Anyone ever seen or used one of these? (Fractal Vise?)

I want one too! But just looking at the beauty of them seems cost prohibitive in my mind.

Note to self: I need a friend with a bunch of CNC equipment!
 
benmychree said:
Pretty much useless for machine work, I think; nearly all machine work calls for accurate alignment of the workpiece, I do not see how that could be achieved by that device. Someone observed that they may have been used for holding work for manual engraving.
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What would make them unstable? Disregarding manufacturing tolerances, it doesn't look like the part should be able to move once the vice is tightened, right? Once all of the smaller jaws are locked to the part, the larger jaws couldn't turn; not unless the part is small enough that the two large jaws had closed down so that they were rotating around the same central point, I would think. So you couldn't index a back jaw and know that your part was aligned with that once the jaws were closed or anything, but what would keep you from using parallels for horizontal alignment and then moving the entire vice while indicating the workpiece itself before locking the vice down to a table? If that were done, am I missing something that would still screw it up?

Or is it simply that, in general, these types of vices are sloppy enough that you CAN'T disregard manufacturing tolerances, and they still have "wiggle" even after they're closed down tight?
 
Fractal vises are secure once clamped. Where they vary from a classical vise is that the jaws shift while tightening, so you don't have a back-jaw which serves as a reference which is parallel with the X-Axis of the Mill.
 
Maybe useless for production work, but hardly useless for the kind of awkward one-off jobs a hobbyist may do! For securing rough castings for initial work, for example, it would be fantastic. A version with a straight fixed jaw and a fractal moving jaw would be ace too.
 
I've got this slick Kopal vise insert thing that accomplishes about the same task.

The body is filled with some sort of oil. The pistons are free to move in/out independently to match the contours of the part you're grabbing.

Had it for a few years, only used it once.

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That would be a neat little project to make.
 
Lo-Fi said:
That would be a neat little project to make.
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Yup. It's an all-aluminum body too, so certainly nothing special.

I'm frankly surprised the concept hasn't caught on more. It's a good idea, especially for use with castings and the like.
 
I, too, was fascinated when I discovered fractal vises. That stirring was renewed tonight when I saw a dude making a wooden version! Unbeatable for holding carvings of any shape to work on. Either way, metal or wood, what a fascinating rabbit hole it would be to make one! Perhaps I'll make a wooden one first to understand how much work is involved and what kind of tools are needed.
OK. It's on the bucket list.

DanK
 
If you have a lot of money like Adam Booth you could spring for one of these.

ADAPTIX™ by Norgren

Norgren is a world leader in motion and fluid control technologies, delivering exceptional solutions which improve our customers' equipment.
www.norgrenworkholding.com
 
aliva said:
If you have a lot of money like Adam Booth you could spring for one of these.

ADAPTIX™ by Norgren

Norgren is a world leader in motion and fluid control technologies, delivering exceptional solutions which improve our customers' equipment.
www.norgrenworkholding.com
Click to expand...
I'm sure Adam didn't pay a dime for his.

He's quite lax about disclosing sponsors / gifts / ads / etc.

I followed him for years, but he's turned into such a shill these days that I cannot stomach him.
 
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