CLAMPS

Clamping: The Invisible Grip Behind Every Perfect Part

 Need of Clamping
Once workpiece is located, it is necessary to press it
against locating surfaces and hold it there against
the force acting upon it.

The tool designer refers to this action as clamping

and the mechanisms used for this action are known
as clamps.
 Clamping System
• A clamping system must hold the workpiece firmly
against the locating elements and the cutting forces
developed during operation without causing damage to it.
• Speed of operation, operator fatigue and strategic
positioning are consideration while designing clamping
system
• Clamping device should be incorporated into the jig or
fixture, proper clamping in a fixture directly influence
the accuracy and quality of the work done and
production cycle time.
 Principles of Clamping

• Position

• Strength

• Productivity

• Operator fatigue
Position: Principles of Clamping
•Clamping system should be positioned at thick
sections of the workpiece.
•Clamping should be positioned to direct the
clamping force on a strong, supported part of
the workpiece.
•Clamping on unsupported part bends
slender workpieces, affects accuracy of
operation.
Distortion of unsupported
•Clamping system should not obstruct loading workpiece
and unloading of the workpiece.
•Clamping system should not obstruct the paths
of cutting tool.
•Operator should be able to operate clamps
easily and safely
Principles of Clamping
• Clamping force shall be directed towards support / locators.
Principles of Clamping
• Clamp shall be directly in line with the support
Principles of Clamping
• Clamping force shall be directed towards support / locators.
Principles of Clamping
• Clamps shall apply force against supported area of work piece

Good Bad
 Principles of Clamping
Strength:
•The clamping system should be capable to hold the workpiece securely against the
forces developed during operation.
•Clamping device should be capable to be unaffected by the vibrations generated
during an operation.
•The clamping force should not dent or damage the workpiece with excessive
pressure.
•For clamping weak and fragile workpiece, clamping force should be equally
distributed over a wider area of the workpiece.
•While clamping soft workpiece, clamps should be fitted with pads or softer
materials such as Nylon or Fibre to prevent damage and denting of the
workpiece.
•Clamping faces should be hardened by proper treatments to minimize their
wearing out.
 Principles of Clamping
Productivity:

•Clamping time should be

minimized by using hand knobs,
tommy bars, knurled screws, hand
wheels and handles, so that
clamp can be tightened or loosened
manually without using spanners.
•Most of the clamps use hexagonal Hand operated clamping devices
nut or hand nut
MVF (Manual Voluntary Force) is the percentage of maximum
voluntary force a person exerts when gripping or pressing something.
In ergonomics and biomechanics, MVF is used to estimate the physical
stress on muscles, tendons, and joints.
MVF Impact on Human Palm
25% Comfortable
50% OK
75% High
100% Force Magnitude
1000 N = ~100 kgf
That’s like placing a 100 kg weight directly on your palm —
focused over a small area.

Possible Injuries
If such a force is applied via a clamp or vise:
➢ Crushing of soft tissues
➢ Broken bones (metacarpals)
➢ Loss of blood circulation
➢ Nerve damage
Skin rupture or deep bruising
Even at 500–600 N, you may experience pain and internal
damage, especially if the force is applied quickly or over a
small contact area.
 Case Study Examples
• Ergonomic Evaluation of Industrial Clamp Designs Based on MVF Requirements of the Human Hand
• Impact of Clamp Handle Geometry on Human Palm Pressure and Muscle Fatigue
• Design Optimization of Manual Clamps Using MVF-Based Ergonomic Analysis
• A Case Study on the Relationship Between Clamp Activation Force and Hand Muscle Fatigue
• Assessing User Discomfort and Safety in Clamp Operation at 50%, 75%, and 100% MVF
• MVF Thresholds in Clamp Usage: Reducing Fatigue Through Design Interventions
• Comparative Study of Toggle Clamps vs. Screw Clamps Based on Required MVF and User Comfort
• Redesigning Traditional C-Clamps to Reduce MVF Load and Improve Hand Safety
• The Role of Grip Angle and Handle Texture in MVF Demand During Clamp Operation
• Force Distribution on Human Palm During Clamp Operation: A Biomechanical Study
• A Human-Centered Design Approach to Clamps: Reducing MVF through Handle Redesign
• Palm Pressure Mapping and MVF Analysis in Hand-Actuated Clamping Tools
• Reducing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Through MVF-Aware Clamp Design
• Impact of Clamp Design on Operator Productivity and Hand Fatigue in Assembly Line Work
• Safe Clamp Operation in Industrial Settings: Designing Within MVF Limits
Principles of Clamping

