Hi to all,
it's been a while since I've posted something new, even more since I posted about a new Deckel (5 years actually!).
So, after a period of fixation, I decided on replacing my beloved 500 mm twinlever FP2 with an FP3. I decided on finding a later roundhead machine, and this summer a 1976 sample cameup.
Here she is, in my (mess of a ) workshop, just after it was delivered:
Four years have passed since I got a new (to me) machine and I had forgotten how much work it is to clean and set up (to one's liking) a new machine.
It is really dirty and has seen a lot of coolant (that has stained vertical table), but it has, already, started to look better:
At first glance it's not that bad, bellows have kept Z ways decent. Both quills where stuck, now vertical if free, horizontal needs some cleaning still. I did decide to take the risk and push on the thrust bearings of the horizontal to pull it out, by pulling off a tool in the spindle, but I think this was the safest option.
The lever for the Z lock is also missing, and the shaft moved a bit strangely, so I removed the Z handwheel gearbox:
It all seems to work nicely, lock and feed-interlock as well. It's only strange to my eyes that the Z lock lever doesn't seem to have end stops. Also, the lock is left hand threaded, correct? (@AlfaGTA , @Peter from Holland , @TNB ) (you apply counterclockwise action on the lever to lock, right?)
X slide is a beauty with the integrated scale, the improved gib, the oilers, many way wipers and 0.2 mm of backlash!
Nice things overall are the bellows that are there (except the sliding head's that needs repairs), the Heidenhains and the, acceptable so far, condition. Spindle break is also nice, though, strangely to me, it needs to be engaged if one is to turn the spindle on. So, in order to change rpm or feed rate you have to :
- stop the spindle
- release brake (or else the inching wheel won't move)
- restore brake
- turn spindle on.
I'd rather the brake was always released and one could activate it only when needed.
Bad things are the monkeyed electrics. I think they had issues with the low voltage control lines and they ended up sending 220V up the control buttons. I'll have to fix this. I'll also have to fix the brake and e-stop retaining rings since I managed to throw the electrics cabinet face down while moving the machine around... It was after some hard work taking the machine off its (massive) pallet and placing it safely and incident free down on the ground, yet I forgot about the cabinet while moving it on wheels and it fell... no real harm done, just annoying.
Hand wheels need also attention, Z and Y have mistreated levers.
I think I'll fix the handwheels to their shafts and remove the levers. I can't see myself having to pull out the handwheel in order to creep to dimension (e.g. in an internal pocket) after I have stopped power feed.
It's also missing the Z screw cover, I'll have to ask for dimensions from one of you guys at some point.
Compared to the FP2, it seems more robust (in order to be able to take advantage of the extra hp as well) and, strangely, larger. The table not that much (at least not the vertical alone. The add on tables ARE huge compared to the FP2's) but the head is big. Larger quill OD and much heftier castings.
I haven't actually used it, I think I don't like where the X lock is (where the Z lock was on the older 2/3s), since it's very far from the handwheel.
I also don't like that one must always swivel the head away in order to work horizontally. On the FP2 with the long reach head that places the vertical spindle nose 60 mm higher than the horizontal axis, 90% of the cases you just stick a tool in the horizontal and work. You can do this several times within a project. With the 3, this can't be done. Hope the extra 40 mm of quill travel and extra robustness will make-up for the inconvenience....
I'll cover the repairs and some details on its use here.
BR,
Thanos
it's been a while since I've posted something new, even more since I posted about a new Deckel (5 years actually!).
So, after a period of fixation, I decided on replacing my beloved 500 mm twinlever FP2 with an FP3. I decided on finding a later roundhead machine, and this summer a 1976 sample cameup.
Here she is, in my (mess of a ) workshop, just after it was delivered:
Four years have passed since I got a new (to me) machine and I had forgotten how much work it is to clean and set up (to one's liking) a new machine.
It is really dirty and has seen a lot of coolant (that has stained vertical table), but it has, already, started to look better:
At first glance it's not that bad, bellows have kept Z ways decent. Both quills where stuck, now vertical if free, horizontal needs some cleaning still. I did decide to take the risk and push on the thrust bearings of the horizontal to pull it out, by pulling off a tool in the spindle, but I think this was the safest option.
The lever for the Z lock is also missing, and the shaft moved a bit strangely, so I removed the Z handwheel gearbox:
It all seems to work nicely, lock and feed-interlock as well. It's only strange to my eyes that the Z lock lever doesn't seem to have end stops. Also, the lock is left hand threaded, correct? (@AlfaGTA , @Peter from Holland , @TNB ) (you apply counterclockwise action on the lever to lock, right?)
X slide is a beauty with the integrated scale, the improved gib, the oilers, many way wipers and 0.2 mm of backlash!
Nice things overall are the bellows that are there (except the sliding head's that needs repairs), the Heidenhains and the, acceptable so far, condition. Spindle break is also nice, though, strangely to me, it needs to be engaged if one is to turn the spindle on. So, in order to change rpm or feed rate you have to :
- stop the spindle
- release brake (or else the inching wheel won't move)
- restore brake
- turn spindle on.
I'd rather the brake was always released and one could activate it only when needed.
Bad things are the monkeyed electrics. I think they had issues with the low voltage control lines and they ended up sending 220V up the control buttons. I'll have to fix this. I'll also have to fix the brake and e-stop retaining rings since I managed to throw the electrics cabinet face down while moving the machine around... It was after some hard work taking the machine off its (massive) pallet and placing it safely and incident free down on the ground, yet I forgot about the cabinet while moving it on wheels and it fell... no real harm done, just annoying.
Hand wheels need also attention, Z and Y have mistreated levers.
I think I'll fix the handwheels to their shafts and remove the levers. I can't see myself having to pull out the handwheel in order to creep to dimension (e.g. in an internal pocket) after I have stopped power feed.
It's also missing the Z screw cover, I'll have to ask for dimensions from one of you guys at some point.
Compared to the FP2, it seems more robust (in order to be able to take advantage of the extra hp as well) and, strangely, larger. The table not that much (at least not the vertical alone. The add on tables ARE huge compared to the FP2's) but the head is big. Larger quill OD and much heftier castings.
I haven't actually used it, I think I don't like where the X lock is (where the Z lock was on the older 2/3s), since it's very far from the handwheel.
I also don't like that one must always swivel the head away in order to work horizontally. On the FP2 with the long reach head that places the vertical spindle nose 60 mm higher than the horizontal axis, 90% of the cases you just stick a tool in the horizontal and work. You can do this several times within a project. With the 3, this can't be done. Hope the extra 40 mm of quill travel and extra robustness will make-up for the inconvenience....
I'll cover the repairs and some details on its use here.
BR,
Thanos
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