Diaphragm turning chuck

automatic3-jawpneumatic

Dana needed a chuck for their balancing machines to hold drive shafts by their slip-yokes. Normally, balancing operations are performed at approximately 900 rpm, but Dana balances their parts at road conditions. High-performance vehicles such as stock cars and Formula 1 cars hit 200 mph with their drive-shafts rotating at 10,000 to 12,000 rpm. Our solution consists of two separate diaphragm chucks built into one with two separate sets of jaws, mounted one in front of the other. This accommodates the long, thin shape of the part. With one set of jaws gripping the front of the piece and the other gripping the rear, the result is accuracy of 1/10,000 T.I.R. and repeatability to 50 millionths with extreme rigidity. The center-mounted spline driver is a gauge quality piece of tooling to drive the shaft on rapid start-and-stop of the balance machine. To meet Dana’s safety standards, all of their chucks must be air-opened and spring- clamped to hold the part even if they lose air pressure during the balancing operation. The chuck must not exceed 45 lbs. in weight for easy handling by the operators.