Need to chamfer .087" wire, any ideas?

We have a huge chamfering job that requires a 45 degree chamfer on each end of a piece of .087" diameter stainless wire with a depth of .010" to .020". I made a simple jig on the bridgeport that we are clamping to a belt sander that allows for just the corner of the wire to contact the belt sander at a 45 degree angle. it is working, however the belt wears and we have to move the jig over to a fresh part of the belt often and dial it back in.

Tossed around the idea of one of these types of drill chamfering tools however all of the ones available online only go down to .125". they also don't have a depth stop. Deburring External Chamfering Tool, Chamfer Tool Deburring External Drill High Speed Stainless Steel Burr Removal Bit Quickly Repairs Damaged Metal External Chamfer Deburring Tool (Silver-2Pack) - - Amazon.com

I've attached a basic drawing of how the jig I made works. it's double-sided incase the operator bumps it into the belt too much and sands it down

any ideas on improving? I'm not a fan of using the belt sander. diamond wheel on a bench grinder maybe? never bought a diamond wheel before so not sure what the cost looks like.

Diamond isn't a good choice for steel. How long is the wire? I'm assuming short pieces, but could be way wrong.

the pieces are around 6 feet long, forgot to mention that lol

My first thought is a simple jig that would present the end to a double-cut carbide burr in a die grinder with a stop to limit depth of cut.

Stainless steel will quickly clog up a diamond wheel, you will have to keep cleaning it.

Scottl said:

My first thought is a simple jig that would present the end to a double-cut carbide burr in a die grinder with a stop to limit depth of cut.

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I think Severance makes rod-end chamfering burs in various sizes. They will be a lot better than the thing in the Amazon link.

Larry

If it is a “huge” job meaning hundreds or thousands of pieces, spending some time on fixturing may pay off.

Id be thinking about a fixture that would load with 10 to twenty wires that were each held at 45 deg to its axis of movement and loads with a stop bar so each wire is bottomed against the stop and therefore protrudes a specified amount. Once loaded the wires are clamped into place, the stop removed, and a carbide end mill is run down the length of the fixture shaving off the protruding wire to make the chamfer, There could be “zero” clearance between the mill cutter and the fixture so that no burr is left.

The length of the wire could be used to act as a spring to load the fixture with the ends forced against the stop. A couple of strong over-center clamps could close the fixture securely. Bent in a loop, both ends of 10 wires could be done in a single pass.

Denis

Ditto on the recommendation for Severance chamfering tools.

Make a fixure with a flip-out-of-the-way part stop, a part clamp, and a drill spindle with a depth stop. Retract the spindle, put the part stop in place, butt the end of the part against the stop and clamp it, flip the part stop out of the way, plunge the spindle to the depth stop. Repeat.

If the ends of your parts are all jagged from a crummy shear or something, you will get inconsistent results.

[Added in edit] Or do as Denis suggests, and set up multiple wires at a time. Presumably you'd then bring the chamfering tool to each wire using CNC motion. I'd still plunge a Severance tool rather than run an endmill around the top of each wire, though.

This is why you need one of those tiny tiny EE lathes that come up for sale every so often. And maybe a tiny tiny machinist to go with it

Perhaps I misunderstood the desired chamfer. There is a circumferential chamfer and the Severance would do that. Then there is a flat 45 degree flat that could be made on each end. I was thinking of making just the flat and not a circumferential cut.

For a circumferential cut, the setup suggested by Sfrieberg above is the way I’d go using a removable stop to set the depth. The hole opening that the wire enters the fixture should be a pretty wide cone so the operator can find it easily. A foot-operated air clamp to both close the fixture and remove the stop would be good to make loading fast with minimal monkey-motion. The cutting end of the fixture should itself be conical to support the part right to the point of cutting. The to-be-cut wires should lay in a trough lined up with the loading opening of the fixture. The cut wire trough should be near it and parallel. The wire is flexible enough that it can enter the fixture horizontally and make the 90 deg vertical bend over maybe 18” of travel—-a bent tube will do that.

So the operator grabs a wire, feeds it into the conical opening and along the bent tube until it hits the stop. He hits the air clamp which retracts the stop and clamps the wire. He lowers the cutter to a quill stop, Then up goes the cutter, clamp is released. The wire is flipped into the “cut” trough. Repeat.

Denis

You might consider a CBN wheel for the chamfer.

I'd think it would be fairly easy to re-purpose a small lathe to hold the wire in a collet - just a tiny bit sticking out to a retractable stop and the long end supported in a tube. Set up the equivalent of a makeshift toolpost grinder with a CBN wheel set at the 45 deg. chamfer angle. Every x operations, relocate to a different spot on the wheel.

The CBN should last far longer than either a diamond wheel or an abrasive belt.

I believe I'm picturing your set up correctly and do have a drill press I can repurpose for this. the quantity of parts is somewhere around 10,000 to 13,000 and is a reoccurring job a couple times a year. My only concern is that the added steps will slow down the process of getting these parts done, but it does sound like a more reliable and repeatable method. I'm going to look into severance tools. Thank you

Is this a circular chamfer, or is the end cut to a single bevel? Is the length of the rod critical after chamfering? What is the current end condition of the rod, round, or flatted from a shear? How many?

My thought is you need a circular guide like a drill bushing rather than a vee block. The more oversize you need the hole to accommodate flatted ends the longer the guide. You haven't expressed a need for the precision of a spindle to turn the rod, so a finger roll should suffice. I'd set up the guide tube next to a standard bench grinder with a fresh dressed wheel.

tylersteez said:

I believe I'm picturing your set up correctly and do have a drill press I can repurpose for this. the quantity of parts is somewhere around 10,000 to 13,000 and is a reoccurring job a couple times a year. My only concern is that the added steps will slow down the process of getting these parts done, but it does sound like a more reliable and repeatable method. I'm going to look into severance tools. Thank you

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Tyler, it is unclear which of the several setups suggested above you are thinking of incorporating.

Could you make a quick sketch or provide a photo of the chamfer you have been making?

Denis

gbent said:

Is this a circular chamfer, or is the end cut to a single bevel? Is the length of the rod critical after chamfering? What is the current end condition of the rod, round, or flatted from a shear? How many?

My thought is you need a circular guide like a drill bushing rather than a vee block. The more oversize you need the hole to accommodate flatted ends the longer the guide. You haven't expressed a need for the precision of a spindle to turn the rod, so a finger roll should suffice. I'd set up the guide tube next to a standard bench grinder with a fresh dressed wheel.

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Agree.. and with the part being 6 feet long perhaps a long (wood) 2 x 4 V block to set the out end on.

Might need a long 2 x 4 V block carrier to take parts from one operation to the next.

Sorry, I was referring to Sfrieberg's set up. The chamfer is a 45 degree circular chamfer on each end depth of chamfer is .010"-.020", the wire is shear cut and does have slightly uneven ends due to it being a shear cut. the method gbent is describing is similar to the jig I made (insert wire into jig block hole mounted to belt sander, finger roll wire, remove and repeat). I've emailed severance tool and they do have an outer chamfering bit that will work for this size wire. My plan is to chuck it in a drill press we have and then make a jig that will allow the operator to quickly butt it up against a stop, lock the part in place, and chamfer the wire by bringing the spindle down to it's stop. Speed will suffer a little but quality should improve