Modular Workholding Foundation

Zero-Point Clamping Plate

Q: What's the difference between a steel and an aluminum clamping plate?

Choose **Steel** for maximum rigidity, vibration dampening, and wear resistance, making it ideal for heavy-duty milling and high-production environments. Choose **Aluminum** (typically high-grade_7075-T6) when weight is a concern, such as on smaller machine tables with load limits, for 4th-axis tombstones, or in automated pallet-changing systems where reduced mass is critical for faster swaps.

The Foundation for Ultimate Flexibility

The Nextas Zero-Point Clamping Plate is the fastest way to implement a modular, quick-change system on your machine tool. By providing a standardized, precision-ground base with integrated zero-point clamping modules, it transforms your machine bed into a highly flexible and productive platform.

Core Advantages

Standardized Machine Interface: Instantly create a universal grid on your machine table, allowing any fixture or pallet to be mounted with perfect alignment every time.
Exceptional Rigidity and Stability: Precision-ground from high-grade materials, our plates provide a solid, stable base that absorbs vibration and withstands heavy cutting forces.
True Modularity: Available in various sizes and configurations (single, dual, quad-module) to fit any machine table and application, from small vises to large tombstone fixtures.
Plug-and-Play Implementation: Dramatically simplifies the adoption of a zero-point system. Simply bolt the plate to your machine's T-slots and connect the air supply to start saving setup time.

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Plate Specifications

Parameter	Specification
Plate Material	Hardened Stainless Steel
Flatness / Parallelism	≤0.005mm
Standard Sizes (L x W)	Refer to catalogue
Integrated Modules	1, 2, 4, or more, depending on plate size
Module Spacing	Standard 52mm, 96mm, 200mm grids, or custom patterns
Mounting System	Designed for standard T-slot tables or direct mounting
Surface Treatment	Corrosion-resistant coating

Built as a Rock-Solid Foundation

The Nextas Zero-Point Clamping Plate serves as the crucial link between your machine tool and your workholding. Each plate is meticulously crafted from high-quality, stress-relieved steel or aluminum and precision-ground to achieve exceptional flatness and parallelism. This ensures that the micron-level accuracy of the integrated zero-point modules is perfectly transferred to your workpiece. The plates feature a standardized grid pattern (e.g., 52mm/96mm) and integrated plumbing for pneumatic actuation, making setup clean, simple, and incredibly fast.

52mm/96mm Industry-Standard Module Design

The manual zero point plate adopts a 52mm/96mm industry-standard module design, ensuring strong compatibility with global CNC machining tooling systems. This standardization avoids custom adaptation troubles, enabling seamless integration into both small workshops and large manufacturing setups. The two module sizes meet different workpiece weight and size needs, boosting flexibility in diverse machining tasks. With widely available spare parts, it simplifies maintenance and replacement. For businesses valuing consistency, this design cuts downtime from incompatible tooling, enhancing overall operational efficiency.

Compatibility with Self-Centering Vise: Over 90% Setup Time Cut

A key advantage of the manual zero point plate is its perfect compatibility with self-centering vises, which reduces workpiece setup time by over 90%. Traditional setups need repeated manual alignment, which is time-consuming and error-prone, harming part quality. When paired with a self-centering vise, the plate uses pre-set zero references and auto-centering, letting operators fix workpieces in seconds. This is vital for high-mix, low-volume production with frequent job changes, as it increases machine utilization and output while maintaining precision.

Versatile for Vertical/Horizontal MCs & 3/4/5-Axis Systems

The manual zero point plate is highly versatile, fitting vertical/horizontal machining centers (VMCs/HMCs) and 3-axis, 4-axis, 5-axis CNC systems. In vertical machining, it stabilizes workpieces for milling, drilling, and tapping. In horizontal setups, it uses gravity to support longer/heavier workpieces. For complex 4/5-axis tasks like contouring, its precise alignment ensures quality. It serves industries like automotive, aerospace, and medical device manufacturing, eliminating the need for multiple specialized tools, reducing costs, and simplifying inventory management.

Horizontal Machining Centers (HMCs)

Use clamping plates as the base for tombstone fixtures, allowing you to prepare and load an entire multi-part setup offline and swap it into the machine in minutes.

Vertical Machining Centers (VMCs)

Equip your VMC with a clamping plate to rapidly switch between different vises, 4th-axis rotary tables, or custom job-specific fixtures without lengthy re-alignment procedures.

Automated Pallet Pools

Our clamping plates are the ideal foundation for automated pallet systems. Their robustness and standard interface ensure reliable, repeatable exchanges by robotic loaders 24/7.

CMM & Inspection

Transfer a workpiece directly from the CNC to the CMM on the same pallet, using an identical clamping plate as the reference. This eliminates re-fixturing errors and ensures consistent measurement.

See It In Action

Rapid Pneumatic Clamping Action

Experience the satisfying speed and power of our pneumatic zero-point clamping. With the press of a button, the system engages with immense force and perfect repeatability, locking the fixture securely. This is the core of our quick-change technology, engineered for reliability in the most demanding CNC production environments.

Case Study

Frequently Asked Questions

01 How does a zero-point plate reduce setup time vs. traditional T-slots?

A zero-point plate replaces manual alignment with T-slots, which can take 30-60 minutes, with a 'lock and go' system. Fixtures with zero-point studs are dropped into the plate and clamped pneumatically in seconds. This reduces setup time by over 90%, allowing operators to swap jobs in under 5 minutes with micron-level repeatability, drastically increasing machine uptime.

02 What is the typical repeatability I can expect from this clamping plate?

Our zero-point clamping plates, featuring precision-ground modules and hardened steel locating cones, guarantee a repeatability of ≤0.005 mm (5 microns). This allows you to remove a fixture, run a different job, and remount the original fixture with the certainty that your work offsets are unchanged.

03 What's the difference between a steel and an aluminum clamping plate?

Choose Steel for maximum rigidity, vibration dampening, and wear resistance, making it ideal for heavy-duty milling and high-production environments. Choose Aluminum (typically high-grade 7075-T6) when weight is a concern, such as on smaller machine tables with load limits, for 4th-axis tombstones, or in automated pallet-changing systems where reduced mass is critical for faster swaps.

04 What maintenance is required for the integrated pneumatic modules?

Maintenance is minimal. We recommend daily visual inspection and cleaning of debris from the modules. Ensure your air supply is clean and dry (using an FRL unit) to protect internal seals. Periodically (e.g., every 6 months) check for air leaks and apply a light pneumatic tool oil to the air inlet to maintain smooth operation. The modules are fully sealed against coolant and chips.

05 Can I use this plate for inspection on a CMM as well?

Yes, this is a major advantage. You can machine a part on a pallet clamped to our plate on the CNC, then unclamp the entire pallet and move it to a CMM equipped with an identical zero-point plate. This 'single-setup' process eliminates re-fixturing errors, as the part's coordinate system is perfectly preserved from machining to inspection, dramatically improving quality control and consistency.

06 Are these plates compatible with my existing self-centering vises?

Absolutely. You can easily adapt your existing vises (like Kurt, Schunk, or Nextas self-centering vises) to the zero-point plate. You simply mount our standard clamping studs (e.g., 52mm or 96mm spacing) to the bottom of your vise. This turns your vise into a quick-change component that can be mounted or removed from the plate in seconds.

Resources & Downloads

3D CAD Files (STEP)

For your design and simulation needs.

Zero-Point Clamping Plate