Toggle-Clamp Operation

Toggle clamps operate using a pivot-and-lever principle referred to as a

“toggle action.” As shown in Figure 8-
78, the basic toggle action is achieved through a system of fixed pivots and
levers known as a “four-bar
linkage.” It provides the clamping action through a series of fixed-length
components connected by pivot pins.
When in the unclamped, or released, position, the levers and pivots resemble
the arrangement shown at (a).
The outer pivot points retract when the clamp is released. This action helps
retract or raise the clamp from the
workpiece when released. In the advanced position (b), the pivot points are
extended. Pressure is exerted on
both ends of the linkage to apply the clamping force. In the locked position
(c), the levers are set slightly
beyond the center point. This position provides the positive locking action of
the toggle clamps.TOGGLE CLAMPS
Toggle clamps have long been a workholding staple in the machine shop. Few
clamps offer the overall
versatility and efficiency of the toggle clamp. The major benefits of the
toggle clamp are an exceptional ratio of
holding force to application force, rapid operation, positive locking action,
and the ability to be applied in
confined areas.Cam Edge Clamps. The cam edge clamp, shown in Figure 8-75,
uses a horizontal single-cam handle with a
180º maximum throw. The pivoting nose element of the clamp applies force both
forward and downward to
securely hold the workpiece. These clamps are available with either a standard
base for fixed-position
mounting, or a slotted base for adjustable mounting.
Up-Thrust Clamps. The up-thrust clamp, Figure 8-76, is a unique clamp design.
It holds a workpiece with
pressure from below. As shown at (b), pushing the cam handle down moves the
clamping element upward
against the workpiece. The underside of the top jaw element has a ground
surface and acts as a precise
locator for the clamped workpiece. This clamp is designed for workpieces that
must be located and machined
on the top surface.
Cam-Action Hold-Down Clamps. The cam-action hold-down clamp, shown in Figure
8-77, is another
clamp that uses a cam-action to apply holding force. The cam here is also a
spiral design with a 2-1/2º wedge
angle. It permits a clamping range of 3/16”. This clamp is made of cast steel
with flame-hardened wear points.
The solid arm can be used to clamp workpieces directly, or tapped to mount a
threaded clamp spindle.Commercial Cam-Clamp Variations
Standard cam-clamp designs include cam-action strap clamps, cam edge clamps,
up-thrust clamps, and camaction
hold-down clamps. Each of these clamps has been designed to reduce the effects
of vibrations and to
maximize clamping efficiency.Spiral Cams
Continuous-rise spiral cams, through similar in appearance to eccentric cams,
differ substantially in their
operational principles. Rather than using an eccentric circle to achieve its
rise, this cam has an involute curve
on the clamping face of the cam. This design provides a wide range of clamping
positions instead of just one.
The two principal types of spiral cams are the single cam and the double cam,
Figure 8-72.
The spiral design, although an improvement over the eccentric design, is still
subject to loosening under heavy
vibration. For this reason, a mechanical lock is a good idea for applications,
such as extremely heavy milling,
where considerable vibration can occur.Eccentric Cams
Eccentric cams, as their name implies, apply the clamping force with the
action of an eccentric circle. As
shown in Figure 8-71, these cams have a mounting hole positioned off center in
the cam lobe. The off center
location of the mounting hole produces the “rise,” the radial movement of
the cam through its clamping cycle.
With eccentric cams, special care must be exercised to keep the cam locked
during the clamping cycle.
Eccentric cams only have one true locking point. This is the point at which
the vertical center lines of the
eccentric mounting hole and the lobe are perfectly aligned and exactly
perpendicular to the clamped surface.
Any other cam position cannot provide a positive lock. For this reason,
eccentric cams are generally not
suitable for workholding applications.SWING C CLAMPS
These C clamps have a hinged pad for fastening permanently to a fixture,
allowing them to swing clear for
workpiece loading, Figure 8-69. The hinged mounting pad bolts to the fixture
with two socket-head cap screws.
