O/T Induction heated tool holders

[KCollins]

Has anyone had experience using induction heated tool holders? We're looking for a better way than our standard tool holders for holding step reamers. Currently we have to spend the time indicating all the tools and tapping them to reduce the runout. We've also tried using the expandable holders (grease filled) but can't get good runout on the tool.

[CAM-mando]

No personal experience with the shrink fit holders. One of our large aerospace customers was using them on their Hi Speed (30-40K Rpm Spindle Mill). The guys there raved about them as far as ballance and tool retention.

[Reece L Gibson]

We used them in the high speed arena.

They can wear out(heat them 1 to many times)

They worked very well for us

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

I've used them before and they are awesome. Runout next to Zero even on long reach stuff. I'm trying to convince the folks here that they would help us out.

[Surface]

Millturn, are you saying that they can only be used a certian number of times? I was under the impression that, they would last as long as any other tool-holding method.

[KCollins]

another question...without sticking my neck out for sales calls any idea on the appoximate cost of the equipment, specifically the induction heater...

[kkominiarek]

I never used them personally......I've seen them in use......been told very accurate but very exspensive.

 

Can the cost be justified for the job(s)?

 

How long does present setup take? Is scrap rate high? Is tool life shorter than expected due to runout?

[mold100]

web page

 

I looked into shrinkfit today and came across this looks pretty good $$$$$ i bet.Nikken and Hitachi make pretty good holders from what I hear.Pressfit?

 

I teh wheres the drilldrift go

[TREV]

i have not used them personally.i am a bit uneasy about heating and cooling something over and over.the folks i talked with say they are good for 350 changes. to me the price of holder and the fact you can no longer use general use tooling (i.e. garr )is not worth the investment.

just my opinion

trevor

[Jeremiah]

IMHO- The rigiditity (sp) alone makes the investment worth while. We run a 1.25 shear hog out 5.00 on a 40 taper at 20,000 rpm 10x as fast as we could in a mill chuck/em holder.

 

Jeremiah Archer

[mold100]

Trev did you follow click web page on my last post the holders are press fit, and the add throws some digs at heat shrink fit.

[billystein]

I used them a couple of times. I understand that they are not used for high speed steel or cobalt because of the thermal expansion coefficient is too similar to the holder.

The tools go in but won't come out. Good for carbide.

[Carbide Pete]

We use Gewefa shrink fit holders for all our high speed/high load machining, so far with no major problems ( one cutter 'pulled' out of a holder but I put that down to poor toolsetting - holder and tool shank HAVE to be clean and free from oil to ensure a perfect fit ).

The cost of holders is cheaper than many other tool holding systems enabling us to 'one time set' all our tools rather than keep setting up and breaking down tools for different jobs.

Chatter can sometimes be encountered due to the increased rigidity of the tool assembly, but I just drop the rpm a touch to increase the tooth load ( different tool assemblies seem to have different vibration frequencies ? ).

[Slixmix]

Not sure what size reamers you're using but Command has a pretty new line of holders that actually freeze the holder instead of heating it up. Heres a link http://www.commandtool.com/coldset/coldset.cfm

[KCollins]

thanks for the info all....We typically use custom made core drills and reamers (carbide) for putting ports into valve bodies. We can knock what would normally take 8 tools or more down to three....and we get far better results with concentricity and surface finish as opposed to multiple tools. Our only issue with them to date is on a hole with a tolerance of ±0.0003 (not uncommon in a prototype valve body)...a couple tenths runout in the tool eats it up completely...so currently we put the tool in a standard collet and indicate them in individually (pretty time consuming, especially if the tool doesn't seat properly). It would be nice to find a holder that would give me repeatably good runout on the tool. Of course it always takes a little extra convincing of the boss to show that the ends justifies the means...

[McRae]

Do you have a presetter for getting the runout done offline or do you indicate in the spindle of the machine?

[Thad]

If you're counting on a reamer to hold a tolerance of .0003, you've got balls of steel. What's the manufacturing tolerance on reamers, approx +/-.0002? There's 2/3 of your tolerance and you haven't even done anything to the hole yet. Now, let your RPM be off by 100 or your feed be off by 1 IPM...bad news. We jig grind anything that has to be that close.

 

I'd be interested in hearing more about your "truing up" the runout. The reamer is clamped tight in the holder and then your tap it around until it indicates true?

 

Thad

[KCollins]

Believe it or not yes....we indicate them while in the spindle. The operator then (Lightly) taps the tool itself with a rubber rift or small mallet to true up the reamer. Slightly costly when he chips and edge and ruins the tool, although that happens on very rare occasions.

 

The reamers I'm talking about are not standard sized reamers....they're more like custom made form tools, typically having three or four different diameters to them. Our supplier holds them within tenths of the print we give him and we usually order them toward the low on the print to accomidate some runout.

 

We previously drilled, bored, and burnished each hole seperately. However this method works well for us, actually much better than the previous. I'm just looking for a way to cut down on the time required to setup the job. Our house is strictly prototype so we're not knocking down a production line, but every minute the spindle's not turning is in my opinion costing us money.

[Davez]

I have and continue to use iscar shrink fit extensions. They have a ER32 on one end so they will go strait into a collect chuck. With a good quality collect chuck i get .0001 runout regularly. They are very inexpensive, less than 100$ and i skipped the heating unit and just use a map gas torch, no problems at all yet. just my .02