Minimizing air consumption on Haas VF-3 2001 model

[conceptmachinin]

Hi, and thanks for any help in advance.
I have a VF-3 2001 model, and ever since I've had it it runs a lot of air thru it. It runs air thru it as soon as the spindle starts, or a tool change, and it blows until about 30 seconds after the spindle shuts down. I am wondering if I can go in and either change a parameter, or do something machanical to minimize how much air it is using. First off, I guess I should ask if the constant running of the air is needed for this machine. Its really annoying, as the air compressor is almost always running.


Thanks again

Jimmy

[Cory]

This sounds normal to me. Ours does the same. I think the answer is you need a better compressor. We have a cheapo Husky 6.5 cfm compressor, and we're finding that it runs every couple minutes. We have shop air, but no control over it, so it's not always on, and not set to pump back up at a high enough PSI to run the mill. At any rate, sometimes we have to run another airline off the husky for blowing chips off of the manual machines, at which point it can't keep up.

[ckirchen]

There are two things on VF's that use air: the drawbar and the spindle oiler. The drawbar is straight forward; it only uses air when it is unclamped. The spindle oiler is a mister that turns on whenever the machine is running a cycle, MDI commands, and ATC activity, and, as you mentioned, for a period after the final command. There is no way to turn it off; it is integral to the spindle. Actually, that's not true; you can disconnect the compressor line from the machine, but then the bearings won't receive anymore lube. And since the oiler is a flow-through design (you can feel the air flow and see excess oil around the spindle nose) it's probably safe to assume that even if there was some oil on the bearings when you disconnected the air line, it won't be there for long.

To use less air, you can turn down the down the regulator that feeds the oiler (it's behind the main regulator). I toyed with the idea, but I ultimately decided against it because I would rather have the compressor running more than to risk bearing failure and have to replace a spindle cartridge.

Also, you can cancel the extra period after the cycle stops by pressing the e-stop and resetting. It doesn't really help you during a cycle, but it's nice to skip the extra 30 seconds because you might prevent the compressor from turning on one last time.

The spindle oiler is a real nuisance is when you're machining something that has to remain clean. I cut wood on occasion and I constantly have to wipe the spindle nose to make sure that oil doesn't drip onto the workpiece.

I couldn't bear the noise of my compressor anymore, so I built an enclosure around it. You could always do the same, just make sure your enclosure has forced air cooling. Also, I read in my compressor manual that if the compressor is running at a duty-cycle higher than 50%, it is undersized for the application and it is running beyond it's design stress (mine has an oiless moter; your's might be different).

Hope that helps,
Chris Kirchen

[Geof]

[QUOTE=conceptmachinin;365064.... Its really annoying, as the air compressor is almost always running.


Thanks again

Jimmy
[/QUOTE]

Bite the bullet and splurge on a rotary screw compressor. Chicago Pneumatic have small units that are reasonably priced and they are quiet, very quiet, it is possible to have a normal conversation right beside one that is running.