Kitamura mycenter 1 first mill

K

Kevkulo

Plastic

Joined

Jan 11, 2022

• Jan 11, 2022

• #1

Recently I got my first cnc mill Kitamura mycenter1
The machine is running ok but I have a question seeking for exper tips . The air seems like leaking from the top or somewhere near the spindle. I have a 1.7 hp 28 Gallon air compressor , and it cannot handle the air leak. Every time I plugged the air in the machine it would drain so fast the compressor would run and run on forever.

Can someone help me out please as this is my first cnc mill and it’s pretty old like 1997.

 

B

boosted

Stainless

Joined

Jan 4, 2014

Location

Portland, OR

• Jan 11, 2022

• #2

Does the leak disappear when you hit the emergency stop?

Might just be the normal spindle air purge. <2hp is not a lot of compressor. That would probably struggle to feed my Okuma vertical, and is definitely not enough air for either of the European mills over here.

 

K

Kevkulo

Plastic

Joined

Jan 11, 2022

• Jan 11, 2022

• #3

boosted said:

Does the leak disappear when you hit the emergency stop?

Might just be the normal spindle air purge. <2hp is not a lot of compressor. That would probably struggle to feed my Okuma vertical, and is definitely not enough air for either of the European mills over here.

Click to expand...

The leak is still there somewhere near the spindle for when I hit the e-stop

 

S

Screwmachine

Titanium

Joined

Mar 8, 2001

Location

Switzerland

• Jan 11, 2022

• #4

I haven't looked inside a Kitamura but a friend got a similar vintage Kern and it has a bunch of Festo type lines and couplings- every single coupling was leaking when he got it. I would imagine something similar there.

 

K

Kevkulo

Plastic

Joined

Jan 11, 2022

• Jan 11, 2022

• #5

Do you think my air compressor is too small for the machine ? I can hear air going somewhere around the spindle. When the machine is off the air will stop

 

DavidScott

Diamond

Joined

Jul 11, 2012

Location

Washington

• Jan 11, 2022

• #6

Your machine uses around 9-10 cfm when running, way more than your compressor can supply.

 

G

Garwood

Diamond

Joined

Oct 10, 2009

Location

Oregon

• Jan 11, 2022

• #7

My Kitamura 5X keeps a 5HP compressor running almost continuously when the spindle is on.

This is the downside to an oil spindle.

 

P

Pete Deal

Titanium

Joined

Apr 10, 2007

Location

Morgantown, WV

• Jan 11, 2022

• #8

On my Brothers the spindle air purge runs all the time even while the machine is off. I have a hand valve I shut off when not in use. Point is estop doesn’t shut this off on all machines.

 

DavidScott

Diamond

Joined

Jul 11, 2012

Location

Washington

• Jan 12, 2022

• #9

My 2001 Mycenter 1 shuts the spindle air off 4 minutes after the spindle shuts off. I think the ball screw nuts get the same air/oil as the spindle too so not just the spindle. When running it keeps my 4hp 2 stage compressor on about 70% of the time. I know I have some leaky solenoid valves in the back but they're not bad enough and I am always too busy to replace them.

 

E

e723

Aluminum

Joined

Jan 27, 2005

Location

Southern California

• Jan 12, 2022

• #10

Thats the oil air spindle lubrication for the spindle. On my kitamura, you have a long copper tubing supplying air to the upper spindle bearings. You can see the connector under the spindle next to the cat40 holder. Most older Japanese machines are similar to this. I guess back in the day compressed air was cheap and plentiful.