For people who use right angle heads on their VMC all day every day, what's your favorite brand of right-angle head?
I'm not talking about the occasional part where you switch the head in when you need it. We're looking for a quiet tool, long life, and consistent performance at 5000-6000 rpm, running night and day, 20 hours a day, semi-lights-out (just somebody to stop the machine if there's a problem). We have one right now we've been using for the past 3 years (though not at full capacity), and it's time for a rebuild. I'm pretty sure the bearings are shot. When we ramp up capacity, I'd rather not have to rebuild these every year if such a thing is possible.
The main problem I've had so far is noise. I'm not talking about a rattling noise or a "something wrong" noise; I just mean the tool is loud... it ran that way for 3 years and we made good parts. Nevertheless, it probably does shorten the life of the tool.
Some other considerations besides brand: Can I reduce the noise by getting a flange-mount head instead of a removable head with stop block? We don't need the tool change option, and I think it may add some rigidity to mount the head permanently. Also, I'm considering switching to an ER11 instead of an ER25 size. This would have a capacity of 10,000rpm instead of 6,000rpm. We don't need the 10,000rpm, but maybe it will help if I'm not maxing out the tool all the time. Will a higher-speed-rated tool run quieter than a lower-speed-rated tool, at the same 6k rpm speed?
Thanks for any help!
I'm not talking about the occasional part where you switch the head in when you need it. We're looking for a quiet tool, long life, and consistent performance at 5000-6000 rpm, running night and day, 20 hours a day, semi-lights-out (just somebody to stop the machine if there's a problem). We have one right now we've been using for the past 3 years (though not at full capacity), and it's time for a rebuild. I'm pretty sure the bearings are shot. When we ramp up capacity, I'd rather not have to rebuild these every year if such a thing is possible.
The main problem I've had so far is noise. I'm not talking about a rattling noise or a "something wrong" noise; I just mean the tool is loud... it ran that way for 3 years and we made good parts. Nevertheless, it probably does shorten the life of the tool.
Some other considerations besides brand: Can I reduce the noise by getting a flange-mount head instead of a removable head with stop block? We don't need the tool change option, and I think it may add some rigidity to mount the head permanently. Also, I'm considering switching to an ER11 instead of an ER25 size. This would have a capacity of 10,000rpm instead of 6,000rpm. We don't need the 10,000rpm, but maybe it will help if I'm not maxing out the tool all the time. Will a higher-speed-rated tool run quieter than a lower-speed-rated tool, at the same 6k rpm speed?
Thanks for any help!