TIL fixturing matters way more than I thought

I used to just throw parts in the vise and go, figured as long as it was tight it was fine. Then last month at a shop in Cleveland I saw a guy spend 45 minutes setting up a custom soft jaw setup for a simple aluminum part. I thought he was wasting time. Then he ran 200 parts without a single reject and his surface finish was way better than mine. Now I actually plan my fixturing before I even touch the material, even if it takes longer up front. Has anyone else found that extra setup time pays off way more than you'd expect?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix4887d ago

45 minutes on JUST the jaws? That's INSANE.

john_hunt27d ago

Just the jaws" is right @felix488, I'd need 45 minutes to find my tools first.