Tool Changer/Angle head problem

I just bought a Gerardi T90 cn-2.5 angle head that was advertised as being compatible with HAAS VF series toolchangers. You can probably guess the rest, but here are the details.

I attached the stop block to my VF-2 and the pull stud to the CAT-40 taper and installed and removed the unit from the spindle. Everything worked perfectly. Now for the tool changer. The carousel came in and the angle head transferred to station 1 just like it should. But when the carousel indexed to the next station the stop arm on the angle head crashed into the metal cover on the carousel! The angle head was wrenched out of the carousel fingers and left sitting at an odd angle. Luckily, there was no damage to angle head and the damage to the tool changer was minor and simple to fix.

Any ideas or experiences out there that might shed some light on this problem?

I have a '94 VF-2 and use a spindle speeder with a stop arm. I have to leave a tool pocket empty on either side of the speeder. After the tool change the Z axis comes down hits the stop arm and WILL rip the speeder right out of the carousel. The stop arm clears the carousel sheet metal on my Haas. What year is your Haas? I will post a pic in the am.
Carl

The mill is a '99. When the crash occurred there were no other tools in the changer. I can see how that might be a problem, though.

I would never trust a flimsy Haas tool changer with my valuable angle head.
It's too heavy for one, and the center of gravity is not in line with the toolholder/retention stud centerline, so the goofy finger springs will never be able to hold it parrallel to the spindle.

Then you got to worry about the holder spinning during indexes which will cause the tool stop to be misaligned to the stop block.

So, I guess the solution is to scrap my $60,000 + dollar VF-2 to protect the $6,000 angle head.

The angle head is not too heavy. That is the main reason I went with that model. The problem is with interference between the stop arm and the tool changer cover. If the fingers were any tighter, the damage would have been worse.

If you just want to bash HAAS machinery and aren't providing useful information, why are you on this forum?

"So, I guess the solution is to scrap my $60,000 + dollar VF-2 to protect the $6,000 angle head. "
Your angle head could work with side tool changer,but it is not a solution to your problem.
Personally I would put it in by hand, but you can always cut out a notch in the cover and designate one pocket for your tool ,like pocket#12 ,so it stays away form coolant splashing when most common tools are in use.

The idea here is to NOT DESTROY your angle head.

Put it in that POS tool changer on the HAAS, and it will evetuall shuck that nice angle head. Gravity does amazing damage to those nice gizmos.

Our angle head dropped out of that POS tool changer twice before we got smart and began hand swapping the angle head.

Or keep on trying the merry-go-round and see what you get.

And another thing MIKE T....

"If you just want to bash HAAS machinery and aren't providing useful information, why are you on this forum?"

You missed my bit of useful information...

HAND SWAP your right angle head.
I offer this useful information out of ACTUAL experience.

Just because I said the Haas tool changer is a POS does not mean I think HAAS machines stink overall.

I own three of them. I like them, but just like all other things I own, I can find fault with certain aspects of things.

Chill out dude and listen.....

Hand swapping might be best, however, if you want to try using the changer, I think you'll have to add a spacer between the body of the tool and the stop arm so that the pin sticks out far enough to clear the tool changer cover. I've got three different devices with the stop arm, but all of them managed to clear the carousel cover.

It takes lots of care to ensure that you've got a clear pocket on each side of the device. That also means you won't want it in pocket 2 or pocket 20 when you have to home the machine on startup, because the carousel will move to pocket 1......

Hu, thanks for the tip on hand swapping, unfortunately this project is a real odd one and involves many tool changes between an end mill and a drill (in the angle head). I was really hoping to avoid that if possible.

The stop pin clears everything just fine, it is the arm itself that is the problem. I think if there were just an 1/8" more between the top of the arm and the bottom of the toolchanger housing it would be fine.

Twister, your 1st posting;

"I would never trust a flimsy Haas tool changer with my valuable angle head.
It's too heavy for one, and the center of gravity is not in line with the toolholder/retention stud centerline, so the goofy finger springs will never be able to hold it parrallel to the spindle.

Then you got to worry about the holder spinning during indexes which will cause the tool stop to be misaligned to the stop block."

read like a bash to me. Sorry if I misunderstood.

Can you tell me what year machine you had trouble with? I have a '92 that has fingers that are one piece that I wouldn't trust. My '99 and '05 machines have fingers that are three piece and seem much better. Was it the three piece fingers that gave you trouble?

(2) 2001 vf1S (1) 2004 VF3.

Equal opportunity "bashing" My 1997 Fadal drops my angle head also.

The only machine that will consistently auto tool change my Pibo-Multi head is a side changer Hitachi Seiki.

We have 9 HS-1 machines in my shop and all have Gerardi T90 drill heads in them. All run three shifts, six days a week and I have only minor problems with them. Most of the problems are due however, to the flimsy tool carousel Hass puts in the horz. machines now. Most of the machines have to have the tools removed before shutdown due to interference with the machines covers during cold startups. I wouldn't give up my Haas machines, but I wish Haas would go back to the old steel carousel design.