Kirk Wallace wrote: > Watching this video brought some questions to mind. > > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3839076222492953620 > > How do they get the work piece to move in the Z direction while turning? > The work piece must be clamped at all times in order to maintain the > part index. The bar stock must have a fairly accurate OD. How accurate > can the parts be if there is slop between the bar stock to allow for a > slip fit and OD variation? How long of a bar can they run?
I suspect that the spindle assembly contains two collets, one fixed near the spindle nose, and another one that can move quite some distance in Z but is splined so both rotate together. Both can be tightened or released automatically, while spinning. When moving the work, the back collet is closed, the front one is open, and the back one moves in Z. When not moving, both are closed. Just guessing though, I have no experience with swiss style machines. OK, I decided to stop guessing and ask google. http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php?t=124584&highlight=swiss+lathe+spindle+design http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYw1J0TLUOg Only one collet, at the headstock - but the headstock is mounted behind where you think it is, and can slide forward as a unit. What appears to be the spindle nose is really just a guide bushing. Some bushings rotate, some don't. The bar stock diameter has to be tightly controlled for a good fit in the bushing. > How is the live tooling powered? There doesn't seem to to be enough > space for a motor at each live tool spindle. A gear train would have > slop and some of the live tools seem to be able to index. I'm guessing integral motors in each spindle. > > How long does it take to pay off a loan for one of these machines? > If you have to ask, you don't want to know the answer. On a more serious note - if you are making many parts of a class that those machines can do, they probably bring in a lot more money than they cost. They are the kind of machine that you set up for a particular part, then run for at least a couple of days, and maybe a couple of weeks, making the same part over and over again. Regards, John Kasunich ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Microsoft Defy all challenges. Microsoft(R) Visual Studio 2008. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/vse0120000070mrt/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
