Alternative to Chip Fan

honda1988 · Jan 18, 2018

Hi,

I am using a lang tech chip fan in our dual pallet Fanuc Robodrill to blow off each pallet after cutting is complete. The fan works really well except it adds about 8 seconds of cycle time to the 60 second cycle time.

Does anyone have an alternative to the fan which will not add cycle time? Something out of spindle that has a high flow rate? Ideally I would not like to use compressed air and I do not feel a 16" wide air knife will have enough flow to clean the pallet as a the pallet passes out of the machine.

Any input would be great! Thanks!

Whysosharp · Jan 18, 2018

I would think the chip fan is probably your best bet. Does it need to run every cycle or can it be run every other?

honda1988 · Jan 18, 2018

It needs to run every cycle, our pallets are manually loaded, we have found the chip fan is still more efficient than the operator blowing the pallets off.

mhajicek · Jan 18, 2018

Through spindle air maybe if you've got it, with an empty side-lock holder for a nozzle.

Matt@RFR · Jan 18, 2018

honda1988 said:
It needs to run every cycle, our pallets are manually loaded, we have found the chip fan is still more efficient than the operator blowing the pallets off.

That's what I have found as well, depending on the parts / fixturing. I think the only way to be quicker is to have air lines aimed where they need to be, controlled by solenoid valves and fired by M code. Just don't have them running during a tool change.

gkoenig · Jan 18, 2018

mhajicek said:
Through spindle air maybe if you've got it, with an empty side-lock holder for a nozzle.

Would be slower. You still have a tool change (virtually nothing on a Robodrill), but you're now blowing a 1" wide column of air on the fixture instead of a 6" column of air, so you'll need more passes than the fan.

Question: Can you jigger things to run the fan while the pallet changes? Perhaps you could overlap operations a bit to cut the time off a bunch. Have the fan start at X0 and move across X to the load end of the pallet for an initial pass, and then have it sweep back and forth in Y as the pallet swaps out underneath it.

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