Four-prong knob provides a firm grip for applications requiring quick
tightening and high torque. Clamping
screw is cast securely in the knob and has a removable swivel foot.Copyright
2016,
Carr
Lane
Manufacturing
Co.,
St.
Louis,
MO
–
www.carrlane.com
191
Figure 8-11. The gooseneck version of the slotted-heel clamp strap has a
recessed clamping nut to provide a
low overall profile.
Variations of this clamp strap are used on high-rise clamps, show in Figure 8-
12. These assemblies can be
mounted on riser blocks for tall workpieces. They come in the three basic
styles shown here, with a standard
slotted-heel clamp strap, a tapped-nose clamp strap, or a gooseneck clamp
strap. The tapped-nose version
has a tapped hole at the clamping end, for mounting contact elements or
adjustable spindles. The gooseneck
clamp strap is used to lower the height of the fastening element.
Figure 8-12. High-rise clamp assemblies are ideal for clamping taller
workpieces. These all-in-one assemblies
can be stacked on risers for additional height.Slotted-Heel Clamp Straps. The
slotted-heel clamp strap, Figure 8-10, has a slotted heel to locate the
clamp strap on the clamp rest. This slotted heel, in combination with the
slotted stud hole, allows the clamp
strap to move completely clear of the workpiece for part removal and
reloading. These clamps are made in
many lengths and in stud sizes from #10-32 through .-10, in either carbon or
stainless steel. The contact area
of these clamp straps is available in radius-nose, plain-nose, and padded-nose
styles. Slotted-heel clamp
straps are also available in a gooseneck version, Figure 8-11.The selection of
soft jaws is based on the type and size of chuck, jaw height, and jaw
material. Another area
that should also be considered is the jaw shape. Soft jaws are available in
four basic shapes: standard,
pointed, reversible, and pie-shaped. The specific shape selected normally
depends on the machining
operations and the workpiece.
Standard. Standard soft jaws, Figure 3-26, are the most popular for general-
purpose turning. These jaws are
also called “offset” or “long” soft jaws because of their offset hole
pattern. Soft jaws with the offset hole pattern
are usually designed for non-reversible mounting. These jaws come in either
standard or extra-high styles.
After machining, they can be used in their soft condition for finished parts,
or case hardened.
Figure 3-Soft Jaws
Soft jaws, Figure 3-25, as their name implies, are usually made of carbon
steel or aluminum. Like hard jaws,
they are used in sets to match the number of jaws on the chuck. Soft jaws
normally come in two heights,
standard and extra high. The specific heights of each set depend on the type
and size of chuck, and the jaw
material. Soft jaws are partially machined to match specific master jaws for a
wide variety of standard chucks.Emergency Collets
Emergency collets are another 5C-collet variation. Emergency collets are made
with a standard collet mount
that is hardened and ground to size. The opposite end of the collet is soft
and can be machined to meet
individual workpiece requirements. Emergency collets are available in two
basic styles, collet and step collet.
The collet style, Figure 3-21, externally holds smaller parts and the step
collet style, Figure 3-22, is for parts to
6.00” in diameter. The collet type can be used for longer parts, providing
the diameter is smaller than 1.063”.
The step-collet type is for larger-diameter parts that are relatively thin,
.50” or less.All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by
any means without written permission of Carr Lane
Manufacturing Company.
Carr Lane Manufacturing makes no representations or warranties of any kind, including, but not limited to,
the warranties of fitness for particular
purpose or merchantability. No such representations or warranties are implied with respect to the material
set forth herein. Carr Lane Manufacturing
shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting in whole or in part from
the reader’s use of, or reliance upon, this
material.
The reader is expressly warned to consider and adopt all safety precautions that might be indicated by the
activities described herein and to avoid all
potential hazards. By following the instructions and suggestions contained herein, the reader willingly
assumes all risks in connection with such
instructions and suggestions.
