Mitee-Bite Products, LLC

Mitee-Bite Products, LLC: Innovativing clamping and stabilizing products since 1986

Based in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, Mitee-Bite Products, LLC began in 1986 in an oversized two-car garage where the original Mitee-Bite hex clamp was created to save time on a reoccurring production job. That first, simple job, to address a fairly straight forward pain point grew the company to become the innovator of compact, low-profile edge clamps for the CNC machining industry.

Fast forward more than 30 years later and Mitee-Bite continues to develop new products – providing customers with a wide assortment of high-density low profile clamps and forward thinking engineers available to review your design and recommend options at no cost. The company has also expanded over the course of three decades to provide top level CAD designs and complete turn-key projects. Their industries served are any that require holding some sort of manufacturing application in place. It’s in the name… If you’re in need of a solution that enables you to hold a part of the job securely, Mitee-Bite and their innovative line of clamping and stabilizing products will make it happen for you.

Different clamping solutions Mitee-Bite provides that customers have come to know and love include:

Fixture Clamps
NEW HD™ T-Slot Clamps
NEW Concentric OD Clamp
NEW TalonGrip™ Long Length Serrated Grips
NEW X-Plate™ System
Knife Edge Clamps
Series-9 Clamps
Machinable Fixture Clamps
Compact Toe Clamps
T-Slot Toe Clamps

Advant-Edge Clamps
Uniforce® Clamps
Machinable Uniforce® Clamps
Long Length Machinable Uniforce® Clamps
OK-VISE® Clamps
OK-VISE® Multi-Rail System
Machinable Pitbull® Clamps
Modular Pitbull® Clamps
Pitbull® Clamps
Modular In-Line Clamping System

Multi-Fixture Clamps and Stops
Dyna-Force® Clamps
Kopal® Mini Clamps
Mitee-Grip™
ID Xpansion™ Clamp
Side-Loc Xpansion Clamp
Modular XYZ Xpansion™ Pins
Loc-Down® Systems
Vacmagic® VM100
Vacmagic® VM300

Multi-Power Vac
TalonGrip™ Vise Jaws
VersaGrip™ Vise Jaws
Loc-Jaw® System
Kopal® Clamps
Mono-Bloc Chain Clamp
Spring Loc™ and Sliding Stop™
Strap Clamps
Collet Stop
And many, many more…

It is obvious then that Mitee-Bite places their focus on what matters most on your shop floor… MAKING CHIPS! Keeping the spindle running, cutter engagement, reducing idle spindle time, saving on material cost, reducing set-up times and standardization, all contribute to the Mitee-Bite belief: “let the machines work harder while you lower your labor cost and increase capacity.”

But what better way to understand the work Mitee-Bite is doing day in and day out than to see how those efforts are benefiting the industry. The following is a story about one of their customers, Akron Gear and Engineering and how Mitee-Bite came to the rescue…

Akron Gear & Engineering of Ohio had a problem to solve – how to vertically hold a large 1 ton ring (4340) as the VTL was down, and the customer needed it ASAP. Working with the Engineers at Mitee-Bite Products, they came up with the solution! Less than 10 days after the initial call, Akron Gear was making chips – and more efficiently than in the past…

Dennis Miller, of Akron Gear & Engineering said,

“to the best of my knowledge this is the largest one our customer has required in the States. Right now this is a one-time piece and we are doing it this way as our large VTL is currently being updated and rebuilt, and to keep the work in-house. I had the pleasure of working with Rich Jones from Atwood Industries and Mike Witzgall from Mitee-Bite Products – getting the right information and clamps to hold this.”

David Bishop, General Manager at Mitee-Bite Products said, “there was a lot to be considered with this project… Going vertically opposed to their VTL, now all the stress from the weight of the part is working against you and the machining forces are applying even more pressure on the pins and clamps.” After discussions with Michael Witzgall, Senior Applications Engineer at Mitee-Bite, a modular solution mounted on t-slot sub plates was recommended. Using the new Mitee-Bite Heavy Duty™ T-Slot Clamps with Blunt Edge Pitbull® Clamps, and the large Multi Fixture Stops for OP#1, then Modular XYZ Xpansion™ Pins for the I.D./O.D. – all the while facing operations leaving the part completely free from any clamp interference.

Dennis went on to explain how the project took shape:

“The top section had no real support and the issue encountered was the span between the top supports due to the position of our angle plates… It created lots of vibration. Initially, I was using a 6” face mill to cover the entire face in one pass. The crust was much harder than under the surface; machining this unsupported portion of the ring resulted in chatter marks. I switched over to a 4” face mill to get thru the surface… Once below the crust I was able to go back to the 6” mill which I ran at a .060 depth of cut and 90IPM feed rate. It still had a very slight vibration during machining. To take a final pass for the finish I used a 6’ boring bar with a single point insert which produced a nice finish and cleaned up all of the vibration. Thanks to Mike for suggesting the XYZ Xpansion™ Pins, which I believe had less vibration, and we could do three sides in one setup, saving a load of setup time from moving clamps and indicating the bore in countless times. Now we are setup with the XYZ 16mm Xpansion™ Pins and I am roughing the O.D. down close to size where it will be finished using an O.D. turning setup.”

Dennis closed with, “I cannot say exactly how much time was saved on the setup, but it was significant, being I did not have to keep changing the clamping setup and indicating it in. Just goes to show you that you don’t need the biggest clamp to hold the bigger parts!” He then added, “All in all, it was a great learning experience and now I have much respect and admiration for Mitee-Bite and the products they manufacturer.”

“Imagine if this job had to be routed overseas? Correspondence can be difficult, not to mention the two month transit time for ocean freight delivery… That cost alone could exceed manufacturing expenses. We are humbled and proud to help keep this job in the US”, said David Bishop.

He wrapped things up by saying, “Akron contacted us looking for a solution to hold a large heavy ring vertically, and we provided a low cost modular solution using some of our newer products. What really impressed me was how quickly they put the plan in action… As the old saying goes, “if you’re not making chips, you’re not making money!” He then added, “this is a perfect example of what we strive to provide our customers with. This application is fast becoming one of my favorites!”

Akron Gear & Engineering provides parts and service to a wide range of industries. They have the equipment and knowledge to handle some of the largest machining jobs, including their ability to supply large industrial gears. Mitee-Bite Products is the innovator of compact, low-profile edge clamps geared towards improving productivity and providing solutions for difficult work-holding applications.

Mitee-Bite Products are available through many qualified distributors around the world. For complete and direct contact and product information visit their website at MiteeBite.com.

Mitee-Bite Products’ long standing goal is to help you reach your goals. They serve their customers by providing a complete range of workholding solutions of the highest quality at competitive prices and delivered on time. This promise is backed and supported by their knowledgeable sales and engineering staff who are available to assist their vast pool of distributors and customers alike.