Fixture Table!!!!!!!!

[empire_637]

I opened this new thread so everyone could post there fixture/jig tables. Here is mine i just bought this one today, Im going to use this one for a arms.......I still need to build legs for it and buy some adjustable feet for this beast.

[dzracer]

Im looking into building one myself. How much did it cost you to get the top ground?

[empire_637]

I bought the plate already Blanchard grinded. I bought it at Industrial metal supply. But if you want to get something grounded call Steel Services in L.A they are good and pretty good pricing im about to get a larger plate grinded on and they gave me a real good quote.

[CRAIG_HALL]

Now do yourself a favor and go get some holes cut into it !

[garage_runner81]

can anyone hook one up with a good price or knw anywhere i can find one without going broke?

[tmorgan4]

The quote I got for a 24"x24" cast aluminum plate 1" thick with 3/8-16 holes drilled and tapped every inch was $688. This is from a shop that does some incredibly nice work.

[garage_runner81]

The quote I got for a 24"x24" cast aluminum plate 1" thick with 3/8-16 holes drilled and tapped every inch was $688. This is from a shop that does some incredibly nice work.

have the name of the shop?

[tmorgan4]

The shop's name is Assem-Tech. I'm not affiliated with them, but I just had them make a few parts for me and they did some incredibly nice work. I found them off MFG.com.

I've got the quote in an email so I'd be happy to forward it to anyone else interested. The guy to talk to is John Gross. If you would like to get in contact with the guy in charge of quoting here's his info:

John Gross
616-745-3476
jandsgross@comcast.net

Once again, I'm not affiliated with them. Just a very satisfied customer. It sounds like times are tough out there and I'd like to give some people that do extremely good work some credit.

[atomicjoe23]

$688 isn't very bad at all. . .espcially consideriing it already has the holes drilled and tapped!!! I need to find a big table and a small table top locally myself. . .small one for suspension and the big one for the buggy. . .

. . .Anyone know of a good, but not break the bank source in Washington State???

There's a metal yard nearby, but I kinda doubt they have blanchard ground stuff or do blanchard grinding themselves. . .would be very surprised in fact!

[asallenbach]

$688 isn't very bad at all. . .espcially consideriing it already has the holes drilled and tapped!!! I need to find a big table and a small table top locally myself. . .small one for suspension and the big one for the buggy. . .

. . .Anyone know of a good, but not break the bank source in Washington State???

There's a metal yard nearby, but I kinda doubt they have blanchard ground stuff or do blanchard grinding themselves. . .would be very surprised in fact!

Try Ryherson up in washington.

[ErikShallbetter]

Here is one of our fixtures. It is a series of interlocking plate work that can be dissassembled inside a completed frame, removed, and reassembled to hold the critical tubing in the chassis.

[empire_637]

If anyone needs one of these plates let me know I have one, pm me...

[RIndustries]

If anyone needs tube clamps for these type tables, pm me I make them.

[garage_runner81]

pm'd..

[garage_runner81]

also... fixtures holding pieces, do they need to be cast alum too or hardened? or would 6series be good enough?

[Brian Mapes]

Ive got pictures of mine in the other jig table thread, but if anyone is looking to make their own give me a call or pm me. The guy who I got my plate from has more plate available pre gound Alcoa Mic 6 Alum 1.5" thick plate. He is selling it at roughly half of what it goes for new per pound, But it is new. Im not advertising, just trying to help anyone out on a good deal. Ive already sold one to a guy on here. Just another option for you guys.

[garage_runner81]

waiting for mine =)

[SteveinAZ]

Brian, what is the size of the plate(s) for sale by your friend? I saw 1-1/2" thick, but not width & length...I looked on the other thread and did not see it, but maybe I missed it. I wouldn't mind having a fixture plate or two...if they are quite a bargain I may want extras for pallets in my machining center.

Thanks, Steve

[garage_runner81]

they start out has 12'x12'.... as far as i knw.... so pretty much cut to length.

[atomicjoe23]

I would love to get on a good deal on a plate for a fixture table, but I think that the cost of getting it from CA to WA would probably end up making it more expensive than me just trying to find something up here!!!

