Originally Posted by throttle_jockey  Wow. I'm glad you're still alive after running that chuck at 2500. Seriously man, not only is that dangerous, but the LC40 is one of the most powerful CNC turning centers Okuma ever made. If you're going to be turning small parts the collet chuck is the only option. You had a physics lesson that you'll not soon forget, always check your chuck pressure.
If you're going to be parting things off from round stock you'll want spindle liners for the appropriate material diameters as well, our you'll experience vibration and compromise work holding capabilities or worse...
Be careful, set your G50, use the tool path graphics if it has them, drive slow in single block, watch your Distance To Go, be careful. And be careful too.  |
Yeah an LC-40 at full tilt is something to behold... the floor was vibrating and I couldn't stop looking at the chuck jaws and thinking "there's no way this door would stop one of those if it wanted to let loose!". The stock didnt' actually come out - I just had a piece of 1" stock in there that I turn down into a small bullet shape. I figured I'd run it right at 2500rpm and see how fast it ran. Well, when it was turning the OD, the piece actually slid back into the chuck rather than be cut. I tried running it at 1500rpm and the cycle time was very short compared to before (obviously). I turn all sorts of parts, but in general they are quite small, so if I even ran mostly 15000-2000rpm, I would feel a lot better (and safer!) with a collet chuck in there.
I'll have to grab the dimensions off that collet chuck and see if anyone knows what it is.