jon_banquer fired this volley in news:01e13f3b-
:

Speaking of irregular shaped parts, it sure is nice to have a CADCAM
system for machining soft jaws to easily hold an irregularity shaped
part. Funny, I've never seen Mark Wieber post on this topic.

I don't have enough room around my machine for a vise crane, and I'm old
enough that I really don't like hoisting a 120lb milling vise on and off
the table, so I don't do a lot of soft-jaw holding. It works, though --
especially for thin parts that have to be machined all over the top
surface.

For those of you who don't understand what this is all about; you mill a
negative of some of the perimeter of the part in the jaws so the part
fits snugly into the profile. You mill that profile shallower than the
material's thickness such that you can do your machining on what projects
above the jaws.

When it gets really thin or clumsy to hold, you can even ditch the 'above
the jaws' strategy, and just machine the jaws along with the workpiece.

But I don't like to move my vise any more than absolutely necessary, and
it's not _usually_ on my mill, since I 'fixture' almost everything.

LLoyd