Too bad. . .

[SteveinAZ]

Atomicjoe, I have a fixture plate off the old machining center that came out of Honeywell...it's about 14" x 29" and about 1-3/8" thick, most likely started out as 1-1/2" and they faced it with a 4" face mill. I will tell you right up front it is NOT prestine! It had been mounted on the table a LONG time, as the stench from the rancid coolant about knocked me over, but the worst part is that it ate away some of the under side at the T-slot locations, and there are a couple of milling scars on the top side, but nothing too bad.

Anyway, it has 1/4"-20 tapped holes on a 1-1/4" pattern, and has a 1/4" dowell hole located diagonally between the tapped holes. It does have 6 counterbored holes to mount it to the table and four 1/2"-13 holes for vises I believe. Don't hold me to the numbers exactly, as I threw a tape on it, and did not screw in bolts to the tapped holes, just going from "looks". You can see what UPS would charge from 85009 to your place...base it on about 80 pounds with packaging.

I can shoot you a pic or two if you like, pm me your email and I can shoot something off in the next day or so. If you really want to go new, I could machine a new one with any hole pattern you'd like, just keep it smaller than 28" x 54"...that's all I really like to put in the machining center so I can get it all in one hit. If you do go new, consider counterboring every hole so you can use a dowell locator and a bolt at any location.

Steve

[GunnSlinger]

... ive got a friend selling a freakishly large fabrication table for 1/2 of what he bought it for!! :eek: it's the largest table that cal time has ever made!! .. he just needs to get rid of it

http://www.race-dezert.com/cgi-bin/trader/atl.cgi?ct=9&md=second&id=3342

http://www.race-dezert.com/trader/photo/toolp3342n1.jpg

[Brian Mapes]

To all interested, the plate that I am selling through a friend is 1/16" thicker that 1.5". The plates are Alcoa MIC6 Which is their brand of cast aluminum tooling plate. Starts out as 12' x 12'. I can have it saw cut down to any size. PM me with and requests (its easier for me to keep track of) and i can get a price for you guys. Typical lead time is three to four days to get it saw cut. The plate has already been surface ground so it is already flat and smooth. Thats most of the info, just pm me with any more questions and inquiries, thanks.

[garage_runner81]

wheres the best place to get a table ground? thanks

[Brian Mapes]

Jason here is where I got mine ground. http://www.schaffergrinding.com/ They have a huge blanchard grinder, like 12 foot wide. Wherever you go make sure you tell them to grind to the lowest RMS possible. The lower the number, the smoother it is. Post some pictures up of your plate once you get up all setup.

[atomicjoe23]

Atomicjoe, I have a fixture plate off the old machining center that came out of Honeywell...it's about 14" x 29" and about 1-3/8" thick, most likely started out as 1-1/2" and they faced it with a 4" face mill. I will tell you right up front it is NOT prestine! It had been mounted on the table a LONG time, as the stench from the rancid coolant about knocked me over, but the worst part is that it ate away some of the under side at the T-slot locations, and there are a couple of milling scars on the top side, but nothing too bad.

Anyway, it has 1/4"-20 tapped holes on a 1-1/4" pattern, and has a 1/4" dowell hole located diagonally between the tapped holes. It does have 6 counterbored holes to mount it to the table and four 1/2"-13 holes for vises I believe. Don't hold me to the numbers exactly, as I threw a tape on it, and did not screw in bolts to the tapped holes, just going from "looks". You can see what UPS would charge from 85009 to your place...base it on about 80 pounds with packaging.

I can shoot you a pic or two if you like, pm me your email and I can shoot something off in the next day or so. If you really want to go new, I could machine a new one with any hole pattern you'd like, just keep it smaller than 28" x 54"...that's all I really like to put in the machining center so I can get it all in one hit. If you do go new, consider counterboring every hole so you can use a dowell locator and a bolt at any location.

Steve


Steve,

sorry it took me a while to get back to you about the table you have, but I've been super swamped. . .too much stuff to get caught up on that I couldn't even begin to list it here. . .

