Adjustable self centering pipe chuck

[kn612]

Does anyone know where I can find a cad file/drawing of something like this:

[plasmanewbie]

There was one in the file sharing forum I believe, have you done a search for one there?

[plasmanewbie]

I found this one https://plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php? ... +centering

Is that what your looking for?

[kn612]

Looking for something that the jaws don't rotate. I'm trying to replicate the one in the video to mount on a diy plasma pipe cutter.

[adbuch]

Looking for something that the jaws don't rotate. I'm trying to replicate the one in the video to mount on a diy plasma pipe cutter.

kn612 - I would start out by specing out the hardware he used for the jaws (some sort of captive ball arrangement - not sure if the ball rotates in the socket). I would check McMaster-Carr. Once you have these, then you can determine the mounting locations for the angle pieces on the base plate. If you watch the video in slow speed, you can study the action of the mechanism. The question is how tight do you need to hold your pipe, and will it be supported at the other end?

Once you have the above information, this would be pretty easy to draw up and create a cad file for cutting or machining.

David

tubepro details.jpg

[acourtjester]

The ball assemblies are use for things like rolling supports. Some have made supports for saws (table saws, metal cussing band saws). Like a omnidirectional bearing. They can be bought in a single amount. They may have been used like a self aligning part of the jaw.

saw supports.JPG

[adbuch]

Maybe something like these. The studs are M8 - so around 5/16" diameter. If the OP comes back to this thread, perhaps he can tell us how large a pipe or tube he needs to accommodate, and how it would be supported at the other end of the pipe/tube.

David

roller balls amazon.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LHQPGSM/re ... RhaWw&th=1

[acourtjester]

The problem I see with those is their thickness, you will need to make the chuck larger to use them.

[ROKCRLER]

flange mount.
Ive used these to slide tube on for bending.
https://www.harborfreight.com/material- ... 67067.html

[adbuch]

The problem I see with those is their thickness, you will need to make the chuck larger to use them.

They look almost identical to the ones in the video - as far as I can tell. There are also many others of different sizes and thickness on Amazon as well.
David

[adbuch]

flange mount.
Ive used these to slide tube on for bending.
https://www.harborfreight.com/material- ... 67067.html

Mo - those look like they might work as well. It will be up to the OP to decide how large he wants to make this, assuming he ever returns to his thread to follow up with us. He has his "last active" turned off at his profile page, so no way to know if he has been back to the forum since his original post.

David

[kn612]

I have a bucket of those ball rollers. Planning on using them with a combination of 3d printed parts and some plate to make a 3 jaw follower.

IMG_20250108_192049.jpg

I'm just struggling a little bit getting the geometry right for the slots that make the jaws open and close. I figured it would be easy to find a 3 or 4 jaw longworth chuck that had a through hole to pass pipe/tube but I haven't found anything that would work well for my application.

I was working on keeping it simple but here is a model of a nice 4 jaw:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/30yv9we2 ... v.zip/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file/mdnfd40v ... P.zip/file

Screenshot (1).png

Going to mount it all on the gantry of my cnc pipe cutter: https://plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php? ... r&start=25
I'm getting paralysis by analysis on this project. I keep changing what I want to do for a follower design every week.

[adbuch]

It looks to me like you've already got it figured out. Just modify your design for your 4-jaw as you showed in your other thread, and substitute the 3-jaw roller setup for your 4 jaw configuration. What material and density are you printing out those green ball holder brackets from?

Thanks,

David

33.jpg

[kn612]

It looks to me like you've already got it figured out. Just modify your design for your 4-jaw as you showed in your other thread, and substitute the 3-jaw roller setup for your 4 jaw configuration. What material and density are you printing out those green ball holder brackets from?

Thanks,

David

33.jpg

It's close, but hangs up pretty good. I think I went with too aggressive of an arc for the slots that control open/close.

They are pla, 15% gyroid infill, 5 walls.

[adbuch]

It looks to me like you've already got it figured out. Just modify your design for your 4-jaw as you showed in your other thread, and substitute the 3-jaw roller setup for your 4 jaw configuration. What material and density are you printing out those green ball holder brackets from?

Thanks,

David

33.jpg

It's close, but hangs up pretty good. I think I went with too aggressive of an arc for the slots that control open/close.

They are pla, 15% gyroid infill, 5 walls.

tubepro details 1.jpg

[kn612]

Success

IMG_20250112_083325.jpg

IMG_20250112_085004~2.jpg

12' 1"-4" round capacity. A huge upgrade over supporting with a pipe stand.

[acourtjester]

Thanks for the share, this will help others in their quest, success is very helpful.
Is you chuck based on the one posted on PS for is different file set??

self centering vise.zip

[adbuch]

Success

IMG_20250112_083325.jpg

IMG_20250112_085004~2.jpg

12' 1"-4" round capacity. A huge upgrade over supporting with a pipe stand.

OK - I think I get it now. This is a support for the other end (opposite the chuck). Very nicely done! Would you please show some pictures of the complete machine so we can see the chuck end as well as the entire machine?

Thanks,
David

[adbuch]

Thanks for the share, this will help others in their quest, success is very helpful.
Is you chuck based on the one posted on PS for is different file set??
self centering vise.zip

Tom - I think it is more based on the one show below.
David

tubepro details 1.jpg

[acourtjester]

Yes it seems to slightly different, I was not sure if he made simple changes to the one posted as it does look larger. We wait for kn612 words on it.
On the other end is most likely the drive chuck, maybe a 3 jaw.

[adbuch]

Yes it seems to slightly different, I was not sure if he made simple changes to the one posted as it does look larger. We wait for kn612 words on it.
On the other end is most likely the drive chuck, maybe a 3 jaw.

Tom - we were having discussions offline about the design. He is using AutoDesk Inventor to draw from scratch and showed me a screen shot using the nice tool that Inventor has to create curved slots. A very similar tool is available in Fusion 360. After seeing this, I downloaded and installed Inventor 2024 with the CAM module to check it out. It's a pretty nice program with the look and feel of Fusion 360 - and many of the commands are the same.

David

inventor screen shot.jpg

[acourtjester]

Here is a similar type chuck construction that I had seen in the past. I will snoop around to see if there is a DIY description.

longworth chuck.JPG

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1644097482 ... gIMIPD_BwE
Here is a video on how to calculate the curves to make a chuck.

[adbuch]

Tom,
From his Etsy photos, I can't really tell how it works. I would need to see a video with a demonstration. OK - I watched the video and now see that it is two separate round plywood discs with slots. He showed it holding a bowl. I think I remember this guy from the Sawmill Creek forum a few years ago. It's a wood working site - I am a member there.


David

[kn612]

Tom, I had to design up a follower/steady rest from scratch. A longworth chuck that had a hole in the middle for tubes to pass through would have been ideal, however I couldn't find one. I could picture in my head what I needed but wasn't sure if it even existed. You don't know what you don't know.

I wanted something that was adjustable instead of swapping out faceplates for different diameters and one that was self centering to match the driver chuck. I tried to mimic what Bendtech and ShopSabre did on their 3 jaw followers with the material I had on hand. Inventor's slot tool made the design alot easier than the previous ones I made in Qcad. Its driven by a 3 jaw chuck on the back.

IMG_20250112_184353.jpg

IMG_20250112_184607.jpg

[acourtjester]

Here is a different design. but the guy did not follow though with the selling of the finished tool but the design is neat.

here is a different design that could be adapted to work too.