thunderskunk
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2018
- Location
- Middle-of-nowhere
Mornin guys,
I saw Midaco's micro quick change pallet system (see link below) and was just thinking... how hard could it be to take some old pull studs and either buy or turn some cones and make the fixtures yourself? Maybe weld armature onto a set of Jergens's ball locks? Point being to both save setup time and allow fixture loading while the spindle is turning.
In the grand scheme, the $4000 price tag for the Midaco isn't that bad since it claims <.0001" repeat-ability, but if you want to implement it, every new job would automatically have an extra $1000 or so tooling charge tacked on.
I've used automatic pallet changers on old Matsuura RA3's, and I know they're indispensable for production work. My current job has an old Haas VF3 with four pallets, but the tables sometimes fall off so they just use it so they don't need to pull fixtures off. I've also gotten quotes for installing Midaco's dual changer; at that price point I can get their micro pallets and a used robot.
I've seen the Rovi/Pierson Workholding fixtures too, but they only claim .0002", and for another 2k I think the Midaco would be far superior. On the opposite end, if I can make pallets for less than $100, it'd be as easy as making vise jaws.
Thanks guys,
Midaco system:
https://www.amazon.com/Midaco-Corporation-Pallet-Changer-System/dp/B06X1B2JW2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1545399319&sr=8-2&keywords=midaco
Cones from McMaster:
McMaster-Carr
I saw Midaco's micro quick change pallet system (see link below) and was just thinking... how hard could it be to take some old pull studs and either buy or turn some cones and make the fixtures yourself? Maybe weld armature onto a set of Jergens's ball locks? Point being to both save setup time and allow fixture loading while the spindle is turning.
In the grand scheme, the $4000 price tag for the Midaco isn't that bad since it claims <.0001" repeat-ability, but if you want to implement it, every new job would automatically have an extra $1000 or so tooling charge tacked on.
I've used automatic pallet changers on old Matsuura RA3's, and I know they're indispensable for production work. My current job has an old Haas VF3 with four pallets, but the tables sometimes fall off so they just use it so they don't need to pull fixtures off. I've also gotten quotes for installing Midaco's dual changer; at that price point I can get their micro pallets and a used robot.
I've seen the Rovi/Pierson Workholding fixtures too, but they only claim .0002", and for another 2k I think the Midaco would be far superior. On the opposite end, if I can make pallets for less than $100, it'd be as easy as making vise jaws.
Thanks guys,
Midaco system:
https://www.amazon.com/Midaco-Corporation-Pallet-Changer-System/dp/B06X1B2JW2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1545399319&sr=8-2&keywords=midaco
Cones from McMaster:
McMaster-Carr