Numerous trademarks appear throughout this book. Delrin® and Zytel® are registered trademarks of E.I. DuPont
de Nemours & Co. All other
trademarks contained herein are those of Carr Lane Manufacturing Co. and its affiliates.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN-978-0-9622079-2-1
Thirdaccelerated depreciation—Any depreciation that produces larger deductions
for depreciation at an earlier period in a project’s life cycle.
accounting period—The length of time covered by a statement of income.
One year is the accounting period for most financial reporting; publicly
listed companies prepare financial statements for each quarter of the
year and also for each month.
accounts payable (trade payables)—Money owed to creditors for items
or services purchased from them.
accounts receivable (trade credit)—Money owed by customers, or the
balance sheet account that measures the amount of outstanding receivables.
acid-test ratio—A ratio that measures the liquidity of short-term assets
C. SEC Filings
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) files are available via
Bloomberg in EDGAR files, or some companies have access to their
SEC filings on their Web sites. In accordance with the Securities and
Exchange Commission Act of 1934, all companies that have publicly
issued securities must file various statements with the SEC and also
distribute them to the stockholders.2.2 Risk Categories
A company’s general risk management principles should be based on
identifying key risks, such as:
1. Strategic risks. Risks must be taken into account in strategies.
There is a correlation among strategy planning, decision making,
and risk analysis.
2. Operational risks. Sourcing belongs to operational risks. The quality,
correct timing, and scheduling of materials; optimal pricing;
and supply interruption can be categorized under sourcing risks.
A poor supplier base is a potential factor in sourcing risks.
3. Hazard risks. Hazard risks cause damage to assets (for example,
buildings or machinery) or intellectual assets (for example, brand
or product liabilities). Typically, hazard risks can be insured.
4. Financial risks. Financial risk is the threat of losing an asset or income.
Thus, financial risk involves two elements: (1) the individualThe range is often plotted on control charts
as discussed in Section C of this
chapter.
One of the disadvantages of using the range as a measure of dispersion is that
it uses only two of the values from the data set: the largest and the smallest. If
the data set is large, the range does not make use of much of the information contained
in the data. For this and other reasons, the standard deviation is frequently
used to measure dispersion. The value of the standard deviation may be approximated
using numbers from the control chart. This method is explained in Part 4,
“Process Capability,” of Section C of this chapter. The standard deviation can also
be found by entering the values of the data set into a calculator that has a standard
deviation key. See the calculator manual for appropriate steps.
Although the standard deviation is seldom calculated by hand, the following
discussion provides some insight into its meaning. Suppose it is necessary
to estimate the standard deviation of a very large data set. One approach would
be to randomly select a sample from that set. Suppose the randomly selected
sample consists of the values 2, 7, 9, and 2. Naturally, it would be better to use a
larger sample, but this will illustrate the steps involved. It is customary to refer to
the sample values as “x-values” and list them in a column headed by the letter
x. The first step, as illustrated in Figure 2.7a, is to calculate the sum of that column
x, and the mean of the column x–. Recall that
x
x
n
Median. The median is the value that has approximately 50 percent of the values
above it and 50 percent below. To find the median, first sort the data in ascending
order. If there is an odd number of values, the median is the middle value of
the sorted list. If there is an even number of values, the median is the mean of the
two middle values. The common symbol for median is x~, pronounced “x wiggle.”
Example: The list in the previous example is first sorted into ascending
order: 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 6 7 7 8 9
Since there are 13 values, the median is the seventh value in the sorted list, in this
case
x~ = 4
Example: Find the median of the six-element set 12.7 12.9 13.5 15.0 15.0 17.2

