Air Collet holder - uses?

This is intriguing.
Can someone give me an example of how this would be used?

New in Box Eagle 5C Air Collet Holder For Milling Machine,etc

Eagle 5C Air Collet Holder

For production work it can quickly grab or release a part in a collet.
By regulating the air pressure, you can control the clamp pressure to be consistent.

Install an air microswitch on the quill handle and when you begin to drill the collet closes.

And then install a small air blast under the collet to blow out the part into a box and clear the chips.

Then you can drill pieces at about 600 pieces/ hour.

Now that you have that set up get an air vise too. Drill the holes in small vise work at 600-700 holes per hour.

Then using a right angle attachment and a good carbide blade you can slice off stock +- .001" and leave a 16 finish. I use a spray mist for lube.

I've made a lot of money that way, all with a manual mill.

The down side is, you actually have to work. The machine won't do it for you. Darn!

Regards,

Stan-

OK, so I can see it mounted on a faceplate, used to crossdrill, or maybe mill a flat or slit the ends. Useful more for production work.

I use an airchuck like that on the VMCs for a couple of jobs
One is a quickie out and in and flick the switch job, can do 120/hr instead of the 80 if you were lucky with the old hand chuck, the other is the first op on the job with the upstand mentioned yesterday in the german engineering thread
Needed to mill a 28mm deep 6.5 slot in the end of the job leaving a 12mm o/d in the middle, airchuck and collet centered the job exactly, plus I could put the tailstock and the 4th axis on the same mill and do op2.
Entire job in one press of the green button

Boris

Air Solenoid Valves on a HAAS TM-1P

Hi,

Here are a couple of videos on how I hooked up some air valves on my 2007 HAAS TM-1P. I realize you are looking for applications but these may give you a few ideas on the hookup if you intend to use them in a CNC application.

One of the videos towards the end will show you how I hooked up a Heinrich 5C Collet fixture similar to the one shown in your referenced link.

YouTube - HAAS TM-1P Air Solenoid Valve Utilizing M23 Relay

YouTube - Programable Coolant Air Solenoid Introduction

John

I used one to pinch/reduce some copper pipe for a production job. Small sections of copper-pipe parted off on my lathe, then softened with a torch, then I put each piece into a collet and closed it. Neatly reduced part of the diameter without distorting the part.

Made 150,000 pieces for a customer that way.

The part was for a company fabricating manifold assemblies. Each manifold had over 100 of these little stubs.

Sander said:

I used one to pinch/reduce some copper pipe for a production job. Small sections of copper-pipe parted off on my lathe, then softened with a torch, then I put each piece into a collet and closed it. Neatly reduced part of the diameter without distorting the part.

Click to expand...

That is pretty imaginative!

Stole the idea from another shop actually, a shop that specializes in working copper tube. That's how I knew that I needed to soften the tubing first with heat.

I have a transfer machine with 8 of them on it. Core drill and tap 900/hr.

Auto unload. (dual exhaust!)

Those Eagle Rock units are swell to fixture to as they have a bore in the bottom to locate to. Kant beat that with a stick!


But these are hex parts that don't want to spin. I hade some of them mounted on another transfer machine before that but found them too weak to hold round parts that needed a very big drill at all. The parts would want to spin. There's jist not enough piston on these units to git grip.

Now I had some yrs ago that were old and shot at the time that were no bigger - but had much more grip pressure. The piston in those units was quite an assembly. I forget exactly how it went, but there was a taper, and balls, and ??? involved. The piston had much more stroke than the stroke of the tightening cylinder. (I believe they were dead length.)

To replace the units that I stoled off the first transfer machine, I bought some big honkin' cast iron units from Heinr_____ something. Now those puppies gots balls! You can chuck up a pc and drill it! But forget locating accuracy! The pc on top that the collet seats to is a floater. You tighten it down, but you would hafta indicate it in every time.

I saw Eagle Rock at IMTS in '08 I think. (Could it have been '06 already?) I had told him of my love for the design but my hate for the weakness. I also told him of my Heinr__ experience. At that time he told me that they had some new much stronger versions being prototyped that had a much larger piston. Not 100% sure that there may have been a 16C version as well? I have not had need for any new ones since - so I have not looked into it since. Maybe I'll see some in Sept?


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Ox