What Collet Chuck have I got?

**irving2008** · 17-11-2008

I could see that MT3 collets would enhance rigidity a little and would allow different length tools to be evened up to reduce the number of times it would be necessary to move the head up and down.

TBH apart from drilling its unlikely I would use a vast range of collets, more than likely could support most milling operations with a limited set of endmills and a facemill/flycutter on the MT3 taper

Will think on it some more...

**Robin Hewitt** · 17-11-2008

You can mill with a drill chuck if it takes a draw bar, perhaps a tiny smear of Loctite 601 on the JT end if you can't be bothered to shrink it on. Missing smileys are getting to be a pain. Angst.

**Lee Roberts** · 17-11-2008

Use the "Post Reply" button or the "Go Advanced" button, the box below the thread is a quick reply system. :)

**Robin Hewitt** · 17-11-2008

Pressed post reply, still no smilies GLUM

**irving2008** · 17-11-2008

Originally Posted by Kip

Irving, I just use collets in the MT3 for the simple reason I'm tight....and the next machine has R8 I also like the fact of the overhang being reduced.....And being tight :D

Have you seen the SIP unit on fleabay? Heidenhain DRO

Yes, I've been watching it..

Same as mine :) (ok so there's a lot of tooling I dont have)... So far tho all the ones that have come up on eBay in the last 3 weeks have all been £500++ , so the £365 I paid was a good deal :) (mine has DRO on vertical)

**Jeremy** · 17-11-2008

Interesting discussion on ER collets. It led me to look at changing my clunky Clarkson on the home-built Dore Westbury I have, which then led to the discovery of these ER16/20mm milling chucks: http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalo...-Collet-Chucks (4th item from the bottom of the page).

The idea that occurred when I spotted this item was to make my own high-speed router spindle, using one of these, a set of decent bearings and a nice, big, RC model electric motor.

Having now ordered one, plus a couple of collets, for use on the new machine it looks like I shall have to soldier on with the old Clarkson in the mill for a while longer..........

Jeremy

PS: No shortage of smilies for me

**Robin Hewitt** · 18-11-2008

Originally Posted by Kip

There seems to be a glut of smilies here

:p;)

I've got my smilies back

Had a rummage through my user CP and found it was switched to 'basic editor' upgraded it and there they are :D

Looking at a mill on ebay today, idly threw in a £500 bid and matched first place.

Then the bidder I was tied with withdrew his bid :confused:

Then he bid £490 :confused:

Hello, thought I, he's playing mind games. So I upped my bid to £750 so now he hasn't got a clue where I am

It's going to go for a lot more than that so this is all rather academic. I doubt I will get my new mill until this recession really starts to bite :D

**Jeremy** · 18-11-2008

Glad you sorted the smilies out, and that it turned out to be something straightforward, if a little obscure!

I got home from work at lunchtime today to find a package from Arc Euro containing my new ER16 collet chuck, collets, etc had arrived. Pretty good service, as I only ordered them yesterday lunchtime. Less than 24 hours from placing the order to arriving on my doorstep seems remarkable.

I'm currently perusing the RC motor web sites looking for a suitable motor. I think I've found one that will be OK and should give me a spindle speed of up to around 30,000 rpm using the spare 12V, 30A, power supply I have. These things are amazing value, I can get a brushless three phase motor rated at around 450 watts or so, complete with a suitably over-rated speed controller, for around £30, including postage.

The current plan is to directly drive the spindle from the motor shaft, using a suitable coupling.

Next hunt is for decent deep groove bearings that will spin at 30,000rpm - methinks I might well be into ceramic ball technology at these speeds.............

Jeremy

**irving2008** · 18-11-2008

Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt

I've got my smilies back

Had a rummage through my user CP and found it was switched to 'basic editor' upgraded it and there they are :D

Looking at a mill on ebay today, idly threw in a £500 bid and matched first place.

Then the bidder I was tied with withdrew his bid :confused:

Then he bid £490 :confused:

Hello, thought I, he's playing mind games. So I upped my bid to £750 so now he hasn't got a clue where I am

It's going to go for a lot more than that so this is all rather academic. I doubt I will get my new mill until this recession really starts to bite :D

Unless he reads this! ... so you are bidder 3 then... I agree, it should go for far more, but fleabay is a strange place... nice big table, and DRO but the control unit showing its age... is that c1980s?

There's a nice Bridgeport with DRO just up the road from me going for £265... if only I had the room...

**Robin Hewitt** · 18-11-2008

Originally Posted by irving2008

... so you are bidder 3 then...

Ah, you've found me :D

The controller would have to go. I'm still writing RobinCAM but I want it bad. The arc stepping routine just carried across from 'C' to assembler and is doing a healthy 1000 steps per second top whack. Not bad considering it's doing 2 unnecessary 48 bit squares per step on an 8 bit, 6MHz, CPU.

PS: "irving2008 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space".