. . .anyway, thanks for the offer, but that is smaller than what I want/need and I despite what I want and/or need I just don't have the money for anything like that right now. . .I just bought a Millermatic 211 and I still need a tube bender and a tube notcher before I'm ready for a jig table so you can probably see where I'm at. . .and it's not easy on a full-time college student budget. . .taking 20+ credits/quarter plus lab fees drains the bank account very quickly and I still have to pay my bills after that. . .so I save up as I can, but it isn't very quick.

Thanks again for the offer and I will contact you if I do get some cash saved up that is extra. . .I could use a plate like that to make a small fixture table for some smaller parts.

Joel

[atomicjoe23]

Jason here is where I got mine ground. http://www.schaffergrinding.com/ They have a huge blanchard grinder, like 12 foot wide. Wherever you go make sure you tell them to grind to the lowest RMS possible. The lower the number, the smoother it is. Post some pictures up of your plate once you get up all setup.


Brian. . .what does RMS stand for???

Thanks!

[jsallenbach]

I maybe alittle biased but take it to steel services grinding we have the largest grinder on the west coast 220 inch also have 2:60 inch machines, 2:42 inch machines a 90 inch, 108inch and an edge grinder we specalize in blanchard grinding we have been in buisness since 1950 and the owner was a fellow off-roader and big fan of the sport.

Bill Sallenbach 323-562-1430

[jsallenbach]

Brian. . .what does RMS stand for???

Thanks!

RMS stands for Route Means Square the normal for Blanchard is 63 and the lower you go the more expensive it gets.

[garage_runner81]

heres how it sits now... the shiny marks are where it was hand ground bcuz of small gashes... still pretty good as it sits... thanks brian!
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n303/rcdragger/IMG00172-20090526-2049.jpg

[SpareChangeRacng]

It's not the typical jig table like in this thread, but how about one of these - 5'x5' "acorn" table. I might be willing to part with this one...

http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq260/ChaseTruck754/Tools/acorntable.jpg

[atomicjoe23]

That's the type of jig table that we have at the shop. . .

. . .that's what I initially wanted, but after working with one, I think I would prefer the kind with the drilled and tapped holes. . .but that's just my personal preference. . .

[RIndustries]

Acorns are cool, but not super precise like a surface table will be.

63956

63957

63958

[SpareChangeRacng]

Acorns are cool, but not super precise like a surface table will be.

yup.

They do make tooling for these things though and you can make your own so they still work pretty well

[MADAZZ FAB]

hi i have my own fab shop in austraila and in the process of building my own table i am intrested in the fixtures you use on your tables thanx for the help aaron from madazz custom fabrication

[garage_runner81]

thanks to Bill over at Blanchard Grinding, got my table top smoothed out... looks sooo nice... :D

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n303/rcdragger/resurfaced.jpg

[Brian Mapes]

Is that the piece I sold you? If so they did an excellent job grinding it. Looks nice.

[garage_runner81]

yup... thanks again Brian

[jsallenbach]

thanks to Bill over at Blanchard Grinding, got my table top smoothed out... looks sooo nice... :D

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n303/rcdragger/resurfaced.jpg

Nothin but the best from us over at Steel Services, and your welcome

[SteveinAZ]

So I thought I give some Kudos to Steel Services Blanchard Grinding also...picked up a plate a couple weeks ago for the machining center, 1-1/2" thick, 31.5" x 60", it started life as standard A36 hot rolled, they stress relieved it and ground both sides. Here's the best part...I asked for flat & parallel to 0.015" - threw it up on the machine, ran an indicator over it to see how far out it was...+/-0.003" - that would be more than good enough for fab work, but after making swiss cheese out of it, its getting the surface grinder trick, should be done tomorrow - flat & parallel to 0.0005".

So AFAIK, Steel Services is still family owned, throw them a bone instead of the one big steel houses...I know I could have got may plate from EMJ out of Dallas for probably the same money, but I like support the "small" guys.

Steve

[mikeyfrombc]

So I thought I give some Kudos to Steel Services Blanchard Grinding also...picked up a plate a couple weeks ago for the machining center, 1-1/2" thick, 31.5" x 60", it started life as standard A36 hot rolled, they stress relieved it and ground both sides. Here's the best part...I asked for flat & parallel to 0.015" - threw it up on the machine, ran an indicator over it to see how far out it was...+/-0.003" - that would be more than good enough for fab work, but after making swiss cheese out of it, its getting the surface grinder trick, should be done tomorrow - flat & parallel to 0.0005".

