp range of centring vices.

These Swiss-manufactured vices replace the usual dovetail guides found on many vices with a pair of parallel cylindrical jaw guides that are said to offer better precision and higher clamping force.

Designed to act much like a hydraulic press, the hardened and coated spindle guides provide an increased surface area for load distribution, while the drive spindle has been tested to withstand the high pressures required to securely hold material with a minimum clamping depth of just 3mm, which keeps waste to a minimum (www.leaderchuck.com).

The twin-guide design results in an open construction for easy chip evacuation, with any swarf flushed away by the coolant. Another benefit of this concept is an extremely low overall height, so that operators can make the most of the available work envelope.

A built-in zero-point clamping system in the base of the Piranha Clamp provides the interface with the machine tool’s work table and achieves a repeatable loading accuracy of 0.01mm.

Moreover, the quick-change location system can be specified with adapter plates that allow these vices to fit any zero-point design.

Two base sizes are available: the Piranha Clamp 170 is 170mm long x 90mm wide, while the Piranha Clamp 300 is 300mm long x 120mm wide.

The base can be specified with changeable top jaws with a patented quick-change system featuring an eccentric ‘cam’ pin; within a few seconds, a range of different standard or pre-machined clamping jaws can be exchanged.

These include aluminium and steel ‘soft’ jaws, as well as straight and serrated ‘snapper’ jaws designed to secure billets (with the snapper jaws, billets do not require pre-stamping, saving time on every workpiece machined).