Used Fanuc controlled lathes and mills seem to last forever, but be very careful when you buy something that is a little more complicated or sohphisticated, like for instance a subspindle lathe.
Back in 1993 or so, some of the CNC builders started to add subchucks and it seems that in those days everybody dreamt up their own system.
Last week I had the opportunity to train a shop on a Amera-Seiki with a 12" chuck and a 6.5" subchuck.
The machine was a 1993 model with the 0T control, it used the Workshift to set up Z zero.
This was at a very beautiful facility in Las Vegas, is was a training center for the Sheetmetal Workers Umion.
We made 6" pieces of heavy wall tubing, we prepared the pieces for welding with angle cuts to place the weld bead.
The plan was to cut the 1st. side in the big chuck, then have the small cuck pick up the part, move it over and then finish the other side.
I had trained shops on older subchuck machines before and I did not quite trust that all parts of this machine would work, so we first made the whole part in the big chuck by doing the 1st. side, use an MO to turn the part and then finish the other side.
Lucky for us we did that, the use of the subchuck turned out to be a real puzzle, after figuring it all out, it had no feed per rev, no G96, no tool holders pointing in reverse and finally, it would stall at any cut deeper than .03" per side.
We could run the part on the big chuck, but it will take service to check out why the subchuck stalls so easily.
Outside of that, it was great there, 70+ degrees every day, 1000s of slot machines in the hotel on the way from the entrance to the elevator, everybody should go there at least once.
Heinz.
www.doccnc.com
Back in 1993 or so, some of the CNC builders started to add subchucks and it seems that in those days everybody dreamt up their own system.
Last week I had the opportunity to train a shop on a Amera-Seiki with a 12" chuck and a 6.5" subchuck.
The machine was a 1993 model with the 0T control, it used the Workshift to set up Z zero.
This was at a very beautiful facility in Las Vegas, is was a training center for the Sheetmetal Workers Umion.
We made 6" pieces of heavy wall tubing, we prepared the pieces for welding with angle cuts to place the weld bead.
The plan was to cut the 1st. side in the big chuck, then have the small cuck pick up the part, move it over and then finish the other side.
I had trained shops on older subchuck machines before and I did not quite trust that all parts of this machine would work, so we first made the whole part in the big chuck by doing the 1st. side, use an MO to turn the part and then finish the other side.
Lucky for us we did that, the use of the subchuck turned out to be a real puzzle, after figuring it all out, it had no feed per rev, no G96, no tool holders pointing in reverse and finally, it would stall at any cut deeper than .03" per side.
We could run the part on the big chuck, but it will take service to check out why the subchuck stalls so easily.
Outside of that, it was great there, 70+ degrees every day, 1000s of slot machines in the hotel on the way from the entrance to the elevator, everybody should go there at least once.
Heinz.
www.doccnc.com