Hand operated clamping devices

 Principles of Clamping
Operator Fatigue:
Operator fatigue should be considered.
•Clamping should be operator friendly.
•Clamping and releasing should be easy and less
time consuming.
•Maintenance should be easy.
•If considerable number of clamps are to be
tightened or loosened repeatedly, it is better to use
pneumatic or hydraulic clamping which reduces
operator fatigue and saves clamping time.
•Hand nuts are more convenient for the operator
than hexagonal nuts because a
spanner is not required to tighten them.
 Types of Clamping

• Mechanical Actuation Clamps

• Pneumatic and Hydraulic Clamps
• Vacuum Clamping
• Magnetic Clamping
• Electrostatic Clamping
• Special Clamping Operations
 Types of Clamps- Mechanical Actuation Clamps
• Screw clamps
• Strap clamps
• Pivoted clamps
• Hinged clamps
• Swinging clamps
• Quick action clamps
• Power clamps
• Non-conventional clamps
 Methods of Clamping

Clamping method and system are basically of two categories:

1.General type without much consideration of the speed of

clamping operations.
2.Quick acting clamping method / quick action clamps.
 Screw Clamps
•They are threaded devices with knurled collar, hand knob, keys, tommy
bar or spanner flats for rotating and tightening the screw.
•They are used for light clamping and also small production quantity.

Screw Clamp
 Screw Clamps
➢ These are simple clamps which make
use of a threaded rod equipped with
some method of tightening.
➢ They are used commonly in Jigs and
Fixtures
➢ Screw Clamp uses the torque
developed by screw thread to hold
the workpiece.
➢ Average holding force for screws of
different sizes given in the table.
 CLAMPING ACTION OF SCREW CLAMP

SLIDE CLAMPING BAR TO TURN AND APPLY

CONTACT THE WORKPIECE CLAMPINGFORCE

AFTER MACHINING TURN TO SLIDE CLAMPING BAR BACK TO

UNCLAMP UNLOAD
SCREW CLAMP
 Screw Clamps
• The disadvantage of screw clamp is, the clamping pressure
largely depends on the workpiece, it varies from one workpiece
to other.
• It is more time consuming and more efforts are required.
Screw Clamps

Clamping Screw
Screw Clamps

Clamping Screw
Screw Clamps

Clamping Screw
 C-Clamp (Aka G-Clamps):
• The popular C-Clamp is the standard go-to clamp for many
occasions.
• Its simplicity and availability are unmatched.
• Every clamp collection starts with a few sizes of C-Clamps.
• Due to the popularity of the C-Clamp, various designs are
available for different occasions.
These designs include:
Standard C-Clamps: Most common clamp
Double Anvil C-Clamps: Distributing even load
Quick Release C-Clamps: Fast action
Copper Coated C-Clamps: Prevent weld spatter build up
Deep Reach C-Clamps: For long reach
Locking C-Clamps: One handed use
Ideal for:

•Woodworking
•Metalworking
•Low cost
Extended Throat C-Clamp

Best for: Woodworking, face gluing

boards, automotive

An extended throat C-clamp is a C-

clamp with extra-long jaws, which
allows it to apply clamping pressure
furthered toward the center of a
workpiece.
F-Clamp
Best for: Wood joinery, face gluing boards,
holding workpieces
Like the C-clamp, the F-clamp is named for its
resemblance to a letter. Rather than being
held by a fixed, C-shaped frame, the
threaded screw is held by a sliding
member that rides along a straight portion
in the frame. This allows the jaws to expand
and hold much more material than a C-clamp
is capable of. F-clamps often have large
throats, which allows them to clamp further
toward the center of larger materials.
Strap or Plate Clamps
 Strap / Plate / Bridge Clamps
• It is very simple and reliable clamping device.
• The clamping force is applied by spring loaded nut.
The most common material for clamp straps is carburized-hardened carbon
steel, but forged steel, stainless steel, and aluminum clamp straps are also
available.

Strap Clamp
Strap / Plate / Bridge Clamps
• These are made of rectangular plates
and act like levers.
• The clamps are tightened by rotating a
hexagonal nut on a clamping screw.
• One end of the clamp presses against the
workpiece and the other end on the
heel pin.
• The toe i.e. clamping face of the clamp is
curved and the pressure face of the heel
pin is made spherical to take care of any
variations in the workpiece.
• Spherical washers permits the clamp to
tilt with respect to the screw and the nut.
 Strap / Plate / Bridge Clamps
• Strap clamps are provided with a
washer and spring below the
clamp.
• The spring lifts the clamp as the
nut is loosened and workpiece
becomes free.
• The Spring holds the clamp in a
raised position during loading
and unloading of the workpiece.
• Washer prevents the entry of the
spring in the hole of the clamp.
• Clamp is rotated about the stud
to release the workpiece.
 Strap / Plate / Bridge Clamps
• The clamp is prevented from rotating during clamping by providing
pin at the heel-end.
• The clamp stud is usually at least 10mm in diameter and nearer to the
toe-end than heel-end of the clamp.
• The heel pin engages the clamp plate to prevent
it from rotating during clamping.
 Strap / Plate / Bridge Clamps
• The simplest and most probably
used clamps.
• All strap clamps employ the
principles of levers.

