A good article on spindle interfaces

[gcode]

Alternatives to steep

[crazy^millman]

Good article. Part of the CTO every programmer should do if they call themselves a programmer today that most don't.

[GoetzInd]

I'm more of an R8 guy myself......

 

[F10Brandon]

I have a cat 50 big plus spindle. I'm surprised to hear there is much on offer that's more rigid than that. This machine is a tank. I also have embraced the capto system for modularity for some specialty tooling. It does perform quite well.

[GoetzInd]

Almost everything here is HSK and Capto aside from the robodrills which are Big plus 30. I really prefer HSK63a over Cat40. A little more expensive to get going but work it if you are going to start from scratch. If you already have thousand of steep tapers.... that may be tough to swallow. 

 

Mike

[YoDoug®]

24 minutes ago, F10Brandon said:

I have a cat 50 big plus spindle. I'm surprised to hear there is much on offer that's more rigid than that. This machine is a tank. I also have embraced the capto system for modularity for some specialty tooling. It does perform quite well.

An HSK-125 spindle is about as massive as you can get, both in rigidity and the dent it will make in your wallet.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

23 hours ago, F10Brandon said:

I have a cat 50 big plus spindle. I'm surprised to hear there is much on offer that's more rigid than that. This machine is a tank. I also have embraced the capto system for modularity for some specialty tooling. It does perform quite well.

For RPMs up to about 12K or 15K a CAT 50 Big Plus will do pretty much anything you ask of it.  It's at higher RPMs that you might want something else; I believe HSK really shines above 25K or 30K, but from what I hear it doesn't do lower RPM stuff as well as steep taper.

[gcode]

8 minutes ago, Matthew Hajicek™ - Conventus said:

For RPMs up to about 12K or 15K a CAT 50 Big Plus will do pretty much anything you ask of it.  It's at higher RPMs that you might want something else; I believe HSK really shines above 25K or 30K, but from what I hear it doesn't do lower RPM stuff as well as steep taper.

We've got an Okuma 5X HMC with an HSK125 spindle and a 65hp geared head.

It makes every Cat50 machine in the building look like a child's toy

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Which letter HSK 125?

[mkd]

Good link. I liked the part about TSC and how it can be the only thing to penetrate the vapor barrier.

[Leon82]

Must be fun loading that big thing into the spindle.

[Newbeeee™]

18 minutes ago, Leon82 said:

Must be fun loading that big thing into the spindle.

You've seen Gcodes' arm from loading those tools?

At least I think that's how he built it up...

[gcode]

4 hours ago, Matthew Hajicek™ - Conventus said:

Which letter HSK 125?

I order the basic Capto holders from Sandvik

The catalogue says Form A/C.

There are very few sources for HSK 125 holders.

Haimer builds a few  really nice ones

see attached screen shot

Sandvik HSK125.pdf

[gcode]

23 minutes ago, Leon82 said:

Must be fun loading that big thing into the spindle.

The machine has a 170 station winerack style holder so hand loading tool holders is minimal

because they are hollow, they don't weigh much more than a CAT 50 holder

[F10Brandon]

On 9/27/2017 at 0:43 PM, newbeeee said:

You've seen Gcodes' arm from loading those tools?

At least I think that's how he built it up...

Works wonders for your arm wrestling career haha 

[MIL-TFP-41]

I saw a CAT60 holder once. The pullstud on it was bigger than a BT30 holder. Made a 50 taper look like a toy. The machine had a jib crane that was used to load the holders into the toolchanger.

Was pretty old school, but way impressive.

I have heard of an HSK160, which would be that much more impressive

[specv]

This is why every new machine from here on out will be HSK-63a for us. Yes they are more expensive than 40 tapers, but the jobs that we have switched over to our HSK spindles have had significantly less chatter and much better finishes (milling and boring).