Vise for holding a workpiece on an EDM machine

A vise for holding a work piece on an EDM machine so that the discharge wire of the EDM machine can be repeatably positioned adjacent the work piece, the vise comprising:

• a main plate for attachment to the worktable of the EDM machine;
• an intermediate support member mounted on the main plate and parallel thereto, the intermediate support member having a lower surface and an opposite upper surface upon which the work piece is placed;
• a solid jaw mounted on the upper surface of the intermediate support member and having opposed end portions that extend beyond the intermediate support member thus forming opposed solid jaw undercuts that allow the solid jaw to be used as a reference point for the discharge wire for moving of the discharge wire to the work position adjacent the work piece;
• a movable jaw mounted on the upper surface of the intermediate support member for reciprocable movement in the x direction toward the solid jaw for holding the work piece between the solid jaw and the movable jaw and movable away from the solid jaw to allow for the removal of the work piece, the movable jaw having opposed end portions that extend past the intermediate support member forming undercuts that facilitate the locating of the discharge wire adjacent the work piece;
• an alignment and stopping device attachable to the solid jaw for contacting the work piece and fixing the position of the work piece within the jaws in the y direction so that repeatability of positioning of the work piece in the y direction can be obtained;
• and
• the movable and solid jaw cooperating with the alignment and stopping device so that repeatability of location for the work piece in the x and y directions can be attained and the undercuts of the movable jaw and the solid jaw allowing the discharge wire to use the solid jaw to establish a reference point by contacting the solid jaw and then moving the discharge wire to the work position adjacent the work piece.

A vise for holding a work piece in position on an EDM machine, comprising:

• a main plate for attachment to the worktable of the EDM machine;
• an intermediate support member disposed on the main plate and parallel thereto, the intermediate support member having a lower surface and an opposite upper surface on which the work piece rests during machining;
• a solid jaw mounted upon the upper surface of the intermediate support member and having opposed end portions that extend beyond the intermediate support member thereby forming opposed solid jaw undercuts that allow the discharge wire to use the solid jaw as a reference point for positioning the discharge wire adjacent to the work piece in the work position;
• a movable jaw mounted upon the upper surface of the intermediate support member for reciprocable movement in the x direction toward the solid jaw for holding the work piece between the solid jaw and the movable jaw and movable away from the solid jaw to allow for the removal of the work piece, the movable jaw having opposed end portions that extend past the intermediate support member that forms undercuts to facilitate the positioning and movement of the discharge wire to the work position adjacent the work piece;
• and
• the movable jaw and the solid jaw cooperating so that repeatability of location for the work piece can be attained and the undercuts of the movable jaw and the solid jaw permitting the discharge wire to use the solid jaw to establish a reference point by contacting the solid jaw and then moving the discharge wire to the work position adjacent the work piece.