Ideal Applications For Air Chucks

Any type of chuck, including air chucks, is a workholding tool that has specific applications that it's best suited to. No single chuck type is best for all applications, though some may come close. 

The standard air chuck design is ideal for some applications but isn't very well suited for others. If your shop produces parts that are typically produced with an air chuck, then a pneumatic chucking system might be an ideal addition to your tooling. 

Benefits Of An Air Chuck

An air chuck has some distinct advantages when used in the right application. 

Pneumatic chucks are able to exert a great deal of pressure. Depending on the system your shop selects, it could be anywhere from 13,000 psi to 70,000 psi, which can be far more secure than manual chucks, as well as far more precise. Pneumatic systems allow the operator to set the exact pressure level needed or desired for turning or milling and can therefore run less risk of deformation with air pressure. 

Another benefit is that air chucks are some of the fastest of fast-change chucks. As pressure is released after turning or milling, the part is able to be retrieved more quickly and the machine made ready for the next part being produced. 

If the jaws themselves don't need to be changed, downtime is drastically reduced and production is made far more efficient. 

Secure in operation, great precision, and more efficient operation is a win in any metal shop's book. However, air chucks have some rather obvious design elements that make them less of a generalist tool and better used for specific applications. 

Best Uses For Air Chucks

Air chucks are most commonly used in turning rather than milling, though there are some air chucks for milling applications. However, most of the workholding solutions industry produces them for use on a lathe. 

Air chucks, with adjustable pressure, are often called for when using workpieces of soft metal that other types of chucks might damage. The adjustable pressure allows for use with such workpieces when a manual jaw chuck or other workholding system might damage the part. 

Also, most uses of air chucks are for large-diameter or other long cylinders, such as pipes when turning threading, or for when a lathe cylinder may lack a large-enough through-hole. 

Therefore, the ideal use of an air chuck is when turning parts that are exceedingly long, of large diameter, or of soft metal that might be damaged by other jaw mechanisms, and especially when your shop turns out large numbers of these kinds of parts. 

If you'd like to find out if your shop could benefit from an air chuck system, contact us for a free consultation and quote! ATS Systems are the workholding experts, as we have led the industry for years in equipping metalworking shops with the tools they need to increase efficiency and production to help grow your business. 

Contact our support team today, and let's see what ATS Systems can do for you.