One tiny chip lodged in a machine tool’s toolholder-spindle interface will, at best, cause a slight increase in tool runout and reduced tool life. At higher spindle speeds however, the effects only grow exponentially worse and can lead to catastrophic failures. To avoid such failures, you need to practice good toolholder-spindle interface hygiene.
Maximum machine spindle speeds continue to get faster and faster, making good hygiene even more important than ever – and bringing that same attitude to your shop is the best way to get the most out of your toolholders and the rest of your manufacturing equipment. Here are five tips for maintaining this critical part of your machining infrastructure:
1. ABC: Always Be Cleaning
Clean and inspect toolholders and spindles after every single job. That means complete disassembly for toolholders and a visual inspection of the entire system. This routine cleaning process is especially important for shops that use synthetic and semi-synthetic coolants, which typically leave behind sticky surfaces that will hold onto stray chips or particulate. Clean the toolholder and spindle interface, with oil-dissolving cleaner when necessary, as part of the standard post-job machine breakdown process.
2. Take a Closer Look
After cleaning, check for any defects. Visual signs of wear on toolholder tapers can usually be handled with an automatic power-brush wiper and an ultrasonic cleaning system. If serious damage is found in a spindle interface surface, however, the spindle taper socket may need re-ground. It’s vital to keep an eye out for damaged toolholders or machine spindle surfaces, as they’ll go on to damage other tool and machine spindle mating surfaces if left alone.
3. Protect Your Equipment
After cleaning and maintenance, take protective measures. To avoid recontamination of toolholders as they move from the machine to the tool crib or from the tool cart to the machine, spray the surfaces with a coat of light penetrating oil to prevent rust. Operators should be trained to check and make sure they’re loading only perfectly clean tool holders into machine spindles or automatic tool changers to prevent damage.
4. Find a Good Cleaner
Put the tool crib manager or another designated tooling specialist in charge of handling the maintenance of your toolholders. They should process tools as they return to the crib, disassembling cutters and holders and cleaning everything manually. An ultrasonic cleaner is ideal for this, as it’s the most efficient way to handle all the tapers, collet cavities, holder nuts and tiny subassemblies that make up modern toolholding systems.
5. Keep Up With the Maintenance Schedule
Finally, be sure to follow OEMs’ directions for scheduled maintenance. For example, a ForceCheck device should be used to check a machine spindle’s pulling power every three months to spot any irregularities and prevent unexpected downtime. Increasingly, spindles and machine controls can handle much of this analysis on their own – but shops still have to pay attention to the alerts if they want to keep their operations running smoothly.