Our Story

TaperT is a super fast and easy modular fixturing system of all types of parts.  The TaperT clamping system is a perfect choice for job shops, maintenance operations, and shops doing post-machining on large, odd-shaped parts cut with flame, plasma, laser or waterjet processes. 

We developed the first version of our T-Slot clamping system for milling and boring bolster plates for dies.   We needed strong toe clamps for the heavy flame-cut plates.   We needed unobstructed access for milling the top and sides of the plates.  The plates had to be elevated off the mill bed to enable boring of through-holes.  The T-slots in our mill bed never seemed to be in the best place and we often wanted slots running in both directions.   We began making parallel bars with T-slots that could bolt to our mill bed.   The simplicity and effectiveness of the Mitee-Bite Pitbull® clamp made it a good choice our applications.   We designed a heavy-duty clamp holder and double-sided part stop to work with it.   We began offering these components under the “Simploc” (Simp-Lock) name. 

The T-slot clamps worked well for clamping repair work that did not fit easily into a vise -- difficult parts like long flats, large plates, irregular shapes, hydraulic cylinders, gearboxes, and engine parts.  We started using the components to make fast fixtures for low-volume jobs requiring batches of a few hundred parts with multiple operations.     The modular components are inexpensive enough to dedicate to a specific part fixture or fabrication operation.  It is easy to cut, machine or weld the components to create custom fixtures -- similar to “soft jaws” for milling operations.  

Problems with slippage and mis-alignment occasionally occurred when using a standard T-slot and T-nut configuration.  The high forces exerted by the rocker clamp would sometimes push the clamp holder and part stop apart on the T-Bar.   We discovered the hard way that standard T-nuts are poorly-made and can be easily stripped or split when over-tightened. The design was refined to incorporate custom tapered slots and nuts for a quicker, more accurate setup.   We found the tapered T-slots and T-nuts do not slip.   Nuts made from heat treated 4140 will not strip.  

The high price of the Mitee-Bite products eventually encouraged us to manufacture and sell our components.  We did not grow up in the machine tool ecosystem where distribution plays a prominent role.   We found ourselves buying tooling from companies with e-commerce business models so we decided to adopt this approach.   We developed multi-axis machining programs to efficiently produce the components on automated equipment.    We added heat treating, black oxide coating, laser etching and dimensional measurement equipment to consistently produce accurate, high-quality parts.    “TaperT” (Taper-Tee) was born.   

We kept the Simploc name on the clamping components because those products work with either standard T-slots and T-nuts or the TaperT system. 

Simploc and TaperT products are made completely "in-house".  All of our steel is melted and rolled in the USA.  

 

 

Pitbull® is a registered trademark of MITEE-BITE PRODUCTS, LLC