Having a HAAS mill we have come to the point where we are considering getting a HAAS lathe. But its for a specific operation and I'm wondering if anyone knows if it can do this or not?
I'm needing to know whether on a HAAS lathe if you can have the Z axis move (plunge) without having the spindle rotate? I'm pretty sure this can be accomplished using C axis, but I'm trying to find out if it can without C axis.
What we are trying to do is use a platform mounted servo motor with a slitter that can slit the end of some tubing. But of course the spindle cannot be turning for this to work. Before someone gets all upset about using the correct tool for the correct job, this tubing is .08 in diameter so the stresses (if any) will be negligible to the machine.
I do know on my HAAS mill I cannot plunge the Z axis without the spindle rotating, or at least I haven't been able to figure out how to do it.
You should be able to do this on the lathe with a G98 (Feed per Minute) command, i.e.: G01 G98 Z-1. F20. should feed Z to -1. at 20IPM. It's commonly used when bar pulling or feeding. Be sure to program G99 when you want to start using Feed per Revolution for turning again.
I'm surprised it doesn't work on your mill. What happens when you try it?