Basic Characteristics of Strap clamp

are
➢ Lever Mechanism is used
➢ Positive clamping
➢ Slow loading and unloading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS_KkHOe8dc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS_KkHOe8dc
 Design of a Strap Clamp
What are the parts of a strap clamp?

A strap clamp's main parts consist of a strap, a lever, two

jaw clips, and a clamping plate.
 Base Plate
Pillar pin
 Stud
Spring
 Strap
Lever Nut
Spherical washer
 Different forms of Assembly of Strap clamp
Assembly with spherical nut and washer
This clamp assembly includes a
Slotted-Heel Padded Clamp Strap
plus the following items:

Spherical Nut & Washer

Clamping Stud
Clamp Spring
Flat Washer
Jam Nut
Clamp Rest
Assembly with Flange Nut
This clamp assembly includes a
Slotted-Heel Padded Clamp Strap
plus the following items:

Flange Nut
Clamping Stud
Clamp Spring
Flat Washer
Jam Nut
Clamp Rest
Assembly with Hand knob and spherical washer
This clamp assembly includes a
Slotted-Heel Padded Clamp Strap
plus the following items:

Hand Knob
Spherical Washer
Clamping Stud
Clamp Spring
Flat Washer
Jam Nut
Clamp Rest
Assembly with Cam Handle and spherical washer

This clamp assembly includes a

Slotted-Heel Padded Clamp Strap
plus the following items:

Cam Handle
Spherical Washer
Eye Bolt
Clevis Pin
Clamp Spring
Flat Washer
Jam Nut
Clamp Rest
 Problem 1
Design a strap clamp for holding the work piece shown in fig. Suggest a Suitable
clamp to hold the job shown below.
The given problem requires designing
a strap clamp to hold a particular
workpiece. Strap clam can be used to
hold the job. The details of the strap
clamp is given here.
The base plate should be heavy and preferably made
of cast iron
The clamping stud is screwed on to the base
plate
The pillar pin can be press fit on the base plate
When the lever nut is loosened, a compression spring between the
base and the strap holds the strap in position.
The strap can be slid onto and off the workpiece for easy removal.
The pillar pin rests in a groove under the strap to prevent it from
turning when lever nut is loosened
The ASTME tool engineering hand book recommends that the central slot in
a typical strap clamp be 1.6mm wider than the bolt or stud passing
through it.
The washer is used for accommodating the variation of the
workpiece height
The designed clamp can be used for workpiece of different sizes
(limited to stud size, spring free and compressed length
Strap with cam clamp
 Swinging Strap Clamp
❖ This type of clamp can be rotated by
90o to clear the passage for loading
and unloading the workpiece.
❖ The clamp is swung to the position
shown by the chain dotted line during
loading and unloading of the
workpieces.

Swinging Strap Clamp

Strap Clamp
• Gooseneck Clamp can reduce the clamp height with respect to
the work piece height.

Gooseneck Clamp
 Strap Clamp

• Strap Clamp clamping two work pieces

Strap
Clamp
Edge Clamps
 Edge Strap Clamp
• Edge Clamps are used for
clamping workpieces on the
edges during facing operations or
when only horizontal surface is to be
machined.
• Tightening of the hexagonal nut wedges
the clamp between the workpiece and
the angular heel surface.
Edge Strap Clamp
 Edge Jaw Clamp
• Edge jaw clamp slides down the inclined heel as the hexagonal nut is
tightened.
• Tightening of the hexagonal nut pushes the jaw against the workpiece to
clamp its edge.

Edge Jaw Clamp

Pivoted Clamps
 Pivoted Strap Clamp
• Clamps are often pivoted at the centre to simplify their operation.
• The knurled headed screw is used to loosen and tighten the clamp.

Pivoted Strap Clamp

 Pivoted Two-way Clamp
• Pivot action can be used for two-way clamping of the workpiece.
• Tightening of the screw makes the curved surface of the clamp
touch the workpiece and further tightening of the screw clamps the
workpiece vertically and horizontally.
• Two-way clamp also pushes the workpiece against two locators.

