Wedge Action Grips: Which is Moving?

Wedge action grips are a very popular choice for gripping high-strength materials, such as metals and composites, because the strong clamping force ensures that specimen slippage is eliminated. All wedge grips work by multiplying a relatively small input force into a higher clamping force. In all wedge grips, the opening and closing of the jaw faces are achieved by the relative motion between the grip body and the jaw faces. However, there are two distinct wedge grip designs – “moving jaw face” and “moving grip body”. Their difference lies in which component is kept stationary and which is moving.