While these chucks are designed to be universal, there are a range of sizes to match the thread type and dimensions of your machine. They can also use irregular or uneven jaw shapes for handling irregular workpieces or creating the alignment necessary for your lathe machine.
What Are Common Types of Lathe Chucks?
There are four types of lathe chucks, but 3 jaw and 4 jaw remain the most common by far. Consider all four types before you choose the lathe chuck that best fits your application:
- 3 jaw lathe chuck: Approximately 80% of chucks used in lathes are 3 jaw self-centering units. At Rayco Fixture, we offer lathe chucks with M8, M6, M4 and 1/4-20 thread types.
- 4 jaw independent: This is the most common type of 4 jaw chuck, typically with the pros and cons described above.
- 4 jaw self centering: What seems like a balanced option between 3 jaw self-centering and 4 jaw independent chucks is actually a highly specialized product with a restricted range of use. These are usually reserved for square stock that requires fast processing speeds.
- 6 jaw self centering:Most commonly used in tubing applications, a 6 jaw chuck creates balanced pressure around the entire circumference to reduce the risk of distortion.
Our plates use an alpha-numeric organizational pattern for a grid of your holes. Every hole is made at your chosen thread size. This not only allows you to screw on clamps wherever they are needed but also to easily catalog this particular workholding pattern for your next production process. Repeatable precision is at the heart of everything we do.
In addition to types, these chucks all come in different sizes. A larger chuck diameter is required for a larger workpiece diameter, but your machine can also handle a particular range of chucks.
