4. Don’t overlook retention knobs These devices may be inexpensive, but retention knobs may be the last thing between you and a catastrophic collision or break. This is not an area to skimp. Don’t pull an old one out of the coffee can from under the bench. We can’t tell you how often we see piles of retention knobs that are either damaged or have been deformed due being used in another machine over and over. This is especially risky in a new, precision-ground machine. Retention knobs should be treated as perishable and should not be repurposed for a new machine or tooling. 5. Understand the difference between licensed vs. unlicensed tools For those buying a machine with a BIG-PLUS spindle, many don’t realize the damage they can do when they use a non-licensed holder on a licensed spindle. It’s kind of like Russian roulette. You might have seven of 10 tools that work pretty well, but three tools that are taken in and out can ruin the face or taper of a machine. When that happens, none of the other tools are going to perform as they should. It’s just not worth the risk after investing so much in a new machine.
6. Understand your tooling certificate options Ready-to-run packages appear to make things easy on the tooling front, but the truth is you’re likely only getting a handful of tools that even apply to the work you do. The rest will burn a hole in your shelves. Tooling certificates available from distributors or machine tool companies act like a debit card. Not only do they allow for building a custom shopping list that’s already paid for, they also provide direct and ongoing access to tooling engineers who can help find exactly what’s needed today and as work evolves. In the end, having a resource who knows your shop, machinery and work history can pay big dividends. Investing in Tooling Would you put discount tires on a Ferrari? Probably not. So why invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a machine and then dedicate a tiny percentage of that expenditure to tools? Your existing tool holders may appear to be in good condition to the naked eye, but nearly any imperfection will find its way to the spindle of a machine that’s fresh off the truck. During a recent shop visit, we saw a highly reputable machine known for its best-in-class accuracy that
had been installed just weeks before. The shop had 60 tools in a 300-capacity magazine and wanted to fill in some of the empty spots. The tools already in the machine were inexpensive and unlicensed. The customer thought these were the right choice because they were about a third of the price of the licensed BIG-PLUS tools the OEM recommended. One look revealed that the tool holders were fretted on the side because of improper grinding. When the machine was run, the spindle was damaged. The shop had to buy a whole new spindle for a million-dollar machine that was only weeks old. In other words, do your homework, communicate openly and ask questions of those you’re working with during the machine purchase. If you do, you’ll get what you expect out of your capital investment, avoid unnecessary expenditures and realize significant cost savings over the life of the machine tool.
CONTRIBUTOR Michael Herman is the Vice President Sales at BIG DAISHOWA. michael.herman@us.bigdaishowa.com
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