Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Overloaded on January 23, 2009, 08:37:22 PM
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Greetings All,
Couldn't be more pleased with the threading in Turn 42.008.
Here is a day and a half of production, 1150 pcs. Nickel Silver alloy brass tubing. .382-48 thread, .22" long.
Pitch diameter variations of .001" or less and I can't blame that on Mach. (homemade rig)
I checked EVERY STINKING ONE with ring gauges and only got 1 bad one....it slipped in the collet.
This is powerful stuff.
Thanks,
RC 8)
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Just awesome, my friend and this is great to see. Can you mention what these are for, or is that a privacy no-no?
Thanks for sharing - :)
Dave
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They are for a company that makes components for specialty valves....among other things. All I know is that they are EXTREMELY picky.
This is very thin walled tubing. They have tried regular dies, acorn dies, Geometric and Landis Dieheads, Thread rolls and Leadscrew type threaders.
None are near as consistant as Mach and my little Homebrew....and not much faster either. What good are fast parts if they are scrap.
Anyway, I sent 50 samples, they liked them and asked for 1000. Still happy, they sent enough material for 48,000 pieces. 2000lb, 24 to the lb.
Oh.. the blue strip club effect was from the camera flash and the fluorescent lighting, better with the flash off.
RC
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Nice to see someone bucking the downturn - well done.
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RC,
I can envision an increase in the number of users of lathes and along with that there will be manny that
won't be able to do accurate threading. The software end seems solid. Could you give some words of
experience on how you went from scrap to acceptable parts as it relates to the machine?
RICH
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Hi RICH,
In a nutshell, I set everything up by the book at first, using releases prior to 008. I'm using a VFD with Steve Stallings PMDX 106.
For general threading, it work fairly well, probably acceptable for most applications but it wouldn't tolerate spindle speed variations during the passes.
After 008, everything got much, Much, MUCH better. I'm afraid to upgrade further.
I have never cut a long thread, like 1/2-20 x6" or such so to this day I'm not sure if it will produce a good thread but suspect that it will.
The slower ...the better but I sacrifice a little here to keep the cycle time as low as possible.
I looked everywhere for a full form insert for 48 tpi but I never found one. To eliminate the little feather edge at the peak of the thread, I first turn the OD of the threaded area just enough to allow a 1/8 Pitch flat on the thread tops.
I also had an air motor with a wire wheel mounted to the tool slide and controlled in the GCode file. It "de-Fuzzsed" the threads which worked well with the 272 alloy but when they went with the Ni Silver, the brush was not necessary.
All in all, I think most problems are with the setup....not Mach. With a good clean index signal, mine has always worked. And If I had a 20 HP spindle with a 200lb chuck it probably would have been fine all along.
Thanks All,
RC
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RC,
Wouldn't you also agree that the threads will only be as good as the mechanical components of the
machine. Each and every single one them, acting as a mechanical system, having a say in the final produced part.
RICH
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That's good stuff RC. Thanks for sharing with us. So.....your turning, threading, and de-burring, all in the same part setup? What type of insert are you using? How many parts does your insert thread before it needs changing? Do you also drill the hole toward the end? If you run out of those Russell Stovers boxes for your parts, just give me a call. If you will ship them to me, (I will pay the postage) I will dispose of the contents and return the empty boxes to you promptly, ready to receive your parts.
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Nice work RC, that pic however reminds me why I am glad I dont do production work ;D
Hood
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Hi Sam, actually, in the one lathe setup I first cut a .002" chamfer on the ID, then face the end off, then cut a .005" radius on the outer corner to a 4 degree taper 3/32" long to a diameter of .3785", then the G76 cycle, then the 2 sec. wire brush.
The tool I'm using is : http://www.newcomer.co.uk/nikcole.html
Through testing and running various alloys I've probably done about 1500 or so with no signs of wear yet. The first 5000 were with HSS which only required light honing every thou or so....but that was 272 alloy brass. I am using a Mineral/ Lard oil mix..75/25 as recommended in the Machinery Handbook. The hole is actually punched through 1 wall only.
The candy was Fat Free so I ate them all at once. I only used them because my WalMart water boxes overflowed.
Hey Hood...I know exactly what you mean !
If I set up 2 of these with auto feeders, I can then comfortably hire one person to help and make out real good. There are other parts they would like for me to look at as well.
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RC, yep autofeed would be good. My lathe came with a hydraulic chuck but it wasnt much use to me as it had a closed centre so I replaced it with a manual one. I have since got a nice Pratt 10inch Hydraulic chuck from eBay but so far have not found a cylinder for it, the cylinder I have is closed centre like the chuck was. I dont have room for a barfeeder so if I do get to that stage I wil just make up a puller.
Hood
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Good lad! Keep going. I'm doing my final 30 Waveguide 5Q flanges this week before I ship my machine out to the new place. 8500 square feet, wooooooooooo :D Trouble is, according to the floorplan there's nothing left.
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Way to go Blue.........,
I'm considering adding on 3200 sq. ft. here.
Tinkering with autoloading/feed now, may get by with 1 part timer.
Looking good so far,
Thanks,
RC
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14,500 so far and Mach only skipped 1 beat in the last 4500 or so.
It hung up on the M76 line and just sat there. ? ? ? ? ?
No watchdog.....no EStop......just stopped all moves with the spindle still running.
I ain't complainin' a bit ! Mach is more reliable than any employee I've seen !
And Hood......the only thing I enjoy about production work is depositing the check(que). ;D
Auto feed VERY soon.
RC :)
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And Hood......the only thing I enjoy about production work is depositing the check(que). ;D
Auto feed VERY soon.
RC :)
What, you mean its not a cash job :(
Hood
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Hell NO ! The govt. needs their cut for the "Redistribution" and the "Bailout" programs. >:(
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;D