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The power supply module for the cnc unit could be bad --- they are a common failure point.

Also, the main "motherboard" for the cnc is the QX141, and tiny capacitors on it can go bad.

The cnc...

Congrats mm, you're gonna love the Mazaks...especially the SQT.

The SQT250MY has the 10" chuck package I believe, with at least a 2-3/4" bar capacity.

The traveling-column VTC is real handy to...

Copper pipe is cheaper than the purpose-built aluminum systems.

With copper, a trip to the local HD, Lowes, etc. nets everything you need to do the job, and make changes later on.

I like to...

I wouldn't let exposed rails for the tailstock or turret X-axis worry me much, as several builders are doing that now.

I reckon the roller-linear ways they use now are so robust, and the...

Hey Dave,

On the new machine, what's up with the low protruding sheet metal "box" below the door and control areas, where the coolant pan front/side usually butts up to?

Is this a real deep...

For 90's/2000's Mazaks with live tooling, you want to look for the SQT- series.

A standard 6" chuck, 3-axis (X, Z, C) live-tool Mazak of that generation would be called
an SQT-10M.

An -10MS...

So I added a spare Toyota forklift here at the shop. This one is a 3,000 pound model, cushion tire, propane with 4Y engine, and has 9,000 hours.

Which may seem like a lot, but compared to our...

Congrats Dave!

My feet hurt just by looking at the bare concrete floors in front of the machines though.

Ollie's discount store has kick-ass 3x5 industrial mats for less than $30 each...
...

Wrong.

USPS still delivers about 75% of all Amazon packages, and most are money-losers.

Amazon was smarter than the USPS, years ago they threatened to let FedEx and UPS have all their package...

Customers are like women: can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

I would say Hermle is the most expensive 5-axis machining center (for a given size) in the world...?

Thanks in part to China and Australia’s trade war, the American metallurgical coal companies are running wide open.

The limiting factor for exporting coal is dock space for the ships at the ports...

If there was one unique "magic formula" for a coolant, they other coolant manufacturers would have long figured it out with reverse engineering.

All coolants have their drawbacks. Just like...

This.

A vertical machining center was $250k+ in the 1970’s (probably $750k in today’s dollars!)

So yeah, only the biggest and wealthiest companies could afford them.

Then, the Japanese came...

The FX784-8 and 784-9 are the main Mazatrol and program boards, and the EPROM's on them can fail after a few decades.

You can source replacement boards on Ebay. MAKE SURE the 784-8 and 784-9...

I read just a few weeks back that China had banned the import of all Australian coal. Docks were told to not unload ships from AU, power plants were told to not buy AU steam coal, and steel mills...

It seems like I flirt with burnout about every week.

Running a precision machine shop is a tough business, it seems something will sucker-punch you right in the gut when you least expect it.
...

What pisses me off is ALL the so-called “professionals” are always wanting to take short cuts!

Whether it be concrete work, remodeling work, electrical work, rigging, or whatever, all these people...

As an aside, I would imagine that wheel mold would be at least $150k, if made in the USA or Europe??

10 times the cost of making it in China....

No wonder they have taken such a large chunk of...

Wippen is right on again, the hydraulic solenoid valving (on those generation Mazaks at least) is standard DIN.

On all of my hydraulically-indexed Mazak lathes, I install a flow control valve in...

Wonder if your tech could de-solder a couple of similar chips that your machine doesn't use, then re-purpose them for your chuck open/close?

Most boards are loaded with microchips, and lots of...

I saved this one!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201119/8c347607b8897ce20f7a0c90c58819b2.jpg

I agree with wippin', the 24v has to be within +/-5% variance, at the most! The ice cubes probably won't close reliably on 21 volts.

And I too have always measured 24.XX volts on the 24v...

Liberal big-wigs at Pfizer tried to claim they were not part of “operation warp speed”. Wasn’t a day later the company had to correct that, since they will be receiving about two billion dollars...

Any spare drives on EBay?

A main power transistor on the base of a drive can fail, and this will take out components on the circuit board.

With a decent wiring diagram, it’s usually not too...