Pivoted Two-way Clamp

Hinged / Latch Clamps
 Hinged Clamp
• Hinged clamp provides rapid clearance of
the passage for loading and unloading.
• It is clamped with swinging eyebolt. The
clamp has open slot through which the
eyebolt can be swung into position.
• Tightening of the hexagonal nut clamps the
workpiece.
• For loading and unloading the workpiece,
the hexagonal nut is loosened half-a-turn
and the eyebolt is swung out of the open slot
to free the hinged plate.
 Hinged Two-way Clamp
• The workpiece is pushed against the
location pins by the pivoted edge clamp
which also houses the swinging eyebolt.
• The knurled nut is used to clamp the
workpiece against the location pins.
• Workpiece is clamped in two direction by
the edge clamp and the pad in the
hinge.
• For loading and unloading the workpiece,
the knurled nut is loosened half-a-turn and
the eyebolt is swung out of the open slot to
free the hinged plate.
Hinged Clamp
Quick Action Clamps

https://www.carrlane.com/engineering-resources/technical-
information/manual-workholding/strap-clamps
A quick-release clamp is designed with a mechanism which allows the
user to rapidly open and close the jaws in one movement.

The type of mechanism used can vary, depending on the model - a quick-
release clamp can be designed with a lever, a trigger, or a spring.
 Compared with screw clamps, the quick-release type has a much
lower clamping strength, meaning multiple clamps may be needed
to hold a workpiece efficiently.
This can prove to be a disadvantage in terms of cost, as a user will need to
purchase many more quick-release clamps than they would if they were
using screw operated ones.

However, a quick-release clamp is

usually designed to be used one-handed,
a major advantage when attempting to
grip large or heavy objects, as the other
hand is free to hold the workpiece until
the clamp is in place.
 Spring Clamp
A spring clamp, also known as a pinch clamp or
a hand clamp, is a small gripping device which
looks and works similarly to a clip.
The device has a simple structure, which consists of two jaws and two
handles, which are connected by a spring pivot in the centre.

It is an ideal clamp to use for

small repair work, along
with holding workpieces for
gluing or painting.
 Trigger clamp
Trigger clamps are very popular with both
DIYers and professionals due to its ease of use.
The trigger mechanism allows the jaws of the
clamp to be opened and closed one-handed,
leaving the other hand free.

With each press of the trigger the

moveable jaw slides towards the other
jaw, closing them together and allowing
for fast and easy positioning. It is an ideal
clamp to be used in any environment,
including the home, a workshop and the
garden.
 Toggle Clamp
• They provide considerable
distance for loading and
unloading of the workpiece.
• The C frame clamp can be swung to
the chain dotted position during
loading and unloading.
 Toggle Clamp
• The pusher-type toggle clamp withdraws
backwards during unclamping.
• Toggle clamps are provided with clamping
screws to accommodate workpiece variations.
Toggle Clamp
 Quick Action Hand Nut
• They are available with the manufacturers of standard parts.
• Cast hand nuts are more convenient and less expensive than the
turned nuts
 Cam
• Quick clamping by cam is very effective and very simple in
operation.
• The cam type clamping system is used for clamping through
some interior parts where other simple system will not have
access.
Multiple Clamping
 Double Clamping

• Two workpieces with limited

variation can be clamped by a
single strap clamp.
• The spherical washers are
provided between the nut and
the clamp which allow the clamp
to tilt slightly to suit the
variation in the two
workpieces.
 Equaliser
• Clamp is pivoted around a pin.
• Equaliser clamp pivots to suit the variation in the workpieces.
• Equaliser principle can be extended to clamp more than two
workpieces.
• In multiple clamping, a pivoted
equalizer is used for clamping
two unequal workpieces
simultaneously.
• A pivot pin is used to pivot the
equalizer.
 Equaliser
• Many even number of workpieces can be clamped
simultaneously by a single clamp.
 Equaliser
• Only an even number of workpieces can be clamped by an equaliser.
 Stacking
• Workpieces can be staked together and the entire stack can be secured
by a single clamp.
• Workpieces can be sandwiched between locators and the multi-layered
sandwich can be secured by a single clamp.

• All the workpieces are clamping

together by hexagonal head bolt and
one end of the fixture.
Power Clamping
 Power Clamping
• Power clamping is used to simultaneously operate a number of
clamps.
• Power clamping can be broadly divided in to the following
categories:
• Fluid power clamping
o Pneumatic clamping
o Hydraulic clamping
• Vacuum clamping
• Magnetic clamping
• Electrostatic clamping
 Summary: Principle of Clamping
• Positon clamp on strong supported part of the workpiece, clear of the
workpiece loading / unloading and cutting tool paths.

• Clamp strength should be adequate to withstand

operational forces without damaging the workpiece.

• Quick operation without spanner, levers, knobs.

• Pneumatic / hydraulic operation for simultaneous actuation of numerous

clamps.

• Compensation for variation in the workpiece through radii at clamping

point and on the heel pin, use of spherical washers and equalisers.