So AFAIK, Steel Services is still family owned, throw them a bone instead of the one big steel houses...I know I could have got may plate from EMJ out of Dallas for probably the same money, but I like support the "small" guys.

Steve


post images please :D

[SteveinAZ]

Actually just picked it up this afternoon, and have a few days of run time left on the job sitting in the Toyoda. Haven't decided on how to plug all the holes (420!!!) before filling the threads with fine little chips. Set screws would work, but thats alot of coin just to plug the holes. I'm thinking of throwing some brass bar in the Hardinge, setting the bar feeder, and making a bunch of screws since the holes are c-bored 0.625" x 0.200" deep, and 1/2"-13 below. Down side is I do not have a wobble broach or live tooling, so I'd have to slit them in the Toyoda or wait a couple weeks for the new (to me) Matsuura. I can shoot some pics, I'll see how time works out, maybe I'll post a little machine-porn anyway.

Steve

[mikeyfrombc]

Actually just picked it up this afternoon, and have a few days of run time left on the job sitting in the Toyoda. Haven't decided on how to plug all the holes (420!!!) before filling the threads with fine little chips. Set screws would work, but thats alot of coin just to plug the holes. I'm thinking of throwing some brass bar in the Hardinge, setting the bar feeder, and making a bunch of screws since the holes are c-bored 0.625" x 0.200" deep, and 1/2"-13 below. Down side is I do not have a wobble broach or live tooling, so I'd have to slit them in the Toyoda or wait a couple weeks for the new (to me) Matsuura. I can shoot some pics, I'll see how time works out, maybe I'll post a little machine-porn anyway.

Steve

why not make a plug the is tap drill size with the counterbore head with a o-ring groove to hold the plug in the counterbore , the Hardinge with a bar feeder should make short work of 420 buttons , plus no second set-up time

[rharriman]

Try Ryherson up in washington.

Based on his avatar pic, I think he knows where to get it ground!! :)

And if they don't have a grinder big enough your most likely out of luck, I am pretty sure Steel Services has one of, if not the biggest grinder on the west coast. :eek:

[tmathews]

Miller Electric is now selling tables...

www.millerwelds.com

[jsallenbach]

Based on his avatar pic, I think he knows where to get it ground!! :)

And if they don't have a grinder big enough your most likely out of luck, I am pretty sure Steel Services has one of, if not the biggest grinder on the west coast. :eek:

That's right. 200" table, biggest on the west coast, built and designed by my great grandfather.

[SteveinAZ]

That's right. 200" table, biggest on the west coast, built and designed by my great grandfather.

...But it can only do something like 7 feet tall !!! Actually a real work of art, and as I understand, it was 10 years in the making, but has been running for close to 40 years. SSG's shop is very interesting, swarf control all underground to central collection areas, clean, one stop shopping with the stress relief oven right on site.

Steve

[SteveinAZ]

why not make a plug the is tap drill size with the counterbore head with a o-ring groove to hold the plug in the counterbore , the Hardinge with a bar feeder should make short work of 420 buttons , plus no second set-up time

Mikey, great idea...I hate second op work like that. Sure wish the Hardinge had live tooling and a sub spindle and a parts catcher! Are you thinking to have the 0.625" "head" above the table surface and an o-ring groove in the 0.625" x 0.200 shoulder area? If the head is not above the table surface how would you remove the plug? I could thread the plug and have the head above the table surface, knurl the area above the table and just keep the overall height somewhat low to miss fixturing.

What else to make it simple?

Steve

[mikeyfrombc]

Mikey, great idea...I hate second op work like that. Sure wish the Hardinge had live tooling and a sub spindle and a parts catcher! Are you thinking to have the 0.625" "head" above the table surface and an o-ring groove in the 0.625" x 0.200 shoulder area? If the head is not above the table surface how would you remove the plug? I could thread the plug and have the head above the table surface, knurl the area above the table and just keep the overall height somewhat low to miss fixturing.

