ENGINEERING STUDY / FIXTUREJS—02
Gripper and EOAT Engineering Calculator
A browser engineering tool combining finger structure, retention, force/pressure, positive stops, stroke, payload, wrist moment, EOAT mass, and center of gravity.
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WorkholdingcalculatorEngineering workflow
Positive-Stop Vernier Gripper Calculator
A 2D CAD-style HTML calculator for selecting front/back gripping modes and positive-stop lock combinations.
Open the working tool ↗
Change the inputs and explore the engineering results.
MY FOCUSDeveloped fixed-geometry rendering, stroke calculations, dual-lock ranking, collision gates, heatmaps, and validation grids.
ENGINEERING VALUE
Combines mechanical workholding design with a shop-facing configuration and verification tool.
PROJECT SCOPE
Original v9 calculator with CAD views, ranked lock pairs, heatmap and setup CSV
Explore the project checks ↗ENGINEERING STUDY / FIXTUREJS—02
Engineering concept illustration.
01 / THE PROBLEM
The engineering challenge.
A wide-range gripper needs repeatable setup selection and clear feasibility feedback without changing the physical CAD geometry.
02 / CONSTRAINTS
What the solution must consider.
- Front/back modes must share the same stroke, dual locks are preferred, and visual output cannot override mechanical feasibility.
03 / ENGINEERING APPROACH
Reasoning before geometry.
01
Engineering method
Treat CAD geometry as fixed, calculate candidate strokes and lock errors, apply the source's stroke/dual-lock/back-diameter gates, then rank eligible candidates. Empty-jaw bounding-box overlap is a separate advisory in v9.
02
Workflow features
Front/back/automatic mode selection; dual-lock ranking; shared side/top stroke; back-side diameter gate and geometry advisories; OD heatmap; candidate CSV output.
04 / DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
Connecting intent to execution.
Version 9 connects the actual jaw geometry, hole arrays, datums and stroke limits to front/back configuration enumeration and CAD views.
- Front, back, and automatic mode selection
- Dual-lock positive-stop ranking
- Shared side/top stroke
- Back-side diameter gate and visible geometry advisories
- OD feasibility heatmap
- CSV-style setup output
05 / VALIDATION
The checks behind the design.
Engineering workflow
Project validation records report 14,706 OD-pair evaluations and eight direct regression checks. The website integration passes 10 software checks covering eight original-source OD/mode cases, stroke and dual-lock equations, back-side gating, hole-array limits, heatmap agreement and manual-lock guards. These test the calculator logic; grip force and structural performance require mechanical validation.
14706
OD input pairs
Project validation report; measured.
8/8
direct regressions passed
Project validation report; measured.
06 / OUTCOME
The value of the work.
Combines mechanical workholding design with a shop-facing configuration and verification tool.
THE ENGINEERING PRINCIPLE
Connect constraints to the physical load path.
A useful workholding design balances location, support, clamping, access and distortion. Documenting these decisions gives manufacturing and quality teams a basis for reviewing the setup.
A question for a technical conversation
How would you verify location, contact and repeatability before production release?
LET’S BUILD SOMETHING THAT WORKS
Good design belongs
on the shop floor.
Considering a role in mechanical design, manufacturing methods,
fixture design, or estimation? Let’s connect.