spindle replacement

Machine Spindle Repair

Potential Problem Areas on Your Machine Spindles

Spindle repair

With over 10 years of experience and the expertise to diagnose where the problem is occurring and get high speed spindle repair services, high speed spindle rebuilding and spindle replacement operations finished in a timely manner, Superior Spindle Service provides quality repair you can count on. However, even with a leader in the industry providing expedited repair services on request, a CNC machine spindle repair can still be costly in terms of downtime. Knowing what parts of your spindle are most vulnerable to damage and how to maintain them may help you to avoid potential problems and prolong the life of your spindle.

High Speed Spindle Repair

In the environment of today’s advanced machining technology that focuses on feeds and speeds, where spindles are used for milling, grinding and drilling, high-impact tool collisions are fairly common. They have the potential to damage the machine axes and cutting tool as well as damaging motor spindles by exerting high-impact peak forces. High speed spindle repair and high speed spindle rebuilding services come in handy when these accidents happen. Collisions of this type most often occur because of human error. The following errors can contribute to tool collisions:

  • Incorrectly mounted fixturing
  • Improper mating between the spindle and the toolholder
  • Tool misalignment
  • Mistakes in programming

You may be able to mitigate the damage with a crash sensor, but you likely will not prevent it altogether.

Improper Handling and Storage

spindle replacement

It is vitally important to work in a clean environment and use the proper tools during installation. A machine spindle is a precision instrument that is far more delicate than you may think given the heavy-duty tooling it performs. Moving a spindle with utmost caution prior to installation is also extremely important. CNC machine spindle rebuilding services may be able to repair some types of damage if necessary, but better to avoid sustaining it in the first place.

If you put a spindle in storage for a long period of time, you may not think about performing maintenance on it. This could be a costly mistake. The balls within the spindle’s bearing can weld themselves to the raceway, in a process known as micro-welding, when a spindle is left for an extended period of time sitting stationary on a shelf. When storing spindles, maintaining stable temperatures, stable vibration levels, and low humidity is also crucial.

Bearing Contamination

Contamination of the spindle’s bearings is one of the main causes of spindle failure, along with tool collisions. Unfortunately, bearing contamination is not as easy to avoid because contact seals between rotating components that used to protect against it have been eliminated to achieve higher speeds. Contamination can occur via the air supply or the coolant.

Contaminates may be drawn into a spindle when an air hose is removed prematurely from a hot spindle; this creates a vacuum that draws them in. Before reconnecting an air hose to your spindle, always turn it on first and let it run for up to five seconds to clear any debris that it may have picked up from being laid down in a dirty environment.

Coolant is another material that can introduce contamination. Use positive pressure purging seals to prevent particles from being introduced from misdirected cooling nozzles.

Improper Lubrication

Lubrication is vital to the maintenance of high-speed moving parts like spindles. When lubricating spindles, be sure that you apply the correct type of lubricant for your spindle at the right time in the proper amount.

Precision Spindle Repair Michigan

Superior Spindle Service provides spindle repair service, spindle rebuilding, and remanufacturing services for precision CNC spindles. Call us at 734-224-4778 to learn more.