The values that represent the center of a data set are called, rather awkwardly,
measures
of central tendency. There are three commonly used measures of central
tendency: mean, median, and mode.
Mean. Mean is statistical jargon for the more common word “average.” It is calculated
by finding the total of the values in the data set and dividing by the number
of values. The symbol used for “total” is the Greek capital sigma, . The values of
the data set are symbolized by x’s and the number of values is usually referred
to as n. The symbol for mean is an x with a bar above it (x–). This symbol is pronounced
“x bar.” The formula for mean is
x
x
n

The Binomial Distribution. The prefix “bi-” implies the number two, as in bicycle
(two wheels) and bipartisan (two political parties). The binomial distribution is
used when every object fits in one of two categories. The most frequent application
in the quality field is when every part is classified as either good or defective,
such as in valve leak tests or circuit continuity tests. In these cases there are two
possibilities: the valve either leaks or it doesn’t; the circuit either passes current or
it doesn’t. If data on the amount of leakage or the amount of resistance were collected,
the binomial distribution would not be appropriate. The word defective is
often used in binomial distribution applications. A typical example might consider
the number of defectives in a random sample of size 10. Notice that the number
of defectives is not a continuous variable because, for instance, between two
defectives and three defectives there are not an infinite number of other values,
that is, there can’t be 2.3 defectives. That is why this distribution is called discre

Control Charts
One of the disadvantages of many of the tools discussed up to this point is that
they have no time reference. The chart may clearly demonstrate that a process had
a problem but gives no clue as to when the problem occurred. This section will
illustrate a number of time-related techniques. The discussion will culminate with
control charts.
The Run Chart. If a specific measurement is collected on a regular basis, say every
15 minutes, and plotted on a time scale, the resultant diagram is called a run chart.
An example of a run chart is shown in Figure 1.13.
One of the problems of the run chart is that the natural variation in the process
and in the measurement system tends to cause the graph to go up and down
when no real change is occurring. One way to smooth out some of this “noise” in
the process is to take readings from several consecutive parts and plot the average
of the readings. The result is called an averages chart. An example is shown in
Figure 1.14.
One of the dangers of the averages chart is that it can make the process look
better than it really is. For example, note that the average of the five 3:00 p.m. readings
is .790, which is well within the tolerance of .780–.795, even though every
one of the five readings is outside the tolerance. Therefore, tolerance limits should
never be drawn on an averages chart. To help alert the chart user that the readings
are widely dispersed, the averages chart usually has a range chart included
A Pareto chart of this data would list the causes on the horizontal axis and the percent
of occurrences on the vertical axis. The causes are listed in order of decreasing
number of occurrences. The Pareto chart is shown in Figure 1.11.
The Pareto chart shows that the people working to reduce the number of
occurrences should put their main efforts into preventing outages caused by animals.
If they expended a lot of resources preventing transformer leakage and were
able to eliminate it completely as a cause of power outage, it would still solve only
about six percent of the occurrences.
A Pareto chart often shows one source as the overwhelming cause of defects.
However, in some cases it may be necessary to do some creative grouping to obtain
a single cause that accounts for the bulk of the problem. Suppose a team is seeking
to reduce the number of defective valve stems from a multi-stage machine operation.
They gather the following data on the types of defects observed:

A team may use a cause-and-effect diagram to generate a number of potential

causes in each category by going around the room and asking each person
to suggest one cause and its associated category. As each cause is selected, it is
shown as a subtopic of the main category by attaching a smaller line to the main
“bone” for that category. This activity continues until the group is satisfied that all
possible causes have been listed. Individual team members can then be assigned
to collect data on various branches or sub-branches for presentation at a future
meeting. Ideally the data collection process should consist of changing the nature
of the cause being investigated and observing the result. For example, if voltage
variation is a suspected cause, put in a voltage regulator and see if the number of
defects changes. One advantage of this approach is that it forces the team to work
on the causes and not symptoms, personal feelings, history, and various other
baggage. An alternative to the meeting format is to have an online fishbone to
which team members may post possible causes over a set period of time.

conflicts (see Figure 4.9). In the end, however, all parties must
consent to the WBS before building a schedule - a task that
can also try anyone's patience.
Building a WBS also threatens people (see Figure 4.10).
They do not want to list the work that they will perform. They
may fear being held accountable or constantly being tracked.
In other words, they feel that they may lose their autonomy.
Many team members, especially those who are prima donnas,
feel that way. The client often wants a good WBS so it can
track progress, that is, as long as it is not being tracked. Senior
management will express an interest in a WBS but only at a
high level. The project manager prefers a WBS to generate