I’m looking to upgrade my work holding.
I have a number of repetitive parts I run in small batches that work well with a standard vice. Everything else not so much.
For those that use a fixture plate with modular vises how much do you still use your old vise?
The fixture plate choices seem to be Tossa or SMW. What are people’s thought of one over the other? If so why?
I’m looking at a steel or 7075 aluminum plate if that matters.
I had a Tosa fixture plate and would never buy another. Very poor communication with the manufacturer, late delivery, and the plate had flaws. I replaced it with the SMW 4140 plate and have been very happy with that. The hole pattern on the Tosa plate is not compatible with the mounting holes on the SMW Mod Vises if you are considering their use.
I’m mostly a hobbyist who only occasionally uses the mill, but would recommend the 4140 steel plate over the aluminum plate as the steel plate should be much togher and resistant to dings. The table on my 2006 1100 S1-S3 had a number of dings even though I was pretty careful with it. My 5+ year-old SMW plate only has a couple small scratches and no dings at all.
I mostly use the vise for small work, usually one-offs, and use the mod vise for larger plate work. The mode vise would be great for short production work, but I don’t really do that any more.
It matters to your back. I think the weight difference is about 50 pounds. Also some type of aircraft rust inhibitor. Because we all plan to remove the plate and clean regularly but only that one German does it more than once. And definitely get the hole plugs.
Hi Karl:
I purchased an SMW 7075 plate a few months back. I am very happy with it. I chose the aluminum over the steel for two reasons. 1.) The steel is considerably heavier at 78.5 lbs vs 31 lbs for the aluminum. If you plan on removing it often, that will be a consideration. 2.) I don’t do production work every day so I figured that this would be a good compromise. If you move fixtures every day I would recommend the steel version for longevity.
I would highly recommend one of these plates. I developed my jigs to fit the hole spacing and therefore can move my jigs anywhere I need them. I run mostly plastic (PVC) for our business (components for a product we sell), and nearly all of my jigs are 3D printed. The 3D printed jigs, along with the fixture plate, have been really awesome.
As far as plugs, I 3D print mine. They may or may not be coolant-proof, but since I don’t run coolant, it doesn’t matter to me.
Thank you all for the input!
I ordered a SMW 4140 steel plate, hardware, hole plugs and a Mod Vise this morning.
I like the durability of steel so I’m going to have to deal with the weight. The plan is to keep it on the machine anyway.
Just be advised if you leave the fixture plate on the mill table, eventually the table (and your new 4140 plate) will rust from trapped moisture. I have this problem less frequently because I’m in an arid environment, but I do pull the fixture plate about once a month (or so) to clean things up. I have an early production SMW aluminum unit and it basically lives on the table. If I’m using my Kurt D675, it bolts right onto the fixture plate (convenient hole spacing?).
Here’s another vote for the SMW fixture plate and Mod Vise’s! I realize that the op indicated that he had already made a decision, but I’m enough of a fan to want to add my $0.02 anyway. And SMW has always been great to deal with on the phone or via email.
I know you may have already made your purchase, but I want to throw my $.02 in. I went with the anodized 7075 aluminum plate and I run SMW Mod Vises and make my own fixture plates that pop on and off of the fixture plate. You can get pins and expanding screws that fit the very common threads used in the plate. If I have something I make regularly, I machine an aluminum plate with two pin holes for locating and then machine two other holes for the expanding screws. The screws and pins remain in the plate and I can drop in the fixture plate, torque the screws and then I’m done. This allows me to do high density machining and/or multiple operation plates. While the machine is working, I am securing parts to another plate and/or moving parts on a plate onto the next op. When the machine finishes, I swap plates. I use my SMW Mod vise and soft jaws for low number run items or products I’m testing out before I create a full plate.
Also, I wanted to mention why I went with the Aluminum instead of the steel. This was a hard decision to make as like the original poster stated, I prefer the strength and resilience of steel. However, putting that plate on my Tormach would have kept me from doing some larger steel parts due to the weight limit on the machine. I chose the anodized option so I didn’t have to worry as much about corrosion. The table is still quite tough as I learned the hard way. I accidentally threw a 7” X 11” X 6” chunk of aluminum and not a scratch on the table, but dents and missing paint in the bottom of my machine.
I hope that helps.