What's new
What's new

I had my first major machine crash today

Cole2534

Diamond
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Too much bar out the back and too little support bit me in the ass today, I turned some 1" 1018 into an L. Mechanical damage to the machine appears to be limited to the catch pot that feeds coolant from the spindle's backside back into the sump and the spindle's outboard end is no longer round. The rear sheet metal is toast, and the motor's peckerhead is knocked loose. A toolbox behind it is also got wrecked.

How'd this happen? I had the max RPM set far too high for the little support I had and, unknowingly, my spindle bushing had walked into the spindle bore, greatly reducing it's effectiveness.

I knew immediately what had happened, but I did panic and hit Slide Hold a few times before I realize I need to be hitting E-Stop.

After calming myself I removed the bar from the spindle, and thankfully it still turns freely. I then fired it up and the machine appears to run fine.


So here are my questions-
What alignment checks do I need to do?
What should I be looking for as symptoms of deeper damage?
What's the name of the little coolant catcher?
Aside from finding a machines headed to scrap, is there any chance of replacing the sheet metal for less than the cost of a new kidney?

Thanks, Cole
 
Pics.
 

Attachments

  • SmartSelect_20230127_175942_Gallery.jpg
    SmartSelect_20230127_175942_Gallery.jpg
    530.8 KB · Views: 226
  • SmartSelect_20230127_175934_Gallery.jpg
    SmartSelect_20230127_175934_Gallery.jpg
    616 KB · Views: 227
  • SmartSelect_20230127_175927_Gallery.jpg
    SmartSelect_20230127_175927_Gallery.jpg
    593.4 KB · Views: 228
I believe I would take the weekend off and think about a carriage stop project and clean my grippies out. Ouch--
Makes me want to run my big machines a bit slower :(
 
Cool. This had to be exciting and a real rush.
I'd wild guess about 800-1000 to get new sheetmetal fabbed for the two covers and you paint.
Check hot rod shops and big HVAC guys.
Of course the covers are not needed at all unless OSHA visits you often.
Big fun eh? Makes you think that these things could kill me and not care at all despite how loving I have been to them for a long time.
I, of course have never blown up a machine and had it jump off of it's floor mounts. :icon_bs:

Most important is no one hurt in the big bang. Maybe she needed a kick in the ass.
All of my machines get names. Pucked the +/- sign .590 on Rebeca two weeks ago. She was not happy and told me so. $1200 wheel in seconds.
 
Last edited:
Had that happen once. I was making studs from 1" threaded Nicroloy. Loaded a fresh stick and something in the controller went crazy. Programmed limit was around 800 RPM and the range switch was in a lower setting, don't remember exactly what. Fired it back up with errors but could read still read the fault log when mishap occurred, around 2500 RPM. Machine was an old converted tape drive and never ran again in our plant, probably got scrapped. The bent bar stock kept hitting some external frame work. Didn't notice at the time but my ears were ringing once I got into quieter surroundings.
 
We call these events "Code Brown". I'm a little surprised that short a section sticking out was enough to make the bar bend, but then centrifugal force doesn't fool around.
I found the outboard spindle bushing to have traveled well into the spindle tube rather than sitting at the edge like I set.
 
Yeah, so it starts wobbling, gets significantly unbalanced, and then bends at the end of the spindle. I saw one of those when running the student training shop, fortunately it was small diameter bar and none of the kids got hurt.
 
The whole outboard foot or so there is not the spindle, it's the actuator. It will unbolt from the spindle. Actuators are dialed in within a tenth or two. Definitely check the actuator alignment.

The coolant catcher on the end is a Kitagawa part. Ebay might have some if you can find the model number of your actuator.

That sheetmetal is pretty destroyed. I'd bang it to be functional and watch for a machine going to scrap to steal it from.

Bushings suck. Buy spindle liners if you can. Trusty Cook liners are super nice.
 
The whole outboard foot or so there is not the spindle, it's the actuator. It will unbolt from the spindle. Actuators are dialed in within a tenth or two. Definitely check the actuator alignment.

The coolant catcher on the end is a Kitagawa part. Ebay might have some if you can find the model number of your actuator.

That sheetmetal is pretty destroyed. I'd bang it to be functional and watch for a machine going to scrap to steal it from.

Bushings suck. Buy spindle liners if you can. Trusty Cook liners are super nice.
All points noted, thanks dude!

On the catcher, is there any reason to no just fab on? The cast AL piece is nice, but a little TIG time would yield the same result.

Regarding the actuator alignment, what am I looking for?
 
All points noted, thanks dude!

On the catcher, is there any reason to no just fab on? The cast AL piece is nice, but a little TIG time would yield the same result.

Regarding the actuator alignment, what am I looking for?

Sure you can fab it up. It just bolts on with four or so m6 bolts.

Put an indicator on the stationary housing of the actuator and rotate the spindle.
 








 
Back
Top