HYDRAULIC WORKHOLDING ASSEMBLY

摘要

A workholding assembly (10) for releasably holding a work piece includes a master variable-volume fluid chamber (150, 830) disposed between a machine and the machine's axially- movable draw bar (110) such that the workholding assembly converts the mechanical axial force/movement of the draw bar (110) into fluid pressure/fluid flow. The resulting fluid pressure operates a fluid-driven gripping assembly such as a radial-piston-based hydraulic collet assembly (20, 500) or a diaphragm-based hydraulic gripping assembly (800) . The hydraulic collet assembly may be a quick-change assembly that enables an operator to quickly and easily change between differently sized or shaped collets .