CTC tools on ebay (ctctoolseller). Nice people.
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Seems not very well thought out.
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ER collets... Trying somethin new...
- Thread starter Ray C
- Start date
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Hi RayC,
Can I encourage you to try the Toolmach system. It has a lot of advantages. For a basic trial you need a Toolmach R8 to3/4 short collet(LMS), a couple of tormach ER20 collet chucks and few ER20 collets in the size to hold your end mills. There are Tormach style ER collets available from other vendors on ebay in ER 20 & ER25 sizes. There are also Tormach End Mill holders for weldon shank cutters but these are really only useful for CNC because you cant adjust the height of the individual cutters. See below.
Full instructions are on the Tormach site.
I have taken the time to set my end mills at the same height(very fiddly time consuming operation) but it was worth the effort as I can change end mills in under a minute with no effect on the z axis height from one cutter to the next. Just great when you have to make several changes of cutter on the one job.
They just work with no fuss.
PS you can also use them with your CNC by just measuring the offset then change them to your hearts content without rezeroing the z axis
Cheers
Ron
Can I encourage you to try the Toolmach system. It has a lot of advantages. For a basic trial you need a Toolmach R8 to3/4 short collet(LMS), a couple of tormach ER20 collet chucks and few ER20 collets in the size to hold your end mills. There are Tormach style ER collets available from other vendors on ebay in ER 20 & ER25 sizes. There are also Tormach End Mill holders for weldon shank cutters but these are really only useful for CNC because you cant adjust the height of the individual cutters. See below.
Full instructions are on the Tormach site.
I have taken the time to set my end mills at the same height(very fiddly time consuming operation) but it was worth the effort as I can change end mills in under a minute with no effect on the z axis height from one cutter to the next. Just great when you have to make several changes of cutter on the one job.
They just work with no fuss.
PS you can also use them with your CNC by just measuring the offset then change them to your hearts content without rezeroing the z axis
Cheers
Ron
I dare say you have the skills. Use your 3 jaw to bore and thread the spindle hole in a piece of bar stock. Do not remove the work piece from the chuck until it fits correct. Make a mock spindle to use for test fitting. Screw the work piece on the spindle to turn the other side working to shape it as desired and prepare a thread for a purchased collet nut. For the bore use a suitable boring tool to create the straight bore then set your compound to 8* a bore at that angle until a collet fits well. You can use a 5" sine bar with a .6958 stack to set your angle.
Dave
I have never had a collet spin. I apply anti seize to the front and back outer tapers, and the nut threads. The inside of the collet should be clean and dry. Whenever the subject of collets comes up, I link to this doc (if somebody else hasn't already done so).
http://www.tormach.com/uploads/163/TD31090_ToolHolding-pdf.html
It focuses specifically on TTS tools in an R8 holder, but the principle applies to any type of collet. Moving surfaces should be lubricated to maximize grip for a given amount of torque. The differences they show on lubricated vs un-lubricated collets is huge (about 3x)
Hi DMS
thanks for the reply
I was aware of the Tormach bulletin for lubricating the R8 collet and lubricate as directed.
Its just that I have never seen any advice to do the same with ER collets. I have seen that you can buy ball bearing ER collet nuts to reduce friction when tightening, but these are a little expensive to fit to all my Tormach holders.
Ron
thanks for the reply
I was aware of the Tormach bulletin for lubricating the R8 collet and lubricate as directed.
Its just that I have never seen any advice to do the same with ER collets. I have seen that you can buy ball bearing ER collet nuts to reduce friction when tightening, but these are a little expensive to fit to all my Tormach holders.
Ron
I have been doing this with all my collets since I read the TTS document, and have been pleased (ER-20, R-8, and 2J). Collets tighten down well, and release is easy when you want. Never had a pullout, or slip of material since using this method. Give it a try, I think you'll like it. Main thing to remember is, just a dab of the anti-seize is enough; you don't want it oozing everywhere (especially not into the inside of the collet).
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2012
- Messages
- 5,596
Hi All...
A quick update about the new ER collets...
So far, so good. I'm just about done making a batch of 125 parts, over half of which were made using the ER32 setup. It seems just fine -better than I expected. There's been no problem with slipping or bit digging at all. Also, I have not used the anti-seize that was recommended (although I did order some) and there's been no problems at all getting collets or bits out. Actually, I don't see how they could stick because the collet nut has an offset ring that captures the collet. After one turn outward on the collet nut, it opens the collet, the bit drops out and the collet comes out still retained in the nut. So far, I just made sure the holder and collet were clean and I smear a tiny bit of way oil in there once in a while.
As for other tooling mechanisms, such as the Tormach etc, I think I'll hold off and just keep life simple. Also, until a need arises, I'll probably stick with the ER32 instead of switching to ER25 since I have a good collection of carbides up to 3/4" (although I don't use them very often).
Anyhow, in between tool changes today, I spent a bunch of time re-doing the tool library in BobCAD to model the dimensions of the ER32 holder. That increases my investment in the #32 size considerably...
So far, life with ER collets is good. I like not having to unscrew the drawbar.
Ray
A quick update about the new ER collets...
So far, so good. I'm just about done making a batch of 125 parts, over half of which were made using the ER32 setup. It seems just fine -better than I expected. There's been no problem with slipping or bit digging at all. Also, I have not used the anti-seize that was recommended (although I did order some) and there's been no problems at all getting collets or bits out. Actually, I don't see how they could stick because the collet nut has an offset ring that captures the collet. After one turn outward on the collet nut, it opens the collet, the bit drops out and the collet comes out still retained in the nut. So far, I just made sure the holder and collet were clean and I smear a tiny bit of way oil in there once in a while.
As for other tooling mechanisms, such as the Tormach etc, I think I'll hold off and just keep life simple. Also, until a need arises, I'll probably stick with the ER32 instead of switching to ER25 since I have a good collection of carbides up to 3/4" (although I don't use them very often).
Anyhow, in between tool changes today, I spent a bunch of time re-doing the tool library in BobCAD to model the dimensions of the ER32 holder. That increases my investment in the #32 size considerably...
So far, life with ER collets is good. I like not having to unscrew the drawbar.
Ray