Patent ID: 6930272

Claim:
A vise for holding a work piece in position on the worktable of an EDM machine so that the discharge wire of the EDM machine can be located adjacent the work piece and moved to the work position for machining the work piece, the vise comprising: a main plate for attachment to the worktable of the EDM machine; an intermediate support member mounted on the main plate and parallel therewith, the intermediate support member having a lower surface and an opposite upper surface for supporting the work piece thereon; a solid jaw mounted on the upper surface of the intermediate support member, and the solid jaw having opposed end portions that extend past the intermediate support member thus forming solid jaw undercuts that allow the solid jaw to be used as a reference point for the discharge wire in order to locate and move the discharge wire to the work position relative to the work piece; a movable jaw mounted on the intermediate support member for reciprocable movement in the x direction toward the solid jaw for holding the work piece between the solid jaw and the movable jaw and away from the solid jaw to allow for the removal of the work piece, the movable jaw having opposed end portions that extend past the intermediate support member creating movable jaw undercuts that facilitate the locating of the discharge wire to the work position with respect to the work piece; a clearance pocket formed between the movable jaw and the solid jaw into which the discharge wire can be moved for machining the work piece; an alignment and stopping device attachable to the solid jaw for contacting the work piece and fixing the position of the work piece within the jaws in the y direction for obtaining repeatability of the positioning of the work piece in the y direction; and the movable and solid jaw cooperating with the alignment and stopping device for obtaining repeatability of location for the work piece in the x and y directions and the undercuts of the movable jaw and the solid jaw allowing the discharge wire to use the solid jaw to establish a reference point by contacting the solid jaw and then moving the discharge wire to the work position adjacent the work piece.