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CAT40 Spindle Rebuild Recommendations Wanted

Jrill

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 11, 2013
Location
Northeast USA
One of our CAT40 spindles seized up.

Does that normally get repaired or will we likely need a replacement spindle?

For repair does anyone have a good recommendation in the Philadelphia/PA/Northeast area?

Ballpark cost estimate?
 
I think that was a machine built by First ... if it was? it should be easy to get a new spindle for it or have it rebuilt. as of a couple years ago a new spindle was like $2,200 and stocked in the US ...

FYI
First was sold by Sharp for years then they copyed it and make there own and First is being sold under the Acer, webb and a LOT of other names
 
A replacement spindle for $2200? No way, I'll take half a dozen please.

I did new bearings and bellville springs in the drawbar, but no taper grinding in a similar TorqCut spindle for just under four grand about 4 years ago. Really happy with these guys service. They are a smaller outfit (I think about 15 to 20 people) than the likes of Setco and offered my small shop quick turnaround when I needed it. I toured their shop and clean room before dropping it off.

Motor City Machine Tool Repair
(734) 261-8600
[email protected]
 
A replacement spindle for $2200? No way, I'll take half a dozen please.

I did new bearings and bellville springs in the drawbar, but no taper grinding in a similar TorqCut spindle for just under four grand about 4 years ago. Really happy with these guys service. They are a smaller outfit (I think about 15 to 20 people) than the likes of Setco and offered my small shop quick turnaround when I needed it. I toured their shop and clean room before dropping it off.

Motor City Machine Tool Repair
(734) 261-8600
[email protected]

Yeah, that's very cheap.

So why no taper grinding? After reassembly the taper was that good, or did you not want to spend the extra ~$500 for the grind?
 
They ran it out with an indicator or some kind of measurement device and told me that it wasn't necessary to chrome and grind. They offer the grinding service too so I'm guessing that was their honest evaluation to save on time and cost.
 
They ran it out with an indicator or some kind of measurement device and told me that it wasn't necessary to chrome and grind. They offer the grinding service too so I'm guessing that was their honest evaluation to save on time and cost.

Huh. Well, that's good, but a little surprising they would of had to chrome it first, if the taper was good enough to use. That implies the that you were right on the edge of getting the tool "sucked in" too far, had that spindle been reground before?
 
Huh. Well, that's good, but a little surprising they would of had to chrome it first, if the taper was good enough to use. That implies the that you were right on the edge of getting the tool "sucked in" too far, had that spindle been reground before?

I guess I'm not entirely clear enough on the full process. I thought that chroming was standard part of the regrind process in a spindle taper. In my recollection, it's a bit murky after four years, they put it on some kind of a test stand and measured the runout or profile on the taper or something. Either way I don't recall them saying a taper grind was necessary, or if they did grind it they did not tell me about it. Maybe it was just the chroming that wasn't necessary, but I though they did neither.

Perhaps the previous owner of the VMC did a grind on it prior to my receiving it.
 
I guess I'm not entirely clear enough on the full process. I thought that chroming was standard part of the regrind process in a spindle taper.

Not typically. Chroming is needed if the taper is severely damaged or has been reground multiple times or heavily reground. If it needs chroming then the process is to grind, then chrome, then grind again. Adds substantially to the cost of a rebuild.

Sometimes the bearing seats on a spindle will be scored when a bearing seizes or has spun or fretted. Grind, chrome, grind, can be done to repair that type damage too. Again at a substantial price increase over a "regular" rebuild.

@OP
These fellows....

www.cm-spindle.com

are the consistently the best I've used. Probably farther away than you want to use, but they've successfully done some for me that other rebuilders effed up.
 
Thanks for the replies and recommendations, really appreciate it.

I'm not sure how to find someone who would sell a replacement cartridge, but I'd like to know how that compares to the repair cost/lead time. Where would I look to find a new cartridge? Does it have to be the Hardinge part# or are there identical spindles I could get for less that might be stocked in the US?
 








 
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