fadal spindle failure

[goechsli]

We have 7 Fadal maching centers. % 4020's and 2 8030's. In the last year we have had to replace over a dozen spindles, 4 of which have been in one machine! The shortest spindle life that we've seen thus far was less than 48 hours of operation.

Are we the only ones having these kinds of problems?
Please advise.

[AndyB]

I service over 100 Fadals and in the past year I have replaced less than 5 spindles.

Where are you buying your replacement spindles?
Is the chiller system working properly?
Are there any air lines to spindle that may have moisture in them?
Are there any open holes on the new spindles that could be drawing in dirt?
What rpm do you run at and for how long?

[goechsli]

-The Replacement spindals are coming from Fadal.
-I check the chiller system every monday, and have not seen any problems.
-There are airline driers on each machine that came on the machines when we bought them. I clean these weeekly also.
-I have not seen any open holes in the new spindals.
-we usually run them right at 10k but for no longer than 1-2 hours per part.

[carbidecraters]

These spindles need to be warmed up before they are ran at a constant 10K. In fact I will go out on a limb and say that these Fadal 10K spindles should really be rated at 8K due to the shorter life you get above 8K

[DareBee]

You definately get a shortened lifespan running above 8500RPM.
I have run my machine at 10K 16+ hours at a time with a few hours cool down in between.
These spindles aren't bad at all.

I did have Andy's partner do the install though. ;-)

[ltmquik]

All machines have a duty cycle on the spindles. I think that they should do a better job of letting the end users know what this is. I do know thru experience that the air/oil spindles can be run at full RPM for extended periods of time. Unlike the "grease pack" spindles that require a down period.

For moldmaking I would say that the air/oil is a must. Also other manufactures are selling 12K air/oil spindles so one can run say 11.5K primarly without sacraficing much.

[UNMguy2000]

We have a 1994 4020 with 10k spindle. We mill mostly aluminum. I believe since '94, we have gone through about 12 spindles. They were all grease pack jobs. The last time we had a failure, I asked about an air/oil 10k spindle. They said there was a kit and that it could be added. We've been running on this spindle now for about 4 years. It runs 10k most of the time. Definitely something to consider when you have the next failure.

[carbidecraters]

[ghyman]

We ran our spindle from 100RPM up to 10K over a 15-minute span to allow it to warm up, than began a machining cycle with the Z backed off to keep it clear of the part for the first pass... 5 minutes into the cycle, it (the spindle) started screeching and squealing like mad.

I ask this in all sincerity: Is this a known problem with Fadal spindles? We have a brand-new 2216FX, 15K spindle, chiller, through-spindle coolant.
With all the other problems we've had with this machine in less than 3 weeks, I'm starting to doubt the wisdom of this purchase.

[Paul_S]

In the shop I work at we have 12 Fadals. And there was just replaced a second spindle in one of the machines over the 12 years I've worked there (There was just two machines when I started there, and their spindles have not been replaced.) The yellow tag from the new spindle says RPM's over 8000 RPM the machine should not be ran more than 4 hours continously without a 1/2 hour break. We run a lot of aluminum, and most of our spindles are on 10,000 RPM machines. One machine which the spindle went out on was bought new in 98. And this last machine was one that was bought used. All the machines except two, where bought used.

[ghyman]

Had the spindle (with the chiller) on our new 2216FX repaired Thursday and Friday. Today (Sunday) it's back to whining and screeching again, and doing it below 5K RPM.
We've run exactly TWO parts with this machine, and the only tool has been a Ø.500" endmill doing a light (.020" DOC x 1" long) pass on 5456 Aluminum.

[carbidecraters]

Sounds more like a belt issue than a spindle issue. I wonder if that axis mtoor has a tension cable like the older Fadals. We had belts sound like crunching and squeeling and htought we had 2 bad spindles...tunred out the motor mounts were shot and the axis motor was out of position allowing the top of the pulley to hit the top of the belt.