by Bernard Martin

If you spend any amount of time around CNC machines, you know setup efficiency has a direct impact on throughput. It doesn’t matter how fast the machine is or how optimized the toolpaths are — if setups are slow or inconsistent, that time comes straight out of productivity.  That’s where a zero-point workholding system like Jergens Zero Point System, ZPS, starts to make sense.

The ZPS system is designed to reduce setup time while maintaining high positioning accuracy and repeatability. It’s not a replacement for good fixturing practices; it’s a way to make those practices faster, more consistent, and easier to repeat across machines.

What the ZPS System Does
At a basic level, ZPS is a quick-change locating and clamping system. It allows fixtures, vises, pallets, or even parts themselves to be mounted and removed from a machine table in a single motion, without re-indicating each time.

Once the Jergens ZPS subplate modules are installed and indicated in, every fixture that mates to them returns to the same location with high repeatability. That means when a fixture comes off the machine and goes back on later — or moves to another machine set up the same way — it lands where you expect it to.

How It Works in Practice
The system is built around hardened locating subplate modules mounted to the machine table or pallet. Fixtures or plates are equipped with pull studs that engage those modules. When clamped, the modules pull the fixture down and center it simultaneously, locking it into position.

There’s also a flexibility advantage. Shops running a mix of parts, short runs, or multiple operations benefit from being able to change setups quickly without dedicating a machine to a single fixture for days at a time.

Where ZPS Makes the Most Sense
ZPS is commonly used on:

• Vertical and horizontal machining centers with frequent changeovers
• 4-axis and 5-axis machines where access and repeatability matter
• Palletized systems and cells running multiple fixtures
• Shops looking to standardize setups across multiple machines

In five-axis work especially, the ability to mount parts or fixtures directly to a low-profile plate improves tool access and reduces interference from traditional clamping hardware.

A More Predictable Setup Process
One of the less talked-about benefits of a zero-point system is predictability. When fixtures locate consistently, setup becomes a documented process rather than a variable one. That helps with scheduling, repeatability between operators, and confidence when jobs come back months later.

Instead of treating setup as a one-off task each time, ZPS allows shops to treat it as a controlled, repeatable operation — much like tool changes are handled in the spindle.

If setup time is something you track ZPS is worth a closer look as part of a broader workholding and process-standardization strategy.

Factory Tooling Solutions is excited to announce our return to the Wichita Industrial Trade Show 2025 (WITS), taking place October 21–23, 2025 at the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas. As one of the largest regional manufacturing and machining trade shows in the Midwest, WITS 2025 brings together professionals from across the industrial, aerospace, agricultural, and energy sectors to explore the latest in machine tools, precision tooling, automation, workholding, and metalworking technology.

Held every other year since 1974, the Wichita Tool Show has built a strong reputation as a must-attend event for manufacturers, engineers, and industry leaders throughout Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and surrounding states. Factory Tooling Solutions will be showcasing product innovations from all 19 of our world-class principals, giving attendees a hands-on look at the cutting tools, toolholding systems, workholding, and metalworking fluids that drive manufacturing efficiency and precision.

Our booth will feature a wide-ranging display of tooling innovations and solutions from all of the world-class principals we represent. This is a great opportunity to get hands-on with the latest products featured on our website and speak directly with the FTS team about your application challenges.

Explore the Full Factory Tooling Solutions Lineup
You’ll find product samples and technical displays from across our lineup, including:
​

