De chipping index tables

[tryon]

You folks with horizontal Mills.  How often do you dechipe the index tables?  Every day, every load, every shift, etc.  

Are chips between the pallet and table an issue normally?

 

Thanks

[nickbe10]

Chip control off the part (generally the chips fall away from the part which helps prevent chip recirculation in the cut) can be an issue, especially in cell systems with a pallet storage system, where the chips get out of the machine and drop on sensors which then bring the whole thing to a grinding halt, and chips on the cones can affect part dimensions.

The most effective way of avoiding problems I have used involved grabbing a thru spindle coolant tool (insert drills work well and give a good spray pattern) turn on the spindle and thru coolant and run the tool around the pallet faces and as far down as you can get. We had it set up as a subprogram (actually we had several subs for different setups and pallets) that ran at the end of every cycle. Adds a bit of time, but I have spent hours looking for chips that are causing problems in a large cell (42 pallets) so it is worth the time.

The operator can also play a part by regularly blowing off the spindle nose (coolant from tool doesn't wash "behind" the tool), this helps to keep chips out of the tool chain.

[Brad Lisle]

Big Kaiser sells a product just for this task made by Lang

https://us.bigkaiser.com/products/accessories/chip-coolant-fans.html

These work wonders. As nickbe10 says create sub programs for different Z depth and run a pattern over the part/fixture. takes a few seconds but it works great.

[Charlie Pierson]

I was wondering what a 'chipping index table' was  !

[jeff]

On 4/28/2017 at 4:53 AM, Brad Lisle said:

Big Kaiser sells a product just for this task made by Lang

https://us.bigkaiser.com/products/accessories/chip-coolant-fans.html

These work wonders. As nickbe10 says create sub programs for different Z depth and run a pattern over the part/fixture. takes a few seconds but it works great.

I've always been curious about these.

Would they blow aluminum chips out of a pocket that is 4" x 4" x 1.25" deep?

And do you have a ballpark cost?

[jlw™]

I have a 6in piece of 1/8in pipe in a sealed collet.  Use it often.  I'll run it in a hole or just point it.  I also have some bent ones for certain jobs that I can use spindle orientation to point at trouble spots.  Yes, chips under a pallet can be a problem.

[nickbe10]

Never been very impressed with the blowing fans. Using an indexable drill (or most other thru coolant tools) gives a spiral spray pattern which is great getting into pockets and other nooks and crannies, kind of like a dish washer. It also has the advantage of being an "existing tool", so you are not using what might be valuable "tool pot real estate". It is frighteningly easy to fill up even a 200 tool carousel, although I would never recommend  completely filling any carousel completely with any "standard tool load", the number of available pots can still be an issue. Having said that I like the idea of the thin copper pipe for holes, I can remember a few jobs where sticking the tube down a small hole and giving it a blast would definitely have helped with part change over.

So it really comes down to what you are doing and what your strategy is (for example are you trying to run a standard tool load), and do you have a spare pot for a dedicated tool.