How to Install a Saunders Machine Works Fixture Plate:

Our fixture plates provide a versatile workholding system and table protection for HAAS, Tormach, and other CNC Mills, allowing you to drop on countless other fixtures and workholding devices with almost instant alignment!

FAQ

Do I need to use a rust preventative when installing the fixture plate?

Yes, we recommend LPS3 (See link below to buy!)

Can I leave the fixture plate installed?

Yes, it can remain on the machine, however, we recommend periodically removing to clean the machine and table (anywhere from every 3 to 12 months, depending on machine use.)

How can I cover the fixture plate unused fixture plate holes to keep the plate clean and free of chips?

We sell plate covers [and soon will be offering plugs!]

I noticed my dowel pin has some wobble in the bored hole. Shouldn’t it be a precision fit?

Our target is 0.5005″ diameter. We hold this tolerance consistently on the SMW steel plates. The aluminum plates are anodized and thus have a larger bored hole to accommodate the minor, but measurable, amount of thickness added by the hardcoat anodizing process. We tolerance the aluminum holes so that the hole is still functional even if the anodizing goes on thicker in certain areas of the plate; it’s better to work with a slightly large hole than one that is too small. We use best-in-class Del-tronic gage pins, along with dual bore gages to inspect and perform quality control. Dowel pins also have some variation in both diameter and circularity. In summary, a very minor difference in hole diameter (as little as 0.0002 a.k.a. “two tenths” can result in a noticeable change in feel. If you have any concerns or if we have missed something in our QC process, please let us know.