Patent ID: 7765662

Claim:
A holding fixture for machining a plurality of bearing caps, the bearing caps having a generally semi-cylindrical bearing bore on an interior surface thereof, the bearing bore having a central axis, and first and second bolt shoulders on opposite sides of the bearing bore that are drilled to receive bolts and are machined to provide a parting line surface, the holding fixture comprising: a fixture frame; a mandrel attached to the fixture frame, the mandrel receiving the bearing caps and locating the bearing caps with the bearing bore centered relative to the mandrel; a plurality of clamps engaging an exterior portion of the bearing caps to retain the bearing caps on the mandrel, said plurality of clamps including a set of central clamps that engage a central portion of the bearing caps and are each adapted to engage two bearing caps simultaneously and retain the two bearing caps on the mandrel at a selected circumferential orientation relative to the mandrel.