What else to make it simple?

Steve

are the holes in the table thru ?? cause if they are i was thinking flush with the table surface , you could push them out from the bottom to remove them when needed

[atomicjoe23]

Or you could have recessesed allen heads. . .like set screws.

If you can easily get to the bottome side of the table you could have the plugs thread in from the bottom and make them flush with the top of the table. . .more work and a little more inconvenient, but. . .an option.

[SteveinAZ]

The grid holes are not thru holes...all blind. This is a sub-plate mounted on the machining center table, so no access from the bottom either - the blind holes are to reduce how much coolant gets between the sub plate and the machine's table.

[dantisocial]

Pardon my ignorance, but how important is the blanchard grind? How much runout would a typical piece of plate have? I wouldn't have thought it was so critical for purposes of fixturing chassis and suspension components.

[atomicjoe23]

I can't give you a number, but you'd be surprised at how out of level a plate can be. . .

[spork2367]

I can't give you a number, but you'd be surprised at how out of level a plate can be. . .

"level" is the completely wrong term. it has to do with variations in thickness due to rolling the material, and variations in parallelism of the two sides.

blanchard grinding gives you a uniform thickness and parallel sides.

[mikeyfrombc]

"level" is the completely wrong term. it has to do with variations in thickness due to rolling the material, and variations in parallelism of the two sides.

blanchard grinding gives you a uniform thickness and parallel sides.

even with Blanchard grinding there is no guarantee that the plate is parallel or perfectly flat , Blanchard grinding or any surface type procedure is only as good as the person who does the job , if they don,t spend the time to properly level and shim the gaps on the plate before grinding the plate will be ground flat only while it,s on the magnet/table as soon as it,s released and it flex's and you now have a ground surface that is just that , ground but not flat or parallel.

[atomicjoe23]

"level" is the completely wrong term. it has to do with variations in thickness due to rolling the material, and variations in parallelism of the two sides.

blanchard grinding gives you a uniform thickness and parallel sides.

I used just to get the point across. . .that's all.

[spork2367]

even with Blanchard grinding there is no guarantee that the plate is parallel or perfectly flat , Blanchard grinding or any surface type procedure is only as good as the person who does the job , if they don,t spend the time to properly level and shim the gaps on the plate before grinding the plate will be ground flat only while it,s on the magnet/table as soon as it,s released and it flex's and you now have a ground surface that is just that , ground but not flat or parallel.

obviously. the same can be said for anything that is fabricated. the final product is only as good as the work that was put into it. i think we can assume that shops with blanchard grinders large enough to do fixture tables have some idea what they're doing.

[atomicjoe23]

Since it's a sub-plate and you're wanting to minimize the amount of fluid between the two tables it would be cool to put some grooves in the plate that get progressively deeper (i.e. angle or taper whatever you want to call it) and meet in the middles at a single drain hole that could funnel all the fluid to a central collection point. . .

. . .yeah you just had that thing ground, but you don't need 100% of the surface. . .and you wouldn't need many grooves. . .between 4-8 from the corners and the quadrants should be enough. . .

Probably a lot more work than you want to do, but not a bad idea. . .

[rharriman]

A few pics of the new Lawrence fixture table and shop, I will get some better pictures sometime, I took these with my phone. There are drawers for it also, but they weren't installed yet, They had just set the table in place when I arrived at the shop last night. :)


There are are few more pics here if your interested !! :rolleyes:



http://rharriman.com/LawrenceRacing/images/LEShop/

[mikeyfrombc]

A few pics of the new Lawrence fixture table and shop, I will get some better pictures sometime, I took these with my phone. There are drawers for it also, but they weren't installed yet, They had just set the table in place when I arrived at the shop last night. :)


There are are few more pics here if your interested !! :rolleyes:



http://rharriman.com/LawrenceRacing/images/LEShop/

i like that table is it aluminum ?

[rharriman]

i like that table is it aluminum ?

No, its mild steel 1.5TH x 60 x 108 with a powder coated base. The base has 6x6 tubing legs, it has 4 (41x26) drawers and tubes for storing welding rod. It also has a place to install electrical outlets too but they aren't wired up yet...

