QMT High Precision Adjustable ER-40 ER Collet Chucks and 5C chucks in D1-4 and D1-5

mksj said:
Looks like QMT/Precision Mathews is now stocking high quality adjustable (set-true style) ER-40 and 5C chucks with either D1-4 or D1-5 back plates. I have seen the 5C version (also posted a picture he sent me) and it is very nicely machined, either is a nice addition if you use collet chucks and want a higher quality chuck that won't bust the piggy bank.
www.ebay.com

HIGH PRECISION ADJUSTABLE ER-40 ER COLLET CHUCK, D1-4 MOUNT FOR METAL LATHE | eBay

HIGH PRECISION, ADJUSTABLE ER-40 COLLET CHUCK, WITH D1-4 MOUNT. A big upgrade from most standard non-adjustable collet chucks, but a very reasonable price. D1-4 Camlock Mounting fits any lathe spindle with this mount.
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com

HIGH PRECISION ADJUSTABLE ER-40 ER COLLET CHUCK, D1-5 MOUNT FOR METAL LATHE | eBay

HIGH PRECISION, ADJUSTABLE ER-40 COLLET CHUCK, WITH D1-5 MOUNT. A big upgrade from most standard non-adjustable collet chucks, but a very reasonable price. D1-5 Camlock Mounting fits any lathe spindle with this mount.
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com

HIGH PRECISION ADJUSTABLE 5C 5-C COLLET CHUCK, D1-4 MOUNT FOR METAL LATHE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for HIGH PRECISION ADJUSTABLE 5C 5-C COLLET CHUCK, D1-4 MOUNT FOR METAL LATHE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com

HIGH PRECISION ADJUSTABLE 5C 5-C COLLET CHUCK, D1-5 MOUNT FOR METAL LATHE | eBay

HIGH PRECISION, ADJUSTABLE 5C COLLET CHUCK, WITH D1-5 MOUNT. A big upgrade from most standard non-adjustable collet chucks, but a very reasonable price. D1-5 Camlock Mounting fits any lathe spindle with this mount.
www.ebay.com

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I have that 5c collet chuck, and it is a really nice piece. Unfortunately though, I bought the smaller collet set, not knowing the size limitation of each collet. Now I see that Matt has the large set in stock again. I may have to go ask the bank (a.k.a. The Wife) if I can get it. :)
 
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Just ordered the 5c D1-4.
Thanks for posting the link mksj
 
Just ordered the 72 piece 5c collet set from PM.

I'll be selling my barely used 35 piece set soon. :)
 
Mine is the D1-5, I posted a pic on the thread for my machine. I am looking at the photo in the first post here and now I am not sure I indicated mine correctly. I indicated on the middle of the taper where the collet would be and was able to get the runout down to just under .0001. I have read here and other places about having to re-adjust if needed when you change collets due to collet runout. With 1/2 collet and a 1/2 end mill without any other adjustments runout was .0002.

When my collet set arrived with my machine I did not open or go thru them until the chuck arrived, so after I got he rack put together and started unboxing and racking the collets I was short one and had double of another. No problem, I contacted PM by email and was advised they would take care of. It took several weeks for the collet to arrive. Here is where my memory is unclear, I thought these collets were made in Taiwan when I orderd per the site. The replacement collet clearly came from mainland china because that's what it said on the box. I checked the PM site and the collets listed do not say where made and only have a 3 year warranty but I am almost sure when I ordered them with the machine it said they were made in Taiwan. Just an FYI.
 
That photo is just showing runout on the face but isn't a direct indication of runout where the collet lives. I trued on the taper as well. That has seemed to be the middle of the road. If I put a 1/2" collet and use a 1/2" gauge pin, true that to around .0001", then put in a 1/4" collet and 1/4" gauge pin, I might have .001" runout, same changing to 3/8" or 7/16", they are all off a little. Truing on the taper and all of them are around .0005" runout. I bought the 72 piece set along with a Bison 5C set tru with D1-4 from PM over a year ago and collet set was from China.
 
