Collet

In a collet chuck having a chuck body provided with at least one circular collet seat, a circular collet mounted on said collet seat, a movable power operated actuator means slidably mounted on the chuck body for engagement with said collet to bias it into a gripping engagement with a circular periphery on a cylindrical-like workpiece when the actuator means is moved in one direction, a return means mounted on the chuck body in engagement with the actuator means for moving the actuator means in another direction to release the collet gripping engagement with the cylindrical-like workpiece, the improvement comprising:

• (a) said circular collet having a flexible circular collet body which has an outer circular periphery and an inner circular periphery;
• (b) said flexible circular collet body having a radial opening formed therethrough which extends between said outer and inner peripheries;
• (c) one of said collet body circular peripheries having a workpiece gripping surface and the other of said collet body circular peripheries having a tapered cam surface engageable by said actuator means to bias the collet into said engagement with said workpiece;
• and,
• (d) said tapered cam surface having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart slots, and each of said slots has an open outer end and an arcuate inner end.