The Top Benefits of a Modular Workholding System

The demand for high quality, tight tolerance, and complex parts continues to increase as automation gains momentum in the industry. A robust workholding system that offers a variety of fixturing options is essential to keeping up with the demand and improving your bottom line.

A modular workholding system provides several benefits for machine shops that need solutions for complex part manufacturing, including flexibility, modularity, variety, and efficiency.

Flexibility with a Standard 2” Grids

Every workholding solution needs a strong foundation to build from. Tombstones and grid plates, like those produced by AMROK, include a standard 2” grid that maximizes the real estate on both VMC and HMC machine tables with 3-, 4-, and 5-axis capabilities. With a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials available, you have access to workholding solutions for almost any job.

Modularity Provides Adaptability 

The configurations of the different fixtures available allow you to adapt to various machining conditions, production run sizes, materials, weights, and other variables. Clamping devices can be moved and repositioned for different setups and interchanged with other fixturing components. They can be moved from one machine to the next or job to job with minimal modification. 

A modular fixturing system also provides you with more versatility than a single-purpose dedicated fixture. It can be reconfigured for many applications, and easily dismantled for convenient storage when not in use. 

Variety of Machine Set-Up Combinations

The animation below highlights the versatility you get with a modular workholding system. A wide variety of Triag fixturing components are placed on a grid in different configurations, offering hundreds of set-up combinations. The patterned grid holes allow for positioning in every hole.  

The TRIAG workholding system features a patented one-of-a-kind interface that combines a consistent base rail foundation with a wide variety of modular components for nearly any job.

As the video demonstrates, you can machine a variety of different jobs during one run, and not have to stop to switch out parts or reprogram your machine. 

Efficiency 

The flexibility of the 2” grid plate combined with the module configurations provides quick changeovers and adjustments that increase productivity, reduce cycle times, and improve your bottom line. 

By having such a flexible setup, you have more efficient use of the machining envelope which allows multiple parts to be machined in the same set up. When you are able to ensure as many parts are being machined at the same time as possible, your spindle up time is increased. 

Modular fixturing is good for: 

• One-time jobs
• Jobs that do not repeat on a regular basis
• Rapid setup of short-notice production runs
• Prototype parts due to common changes or redesigns
• Replacement parts 

Investing in a modular system that offers the highest versatility for your projects allows you to respond to your shop’s demand as it fluctuates—all while improving your bottom line. 

AMROK® tombstones and grid plates are designed to hold the industry's tightest tolerances for flatness, parallelism, perpendicularity, surface finish, and hole location. All tombstones and grid plates are built and then inspected using AME's in-house Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). AME is the exclusive distributor of Triag components in North America.

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