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2012 Haas VF3 spindle lubrication question....

Mr. 118

Plastic
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
How many CC of oil per hour should the spindle bearings be receiving....? I do not want to over do it but it appears that my machine was not lubricating the spindle adequately. Thanks
 
I do not have access to my notes or manual to reference.

As I answered in your other post, 3cc in one hour is your answer. It is a function of the air pressure to the spindle as the drip rate is not adjustable at least on my machine.

When i started working on this machine when I rescued it the oil line that went to the air line to the spindle was pulled out and leaking - I repaired it before running the spindle.

Check your manual - I know its in there, at least the pressure value. I do not recall where I got the 3cc/hour value but I know it is correct. I had an over temperature problem that I thought was lubrication related and it turned out the vent "stone" was clogged. In any case I carefully measured the oil output by the method below.

How I measured output.
I placed three layers of paper towel on a digital gram scale and zeroed it.
~measured 3cc of way lube in a syringe, applied it to the towel, placed it on the scale and noted the weight.
~placed a new set of towels in a 1/2 gallon plastic tub
~wiped outside and face of the spindle with solvent and dried - without tool
~with the tub on the table I jogged the spindle down into the tub as close to the towel as I dare
~ran the spindle @ 1000rpm for exactly three hours and removed the tub at that time
I do not recall the exact weight, was fraction more than 9cc and I called it good.

I have put more than 600 hours on the spindle since then and its working fine. I always run a 20 minute warm up routine before starting a run.

Hope this helps..
 
Thank you. You were very detailed in how you did your test. The manual states that the spindle air pressure should be set at 17#. But with a 12k or 15k spindle it should be 20# and I have a 15k spindle. The amount of oil can be changed in the settings page on my machine. Parameter #820. My machine came set from the factory as follows.......at 8 minute intervals the air solenoid opens and cycles for 10 seconds. I watched and in the sight glass 1 drop of oil is dispersed into the line...and a very small one at that. Manual says that 1 drop is .011cc. So.....60 minutes in one hour divided by 8 minute intervals = 7.5 drops per hour. 7.5 drops x .011cc = ONLY .082cc per hour. That does not sound like enough to me BGL... and my bearings sounded bad...but I caught it in time. I moved my settings to a 15 second cycle (2 drops) every 2 minutes. So now I am getting 60 drops per hour or .011 x 60 = .66cc per hour. A hell of a lot different than factory settings. I think I am still too light on this amount also but it is quiet and runs well with excellent finish on aluminum at 14750 RPM....Sandvik tooling.
 
Thank you. You were very detailed in how you did your test. The manual states that the spindle air pressure should be set at 17#. But with a 12k or 15k spindle it should be 20# and I have a 15k spindle. The amount of oil can be changed in the settings page on my machine. Parameter #820. My machine came set from the factory as follows.......at 8 minute intervals the air solenoid opens and cycles for 10 seconds. I watched and in the sight glass 1 drop of oil is dispersed into the line...and a very small one at that. Manual says that 1 drop is .011cc. So.....60 minutes in one hour divided by 8 minute intervals = 7.5 drops per hour. 7.5 drops x .011cc = ONLY .082cc per hour. That does not sound like enough to me BGL... and my bearings sounded bad...but I caught it in time. I moved my settings to a 15 second cycle (2 drops) every 2 minutes. So now I am getting 60 drops per hour or .011 x 60 = .66cc per hour. A hell of a lot different than factory settings. I think I am still too light on this amount also but it is quiet and runs well with excellent finish on aluminum at 14750 RPM....Sandvik tooling.

BGL is referencing an older air/oil lubrication system. Your spindle will fall under the Minimal Lubrication System.

Go to the Haas website and download the service manual. Haas Automation® Resource Center | Your Source For Routine Maintenance, "How To", Manuals & Documentation, Repairs & Service and Drawings & Diagrams
This is a 2011 manual but the info will still apply to your 2012 machine. Look up Minimal Lubrication System in the contents and go to the air/oil subsection. There you will find information about the operation and troubleshooting of your lubrication sytem for your machine.

Hope this helps.
 
Yes...I am aware that it is a minimal oiling system only for the spindle bearings. And I am aware that the 92 has a different oiling system. And I do have a 2012 manual. But for whatever reason mine was not oiling at the proper rate so I wanted to get it up to speed. My Midwest Haas service guy stopped by today for a courtesy call and said that the machine spindle should see 3 to 4 drops per 6 minutes of spindle run time. Thats 30 to 40 drops per hour that is automatically dispersed into the line going to the spindle only. My machine was doing 7.5 drops per hour. So obviously the unit was not functioning at the proper rate. I needed to know what to crank it up to for safe high speed long run RPM. Thanks. I will download and check out what you said also. Thanks for responding. Have a great day.
 








 
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