Loosening and tightening lathe ER collet live tool

[SlaveCam]

We have a couple of VDI lathe live tools using ER collet and opening and tightening them has always been a real PIA. I have to hold a key in a slot below the nut and rotate the nut with another key, the slot is almost completely worn away. So, I was thinking about making a loosening/tightening pot that will prevent the spindle from rotating while working with the nut, but the downside is that the forces will be transmitted through the gears. I'm sure this is not a recommended practice so how much will this potentially damage the tools in the long run?

[T_MALENA]

Not sure if itll work for you...I have our Okumas setup with ER adapters/reducers. So when I need to change out I'm using a ER wrench to loosen the ER16 nut while keeping the other ER25 nut from rotating with a wrench. ie my milling tool is a ER25, ER32 etc & Im holding the tool with a ER16 or ER20.

 

I personally wouldn't use the mill head gears to torque against while changing ER collets.

[Guest]

SlaveCam, you DEFINITELY do not want to use the gears to loosen the nuts. You'll pay a dear price in the end. Get the VDI holder repaired or replaced.

[ManWithNoName]

At my old shop we a slap on adapter made from .125" thick steel. It was brake formed to index over the tool station block, or the turret edge. The adapter had a finger or tab that indexed in the live tools spanner wrench slot.

 

Place the adapter over the tool block, rotate the live tool until the tab indexes into spanner wrench slot.

 

It's much easier to hold the adapter with one hand while wrenching off the collet cap with the other.

 

We had one at every lathe with live tooling.

 

I don't have any modeling tools available to draw one up right now, but if I think of it later I'll whip something out.