Need Help!- Mystery Spindle Noise (watch video)

[akedward]

I have a 2007 VF-2, with a 10K spindle that is making some interesting noise. I caught the noise just before my warrenty was up and since then I have had the reseller replace the spindle, and motor with no change to the noise. It really sounds like it is coming from the spindle but if it was the spindle it seems like a spindle replacement would have fixed it. It makes the noise with or without a tool in the spindle.

Check out this video of the noise, and any ideas on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

YouTube - Haas spindle noise

YouTube - Haas spindle noise

[DRD]

The noise is reffered to as bearing skate noise , by the hfo. I had a 08 vf3, that did the same thing under warranty, the spindle was replaced under warranty.

[akedward]

So if it is bearing skate, the new spindle they put in must have the same problem.

[DRD]

Yes, get a new spinflde put in, my machine had a 100 hours on and needed a spindle. Haas is well aware of the problem.

[HuFlungDung]

That is fairly annoying, isn't it

Now some guys swear that the spindle will overheat with too much lube, but I'd be inclined to think that that dry sound indicates a lack of lube, if the bearings are/were actually good to start with. Do you get some visual indication of oil making it through the spindle? There should be an occasional drop or two on the spindle keys in the morning before startup. You could also remove the bottom spindle cap and see how oily it is, as some accumulation may exist there if it does not all get blown past the labyrinth.

Check for oil leaks up on the hoses from the air mist lube pump up top. Run the tests to see that oil output is correct. IMO, there is precious little oil being dipensed to the spindle, and any leaks or drop in oiler output are intolerable.

Have you tried to force an overlube condition by manually actuating the oiler a few times at the back of the machine? You can always run the excess oil out with the warmup program later, if you can get it to shut up.

On a long shot, you could also play with the belt tension to the spindle pulley just in case it is excessively tight, enough to affect the top spindle bearing (the floating bearing) somehow.

BTW, when I did my own spindle rebuild, I discovered the preload was gone on the lower bearings. So some of the noise I had could have been due to bearing race slippage there, as there was evidence of rotary wear on the end of the races where they met the preload collar.

I also installed a pair of super precision bearings up top, where one would think they are not normally required. You can't have too much precision, but you can have too much money

[joesimmers]

oh crap I have this exact same thing on my 2007 vf2 with 7500 spindle!!

thanks for posting this video I have been thinking that my noise was from the belt.

My mill has 275 hours and has been doing this since it was practicaly new.

Luckily I called and complained about the noise before the warranty expired.

Unfortunatley the day the tech came to check out the noise the mill ran quiet as a sewing machine, but I still have the paperwork to show this.

I will call my hfo first thing tomorrow and report back what they
do for me.

Joe Simmers

[pit202]

ho ho ho , I have the same thing on my sl-20 lathe , but the service man haven`t discover any inproperties with a vibration sensor , lucky that is sounds only when the machine is cold and later it stops. oh and I see the same : is stops singing on higher RPM`s and the testing procedure from haas tell to check the spindle on maximum RPM - funny what ?

[kcho]

One question, if you remove the belt and run the motor the sound still there? In other machine I have a similar problem and It was the Motor´s encoder or maybe Flux motor pattern was wrong do an autotuning or adjust manualy in lower frecuencies. This could be eletrical noise it´s sound equal than a broken bearing.

Carlos

[Cory]

My machine (2007 VF-1, 10k gearbox) was doing the same thing a week ago.

It was *not* the spindle. It was the gearbox.

Selway has since come out and put 2 new gearboxes into the the machine. Both have been bad.

[pit202]

in my case the sound comes from the motor , and sounds without the belt too , it is probably the bearing.

[joesimmers]

DRD, can you please elaborate on the "bearing skate" is the bearing "slipping"?

I have this exact same noise from my 2007 vf2.

It is much worse in the morning then goes away somewhat after 2-4 hours of warmup using the mill.

I scheduled for my local hfo tech to come take a look at it, I told them when they come do it first thing in the morning.

Of course they showed up it was in the afternoon after I had ran it a few hours and I was upset that it did not make a sound while they were here.

I am trying to figure out how to explain this to my hfo so that they
can troubleshhot this problem I am getting sick of listening to the noise.

Joe Simmers

[Rocko1]

It sounds like something is out of balance. That is why you notice the noise getting more frequent the higher the RPMS. Also notice that your load % starts going up. How do flat machined surfaces look? Are they nice and flat or not?