The picture of the PM/QMT 5C chuck with a test indicator is just an example, the individual checked the external and internal collet surfaces as well as with a collet/pin and they were all very good. The PM/QMT 5C collets are made in China, as well as most of the ones you see in the $200-300 range. If you look at the TIR spec for 5C collets they usually quote something in the 0.0005-0.0006" range, even for the Taiwanese types. There are high precision 5C collets from Hardinge that will run you $71+ each, so a full set can get expensive. Looking at the 5C collets offered by Lyndex, McMaster-Carr, etc. they have even worse TIR and are $25 or more each, I have an older Taiwanese set (old Enco set) and they have a bit tighter TIR. Other than Vertex, I do not know of any other company offering 5C collets from Taiwan.

www.mcmaster.com

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.
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Lyndex 5C TIR.jpg


Make a chuck speed handle for your 5C chuck, it will greatly speed up collet changes.
5C Speed Handle.jpg
 
The only thing I did when I received my 35 piece collet set was to deburr the threads on some of them. I don't remember the numbers, but when I checked the accuracy of the chuck and collets it was around a half thou or less. Good enough for the majority of stuff I do, and if I really need to get tight on something, I can.

I got tired of chasing zeros that had zero effect (pun intended) on the real-world outcome of my work. :)

@mksj: I saw that pic of your speed handle years back and had to make one for myself. Works good too! Thanks!
 
I have one of the big 5C x D1-4 collet chucks (Shars) and have a HHIP ER40 x D1-4 collet chucks (Amazon), I use the ER40 one, about 6- 7 times more the the 5C, closer to the headstock
 
What does closer to the headstock get you?
 
In an effort to continue to beat a dead horse, I thought I would follow-up with the reasoning that led me away from 5C and instead to ER40, taking into consideration the comments about clamping range and it's effect on TIR.

The clamping range of a 5C collet is about 0.003". So for a standard 5C collet to be useful, the material being clamped must be a multiple of 1/64" exactly, or within 0.003" undersized for the collet to secure the workpiece. Looked at another way, if you want to clamp any arbitrary diameter between 1/8" and 1" using 5C collets, you would need a set of 290 collets at 0.003" increments - this doesn't exist.

Most of my work on the lathe with smaller diameter (1" or less) bar stock will result in a final diameter that is not necessarily a multiple of 1/64" +0.000/-0.003". If the follow-on operation requires flipping the part around in the chuck (common occurrence) then I might or might not have a 5C collet that can hold the work piece for the 2nd operation.

Now, let's take the case with ER40. The stated clamping range of the ER40 is 0.40", but as discussed above, if TIR is important, it's better not to count on that full clamping range. So let's assume that the conservative clamping range is 0.020" to guarantee a good TIR. To cover the same range of 1/8" to 1" in 0.020" increments, you'd need 44 collets. Indeed, a metric set in 1/2mm increments will cover the entire range with ZERO gaps and meet the 0.020" maximum clamping restriction. So, it is at least possible (with the right collet set) to cover any workholding situation with ER40 and 44 collets. The only way to have this same flexibility with 5C is to use emergency collets and machine them to exact diameter for the off-nominal dimensions.

If your workholding needs are consistently some multiple of 1/64" then either 5C or ER40 will serve the need. But if the requirement is to hold material of any arbitrary diameter, then ER40 is a better alternative unless you want to swap out for a 3J or 4J conventional chuck, or make your own 5C emergency collets. As Mark mentioned, a set of 23 imperial ER40 collets will cover the 1/8-1" range with a clamping range of 0.038 per increment. This is a slightly lower clamping range than using metric 1mm increment sets where the clamping range is 0.040" per increment. In my situation I decided to buy the metric set and fill in with half-millimeter collets for a few frequently used sizes.
 
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