Product Feature: Dovetail Holders

When complex workholding challenges arise, machinists rely on dovetail holders. Gripping parts via corresponding 45° angles machined into the workpiece stock and the fixtures themselves, dovetail holders are known as one of the strongest structural joints in terms of tensile strength. Holding raw stock in this fashion also delivers the industry’s best accessibility to the workpiece, which is ideal for 4 and 5 axis machining operations.

Traditional clamping methods require large devices that sacrifice access to the workpiece. Other technologies, such as tooth serrations, can wear and make process reliability difficult in automated applications.

Providing greater accessibility to the workpiece increases efficiency and helps machinists keep the costs of the workholding to a minimum. They are offered in an array of sizes and can support materials as small as 0.5”.

To further increase efficiency, some dovetail holders allow you to quickly exchange workpieces with excellent repeatability because they feature (removable) locating pins and one-screw actuation of the clamping mechanism.

Operators use individual dovetail holders to machine smaller parts or stack them side by side to support larger workpieces.

If reliability is critical for your application, dovetail holders are likely the solution for you.