Mathematical Analysis of the Process Forces Effect on Collet Chuck Holders

Chuck holders are widely used for jobs with high precision. A chuck holder consists of a nut with a tapered surface and a thin-slotted clamping sleeve typically made of hardened steel and named a collet. Chuck holders are, essentially, wedge mechanisms. In this paper, we investigated the reactions and strains due to the forces during the chip removal process in the contact elements or jaws of the collet by means of mathematical analysis. Deflections in the jaws of the collet arise with a high influence from the precision of the workpieces. The cutting or process forces cause an axial force, a radial force, a torsional moment, and a bending moment on the chuck collet, and, consequently, displacements and inclinations of the clamping system are caused. Therefore, the proposed analytical models are based on elasticity and contact theories. The mathematical model for determining the deflections of the clamping system force was developed and implemented using MATLAB. The results showed that the variation in the clamping force during rotation in a collet chuck holder mainly depends on the stiffness of the collet chuck holder and the stiffness of the workpiece. The results indicated that the collet should be vulcanized to minimize the deformations that affect the final product. The deflections of a collet chuck holder due to process forces depend strongly on the clearances, wedge angle, and stiffness of the collet.