centre line of rotary

[ken wong]

i'm new to 4-axis ,i can make program but i feel really hard to set up part (x0,y0.z0) thru c/l

please help some tip .my rotary is not chuck it just flat face with slot to clamp

[Guest]

When setting Z zero to centerline, I went ahead and made a block that was equal to the distance from centerline to the table, I would place the block on the table and set all my z heights that way.

 

X zero should be easy enough, Y zero should or could be a known point if the rotary is located n the same place. Location holes in fixtures, tooling ball, indicating and edgefinding are all ways I have found zeros.

 

Get used to programming your 4th axis work in this way, it is the easiest and most reliable way to program and make parts on your 4th axis.

[ken wong]

i got it thanks john!

[Justin Beebe at Folsom Tool]

We have rotaries on every machine in our shop. The easiest setups are on our Makinos which have frames with tooling holes in them to set X0,Y0. For Z Zero we touch our tools off the table with a 3 inch block and the tool is automatically calculated to the centerline of rotation by a number in the fixture offset table. We have never had to change X0,Y0 the entire time I've worked here and since we leave our tools in the turret we rarely ever have to pick up a tool length offset. It makes for a very fast and easy setup. On our other machines we use all the methods John described above.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Justin

[CRFJim]

I have a question concerning offsets as well. The last programmer/operator was adamant about not keying anything like vises or rotarys because he felt it damaged the table. With our vises, it's no big deal to dial it in every time, but it's a giant pain to dial in the rotary every time I use it. I don't leave it in because it won't clear a toolchange with a long tool, but I was wondering if bolting alignment keys to the rotary is accepted practice elsewhere. BTW, it's a Haas VF6 with an HRT 310 roatry. Jim

[Guest]

quote:

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was adamant about not keying anything like vises or rotarys because he felt it damaged the table.

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Drilling the table, makes most people shudder at the thought because it usually happens and something bad has just happened however......

 

I am sure others are going to say I am nuts but I would drill into the table in a heart beat to locate stuff like that. If owners/management are dead set against it for no good reason, then I would push for a sub-plate. If you purchase a machine and plan to run it into the ground what difference would it make if there were a dozen or so holes in the table for quick locating of vises/rotary head.

 

You could always bolt guides onto the bottom of things so they ALWAYS locate in the T-slot opening, then you are always going to be "very" close.

[CRFJim]

Actually I meant bolting alignment keys to the rotary itself. The keyways are already cut and holes drilled and tapped in the bottom of the rotary itself. I figure if the nice people at Haas think it's ok, who am I to think otherwise? Yet, I'm still hesitant to do it for some reason.

[Trevor Bailey]

Drill/machine the table and the 4th attached for dowel sleves. Makes sure they are hardened sleves. I normally use 5/8 dowels for vises, 4th, etc....

[ken wong]

one more thing how do you locate c/l of part at c/l of rotary

[Guest]

Ken,

 

I did point out several ways to do this at the top of the thread.

 

Your part is really going to determine how you get it.

 

If you have a fixture, you can always mill a hole on centerline of the fixture and just indicate the hole for center. You may need to sweep the indicator over the sides to obtain centrality.

 

Using the best "shop practice" should give you some idea how your part needs to be approached.

[Zoober]

quote:

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I am sure others are going to say I am nuts but I would drill into the table in a heart beat to locate stuff like that.

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+1000 John. I guess we're crazy as loons, because not only do we drill our tables, but we ball lock them with set patterns to 4/5 axis centerlines.

This makes setups very easy if your tooling is correct.

We do a lot of Ti aerospace castings, and can't afford to put C/L locations into the hands of our (inexperienced) operators.

 

I'm writing a program now to ball lock our new Toyoda 5 axis machine.