Other Brother
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2014
I have a customer with a double column machine center that is about 20 years old. The lube system somehow got contaminated with a chemical that smelled like ammonia. It finally clogged the system and wasn't getting any lube and faulted out. The lube system has been cleaned up and flushed repeatedly and good lube is going to all of the bearings.
The slides use bearing packs and those are still good, but the spindle quill had 3 bearing surfaces, 2 of those being Moglice(top/center) and 1 made of bronze on the bottom. It is approximately an 8-1/4" diameter bore and the quill is about 6 feet long. The housing is approximately 4ft tall that the quill rides in. The top bearing surface is 2-1/2" wide Moglice, and the middle is also 2-1/2" wide Moglice. The quill is driven by the z-axis ballscrew/servo motor and also has a live spindle inside the quill.
The upper Moglice bearing surface is destroyed and needs to be replaced. There are cracks all the way thru the 2-1/2" wide bearing. The middle bearing surface seems to be ok as no heat was being generated while running the quill up and down, but probably should also be replaced. You can see the middle bearing in the photo of the housing. The middle bearing has a cutout where the slide bolts to the quill. The upper bearing got hot and the servo load went over 200% and finally got a diff over alarm. When removing the quill after it cooled down I almost snapped the strap attached to the crane. I had to pry on the bottom to get it moving.
A call into the manufacturer service department said to break out the old Moglice, clean the area, install the quill back inside the housing, and pour in the new Moglice. No machining needed. Are you kidding me? There is an oil groove in the middle of both bearing surfaces for lube with a cross-ported hole and fitting on the outside of the housing. What do you coat the quill with so when it is removed out the top it doesn't damage the Moglice? Still waiting on answers from them.
I was thinking about removing the saddle from the machine and installing the new Moglice in both bearing surfaces and then have the housing machined to the quill size with a couple tenths clearance. Then cut the oil grooves and drill out the cross-ports. Will a good machine shop be able to put the bore back on center for squareness and so the z-axis slide that drives the quill still fits? The slide bolts to the quill.
I am scratching my head on this one. Any suggestions are very welcomed. I have 2 weeks to think about it as I am on vacation as of Friday, a much needed break.
Thanks in advance, Daryl
The slides use bearing packs and those are still good, but the spindle quill had 3 bearing surfaces, 2 of those being Moglice(top/center) and 1 made of bronze on the bottom. It is approximately an 8-1/4" diameter bore and the quill is about 6 feet long. The housing is approximately 4ft tall that the quill rides in. The top bearing surface is 2-1/2" wide Moglice, and the middle is also 2-1/2" wide Moglice. The quill is driven by the z-axis ballscrew/servo motor and also has a live spindle inside the quill.
The upper Moglice bearing surface is destroyed and needs to be replaced. There are cracks all the way thru the 2-1/2" wide bearing. The middle bearing surface seems to be ok as no heat was being generated while running the quill up and down, but probably should also be replaced. You can see the middle bearing in the photo of the housing. The middle bearing has a cutout where the slide bolts to the quill. The upper bearing got hot and the servo load went over 200% and finally got a diff over alarm. When removing the quill after it cooled down I almost snapped the strap attached to the crane. I had to pry on the bottom to get it moving.
A call into the manufacturer service department said to break out the old Moglice, clean the area, install the quill back inside the housing, and pour in the new Moglice. No machining needed. Are you kidding me? There is an oil groove in the middle of both bearing surfaces for lube with a cross-ported hole and fitting on the outside of the housing. What do you coat the quill with so when it is removed out the top it doesn't damage the Moglice? Still waiting on answers from them.
I was thinking about removing the saddle from the machine and installing the new Moglice in both bearing surfaces and then have the housing machined to the quill size with a couple tenths clearance. Then cut the oil grooves and drill out the cross-ports. Will a good machine shop be able to put the bore back on center for squareness and so the z-axis slide that drives the quill still fits? The slide bolts to the quill.
I am scratching my head on this one. Any suggestions are very welcomed. I have 2 weeks to think about it as I am on vacation as of Friday, a much needed break.
Thanks in advance, Daryl