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Hass owners do you chip screws wear out

Do you chip screw wear out or get damaged ? If so what do they cost?

Can't help on the HASS front but auguers feeding 500KW-2MW wood chip boilers need replacing every few years. Talking about boilers burning tens of tons a month all year around. Its surprising how they do wear too oftern its not the fronts of the flights but the edges and the trough - tube there running in that shows the real wear and causes them to no longer feed well - just jam up!
 
Unless you are moving tons of abrasive material, other shit will break long before the auger wears down enough to matter.
The auger drive is a total POS on older HAAS lathes, driven by an Fing sewing machine motor, no idea on later models and mills.

From what I understand, after a certain year HAAS stopped putting augers in the lathes?
No idea about the mills, never had one. Be willing to bet the drive system is the same as the lathes were though.
 
Ohh yeah...had a 1999 HAAS lathe with chip auger.
If I had the load meter running hard, the auger could not keep up without help from me digging with a chip hook.
Birds nest from finish cuts or drilling shavings were the worst at stopping the auger.
About 2005 something sheared in the drive for the auger.
I removed the auger and "box" it sat in till we could get it repaired/replaced.
As it turned out, having a nice wide flat bottom in the machine made it easy to shovel out.
I would rather shovel out than fight with the auger so I voted not to fix the auger.

Heres the thing..owner did not want to cough up the cash for an chip conveyer, $4500 new off the shelf.

I spent 10-30 minutes a day on chip control.
If your paying your top dollar guy to shovel chips at say average 18 minutes a day 5 days a week..blablabla
in 2 years time that alone covers an conveyor. Previous owner was just tight and I didn't bitch so it never got one. He bought me a 2012 model with auger and it was freaking heaven.

Bottom line...
If your buying a used machine with an auger, you will learn to live with it, its not a big deal unless its in production moving the wrong kind of chip that keeps it clogged.
Doubt the auger will wear out before something else breaks or wears through. Overlaying the auger would NOT be a good idea cause it will eat into the pan under it.
One man band in a garage doing something here and there? Use auger till breaks then chunk it and buy a hoe and shovel.


Spend the $$$$ on an conveyer that's new or used, will be money ahead if you plan on 40 hr or more a week on it.
 








 
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