In time. :)

I will get some more pics when its all set up...

[mikeyfrombc]

No, its mild steel 1.5TH x 60 x 108 with a powder coated base. The base has 6x6 tubing legs, it has 4 (41x26) drawers and tubes for storing welding rod. It also has a place to install electrical outlets too but they aren't wired up yet...

In time. :)

I will get some more pics when its all set up...

very nice i would like to build one like that , but on the outside edges i,d like to have T-slot groove milled

[rharriman]

very nice i would like to build one like that , but on the outside edges i,d like to have T-slot groove milled

A T-slot groove would be very handy, but EXPENSIVE !!! :eek:

[WFX Racing]

We just bought 4 tables.

They are BuildPro tables and fixtures by Strong Hand.

[atomicjoe23]

That looks like pretty nice table set-up.

[rharriman]

We just bought 4 tables.

They are BuildPro tables and fixtures by Strong Hand.


That looks like pretty nice table set-up.

I have their catalog on my site and thought they were pretty nice tables. As well, I think they were kinda of expensive.

[mikeyfrombc]

We just bought 4 tables.

They are BuildPro tables and fixtures by Strong Hand.

nice are those the nitrated top plates ?

[WFX Racing]

nice are those the nitrated top plates ?



Yes, We chose to spend the extra money to have them coated. We only work with stainless steel and are making efforts to not cross contaminate with any other steel.

[mikeyfrombc]

Yes, We chose to spend the extra money to have them coated. We only work with stainless steel and are making efforts to not cross contaminate with any other steel.


only way to go IMO , what do you think of the quality of the tables and the fixtures ?? i have plans to purchase one down the road almost did last summer but changed my mind at the last minute and bought a bender i have yet to really use LOL as my current build project is done bend wise .

[FABRICATOR]

We just bought 4 tables.

They are BuildPro tables and fixtures by Strong Hand.

Now that's a nice table.

[Ironworks]

These look really nice, but I'm scared to get a quote on pricing.

http://www.bluco.com/

[rharriman]

We have a bluco system at work and it is VERY nice. It is also pretty pricy but I haven't seen anything that compares to the precision and size of the bluco tables. we have two bays that are about 40ft long with movable tables and beams that once pinned in are perfectly square to the other tables. I will try and get some pics! :)

Another thing they have thats really cool is a CD with all their tables, clamps and components modeled in 3D. It makes setting up a fixture really easy. :cool:

[Ironworks]

That would be great. I want to invest in some really nice tables for some products we are working on.

[rharriman]

Here are some pictures of our Bluco tables with some frames on them. I also attached some pictures of some of the other nice tools in the shop, our Omax waterjet (72 x 160 capacity), and our Trumph Laser with feeder. I thought you guys might like them as well ;) I didn't show some of our big CNC machines but will if you are curious. :)


The rails on the ground in the Bluco pics were set up by the Bluco technician and once in place the sperated tables are exact multiples of 100cm apart and completely square. Its really a prett cool set up and the tools they have availible are very comprehensive and requirea pretty comprehensive pocket book as well, LOL.

Here is a link to the catalog on my site for the bluco systems.

http://www.rharriman.com/LawrenceRacing/LERacingReferences/Catalogs/Bluco-Demmeler%20D28%20Parts%20Catalog%202008.pdf

http://www.rharriman.com/LawrenceRacing/LERacingReferences/Catalogs/Bluco-Demmeler%20D16%20Parts%20Catalog%202008.pdf

The hole sizes are different for each catalog and all the tooling is as well, they have some cross over parts to adapt one to the other if you have both however.

[spork2367]

The quote I got for a 24"x24" cast aluminum plate 1" thick with 3/8-16 holes drilled and tapped every inch was $688. This is from a shop that does some incredibly nice work.

you can get the material for $335.00. that means they are charging you 353.00 to drill and tap those holes. that isn't a great deal. with a carbide drill, and a good tap, that could be done in less than an hour.

[garage_runner81]

anyone have info on a place to get a large metal table (chassis style)? i can build the actual table/legs... any metal yard would be the same?