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What are your solutions for catching parts on a lathe with no parts catcher?

SMT

Hot Rolled
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
PA
Looking at a lathe with no parts catcher. Im sure we'd run a bar job or two on it here and there. I've done this before in the past but I'm wondering if any of you have a good solution (read: better than what ive done before) for catching parts and not messing up the OD in the process.

Ideas?
 
We built a parts catcher for around $50 with new parts.

An Air cylender, and some pivot bearings, etc.

The lathe had the M-Codes available.
 
I wedge a basket under the collet/chuck. I drill a bunch off holes in basket to allow most chips to fall thru but not big enough to let parts drop thru too. As long as parts are not heavy the chips dampen any damage. Heavy parts... I use a bucket and allow coolant to fill it then coolant slows the fall of the parts. Just pick out the parts at the end of the bar.
 
Momma used to have one of those white wire fruit baskets in the kitchen but hasn't been able to find it for years.

BTW, the wire legs make it easy to adjust them to fit your available space. Of course this all hypothetical as I have no idea what happens to it.
 
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I wedge a basket under the collet/chuck. I drill a bunch off holes in basket to allow most chips to fall thru but not big enough to let parts drop thru too. As long as parts are not heavy the chips dampen any damage. Heavy parts... I use a bucket and allow coolant to fill it then coolant slows the fall of the parts. Just pick out the parts at the end of the bar.

That's the way we did it too.
 
I used to bend up a coat hanger that would slide in a thru bore when the part off tool aproached in z, you can hold as many as the weight of the parts will allow.
 
Looking at a lathe with no parts catcher. Im sure we'd run a bar job or two on it here and there. I've done this before in the past but I'm wondering if any of you have a good solution (read: better than what ive done before) for catching parts and not messing up the OD in the process.

Ideas?

One issue when parting off, is the severed part doing circuits of the machine enclosure if parting close to the chuck (normal) and it happens to get caught up in the chuck jaws. One method I've used on many occasions with clients having no Parts Catcher, and works well, is as follows.

1. Make up a cylindrical device that will mount to the turret just behind the parting tool, with an ID large enough to accommodate being fed along the Z axis with the parting tool, to enclose the workpiece therein, and allow enough movement in the X axis for the part off operation.

2. It need only to be long enough so the the part doesn't tumble out during the parting op. On soft part material, and parts where its important that no blemishing is tolerated, I line the bore with a press fit, nylon sleeve.

3. A cut out in the catcher can be made so that the part drops out into a basket when the turret is indexed to a particular tool station, or I use a bar held in the tail stock to act as a pusher to eject the part from behind. In this case, the Parts Catcher needs to be of an ID so that the part being ejected doesn't interfere with the parting tool.

Regards,

Bill
 
If the part has a bore one can use the groove to semi part off to size of the bore and the boring bar comes in and parts off the part. Using the groove tool to go to the size of the bore, it always hangs on there by pushing material down. Then use the boring bar to cut the part off and making the back chamfer at the same time and the part goes spinning down the boring bar. Pick the part off the boring bar, do some light deburring to take off any remaining material that didn't quite get taken off.

If there are multiple part offs of small parts one can make a wire to catch the part that fits in the drill hole.

I've even made a catch for a part once out of wire because it was about 5 inches long and weighed a bit. I just built a wire part that goes underneath the part off tool, one has to make a dummy move so that wire support doesn't hit the piece went to a safe place near size in the Z axis and then in on the Z axis.
 
You can just run the cutoff tool down until that part is about .01 away from breaking off, then just pluck it off with your hand at the end of the program. We've got a parts catcher, but sometimes the part just doesn't cut off real nice and fall where you want it to, so we've used the above method. Works great.
 
You can just run the cutoff tool down until that part is about .01 away from breaking off, then just pluck it off with your hand at the end of the program. We've got a parts catcher, but sometimes the part just doesn't cut off real nice and fall where you want it to, so we've used the above method. Works great.

This, only with the caveat that it depends on part size. Smaller parts and shafts I go to .055" (*) with the cut off tool. Larger parts, I leave at .100".
*- because .050" seems to be where the pressure itself will pop the part off.
 
This, only with the caveat that it depends on part size. Smaller parts and shafts I go to .055" (*) with the cut off tool. Larger parts, I leave at .100".
*- because .050" seems to be where the pressure itself will pop the part off.

That's true. I kinda threw that .01 number out there willy nilly, but hopefully the point got across.
 
both my lathes have parts catchers, but I've used the wire on the groover to catch them before. works well
I've also taken to parting from the ID with an internal groover. Part ends up on the tool
 
I used course screen to form a basket and wired it to the part off tool to catch the work as it came off. When the parting op indexed the basket surrounded the work and as the parting tool cut, the chips mostly dropped away and the work fell into the basket. Had to re-engineer it a few times until it worked well. Also had to remove the work when I got the scrap and inserted a new blank. It worked well enough but I sometimes had to clear the chips away, too.
 
Three methods that I've used which work well

1) Frame with screen door mesh (plastic) stapled across it, held beneath the chuck (can be raised up or lowered and positioned to catch the parts)

2) Plastic tub that I allow to fill up with coolant and lay on the bottom of the machine. Parts don't get dinged up, even using only a 3" high tub and 1" OD parts

3) Some little magnets to suspend a "hammock" of screen material across where the part will fall - easy to grab the parts as needed

I pretty much always have a couple of plastic tubs kicking around inside the machine that I position to catch falling parts. That's my go-to.
 
Attach your parts catcher to the tailstock. Before parting it completely off, extend the tailstock.
 
Attach your parts catcher to the tailstock. Before parting it completely off, extend the tailstock.

Not a bad idea!

Rig it to tip the parts catcher bin when retracting to dump the part in a tub. Swap tubs for an empty one when the bar is done and you load another and process parts while the machine continues to run.

Reasonable possibility.
 
Got no idea of what your lathe is like, the set up, control - full auto - semi or manual, size of the pieces, whether your cutting 20 parts or 20,000 parts etc....

But with no information to go on... There are only 3 reasons for a parts catcher.

1. To stop parts flying off in any direction.

2. To stop them hitting important bits - like dinting the bedways etc...

3. To stop them from landing in places and or piling up and jamming things.



Asssuming it's automated CNC / DNC / ABC or even QQCC.

I'd say figure out where the general seperation point is on the parting cut.

Slow the machine right down at about 10 - 15% before the average seperation.

And have some automated slide / chute / basket / robot arm / grabber / electromagnet / pusher with ramp / come in and collect it - and bring it outside the lathes operational area, and into the container of choice.
 








 
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