VF-2 Borken Tool Changer

I searched and found one post from Russ on this subject, but my problem is a little different.

I mainly run a '09 VF-2 with umbrella tool changer at work. We have 2 of these machines and it seems issues with the tool changer is a common occurrence.

Anyhoo, the other day I was running a part and I happened to look inside the machine just in time to see tool 2 somehow became CROOKED in the tool changer. I watched in horror as the spindle shot down, hit the top of the pull stud, and push the tool 'through' the changer, breaking the aluminum fingers off and bending the plate screwed to the bottom of it, as well as the 2 adjacent plates. Then, of course, it dropped my tool onto the table leaving a nice divot...I stood there in disbelief wondering how the hell that could have just happened and thinking maybe it was something that I did.

So, after informing the proper person of the cause of that noise that just came out of the CNC shop, we got a hold of our Haas distributor and told them we were going to need a couple of parts and they emailed a diagram of the tool changer.

Our Haas people didn't seem to be familiar with a crash like this, so I'm wondering if there might be something other than the 20 pocket plate that will have to be replaced. I'm afraid something might have bent somewhere on the inside and will just cause more problems even after we replace the plate. The tools on the other side of the changer still change fine and I've been able to use tools 8 through 17 without any problems. Does anybody have experience with this problem? Is it something we're going to be able to fix ourselves or do we need to have the Haas people come do it?




Here is a picture of the changer with the broken bits and pieces removed



The broken bits and pieces

Here is a link to the PDF diagram of the tool changer they sent us. I know I need #'s 57 and 46, hoping someone else has experience with this and can tell me what to look for..

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Josh

Sounds like the fingers holding the tool might have gotten damaged or stuck and were not holding the tool properly. If they have the springs and pivot points like mine they need to be cleaned out once in a while. When I bought my last used Haas, they were almost all stuck and not functioning correctly. I took the whole unit off and repaired them all.

Mike

Most likely you will not have much more damaged parts than what you have shown. I have seen this happen before and outside of the plate, its usually just the sheet metal that gets twisted up. This is a DIY job but it will just take some time to change all the parts over.

FYI, if down time is more critical than the cost, I believe the plate is available as a complete assembly ready to bolt up. Includes all new fingers, doors, springs, covers, etc.

First thing to do is remove the carousel plate assembly. Remove all the tools from the carousel, then remove the 6 bolts at the center of the plate. Once all the bolts are out the plate, have a second pair of hands ready as the plate assembly is free to lower down.

Once you have the plate assembly out, you can assess any other damage you have wether its from the plate getting broken or just excessive wear.
Pay close attention to items # 10 & #12 for excessive wear and #47 for the damaged areas.

Now it is just a matter of moving all of the parts over to the new plate. Most likely your dealer will have all of the individual components on hand for the plate but they may have to order the plate itself.

Once you have the new carousel plate reassembled and installed, you will want to confirm the tool change height before making any tool changes. I think I have a write up how to do that somewhere so check back.

Thanks for the info. We got the parts ordered and we'll hopefully have them by next week some time. It didn't sound like they had any of our needed parts on hand...

I'm sure I'll be the one who gets to tear the thing apart, kind of looking forward to it and kind of not. I know the inside of that changer isn't going to be pretty, but I've always been the type who likes to take things apart to see how they work. That, and it will be a change of pace to get away from making parts.

Looking forward to your write up for checking the tool change height.

Josh