• Boneham Metal Products (BMP) – Dowel pins, drill bushings, and custom precision components
• Carmex – Thread milling tools, DMT carbide, and laydown inserts
• Canela – Lathe holders, ISO boring bars, and turning tools
• Dümmel – Ultra Mini and Swiss Line micro-machining tools
• Everede – Specialty boring bars, indexable ANSI tools, and custom form tools
• Fullerton Tool – High-performance end mills like VMAC, Fury, and Aluma series
• Greenleaf – Advanced ceramic inserts and tooling for titanium and Inconel
• Hangsterfer’s Laboratories – High-performance coolants like 5080, Hardcut GTL, and S 500CF
• HEULE Tool – COFA, BSF, and other automated back chamfering and deburring tools
• Huot – ToolScoots, CNC tool storage systems, drill dispensers
• Jergens Workholding – Ball Lock, 5-Axis vises, tombstones, and quick-change fixturing
• MAPAL – Replaceable head reamers, QTD indexable drills, and PCD tooling
• Nine9 – Spot drills, chamfer mills, engraving and centering tools
• OMG – Right angle heads, speed increasers, and facing heads
• Rego-Fix – Powergrip, ER collets, and RE Cool coolant-through technology
• Riten Industries – Live centers, face drivers, and workholding support products
• Rocky Mountain Twist – Cobalt drills, threaded shank drills, and micro stop countersinks
• Superior Abrasives – Quick-change discs, flap wheels, and convolute finishing products
• Tanis Brush – Disc brushes, bore hone brushes, and abrasive filament tools

See What’s New – and What’s Next
If you’re looking to stay competitive in precision manufacturing, you won’t want to miss this event. Our team will be on-hand to guide you through tooling strategies, help identify cost-saving opportunities, and match your application with the right products.

Whether you’re optimizing for cycle time, surface finish, or material removal rates, FTS has the solutions to help you stay ahead.

We look forward to seeing you in Wichita this October!

by Bernard Martin

If you're running a 5-axis machine, you already know the biggest challenge: maximizing part access while minimizing setup. That's exactly where Jergens’ 5-Axis Vises shine. Designed specifically for multi-axis work, these vises give you the rigidity, precision, and part access you need to take full advantage of your machine’s capabilities—without a pile of modular fixturing.

The Jergens 5-Axis Vise lineup is fully compatible with standardized 52mm and 96mm pull-stud mounting patterns, making it a direct alternative to other modular workholding systems on the market. You get the same quick-change capability and zero-point repeatability—without being locked into a proprietary jaw or base platform. This open compatibility makes it easy to integrate Jergens’ vises into your existing setup, or to build a modular fixturing system from the ground up.

Low-Profile Design, High-Rigidity Grip
The hallmark of the Jergens’ 5-Axis Vise is its compact, low-profile footprint. That means more tool clearance around your part and fewer worries about long-reach tools vibrating or chattering when you're contouring complex geometries. But don’t mistake compact for weak—these vises are built tough. The stationary and moving jaws are both guided by dowel pin alignments and a precision-ground base, ensuring repeatability within ±0.0005".

The wedge-style clamping mechanism is a game-changer for high-precision work. Instead of traditional top-down clamping that risks part lift, this system pulls the movable jaw down and in, locking your workpiece firmly in place with low torque input—and high holding force. That translates to better surface finishes, tighter tolerances, and longer tool life.

Modular and Repeatable for the Real World
Whether you’re working on short runs or production quantities, Jergens’ gives you flexibility. All 5-Axis Vises feature precision ground locating features compatible with Jergens’’ Drop & Lock Pallet Changers and Ball Lock® Mounting System. That means fast changeovers and minimal indicating—ideal for lights-out operations or high-mix shops.

You’ll also appreciate that these vises are available in multiple jaw widths and base lengths, including:

• Jaw widths: 75mm, 100mm, 125mm
• Clamping ranges: from 0" up to 7.87" (200mm)
• Base lengths: up to 300mm
• Material options: Case-hardened steel body and aluminum or steel soft jaws
• Mounting options: Bolt-down, Drop & Lock™, or integrated Ball Lock®

And yes, Jergens’ also offers quick-change jaws, so you can adapt to different part families without stocking a dozen different vises.

Built for 5-Axis, Ready for Anything
From aerospace to medical to motorsports, we’ve seen these vises in action holding everything from titanium orthopedic implants to aluminum intake manifolds. With the Jergens’ 5-Axis Vise on your table, you're unlocking more than just spindle movement—you're unlocking efficiency, part access, and process stability.

Ready to get more out of your 5-axis machine?
Contact Factory Tooling Solutions to test-drive a Jergens 5-Axis Vise and see how it fits into your machining workflow.