Budget Power Drawbar

[uli12us]

How does the clamping of the tool work. Or do you have only a collet for clamping cylindrical tools with the same diametre?

[komatias]

The collets clamp on a 3/4" diameter cylinder but it also allows the toolholder to have contact with the spindle nose. This makes tool length offset through the tool table possible as you can premeasure the length of each tool and it is repeatable. I find them worth every bloody penny when you have to change tools for a specific job as it saves having to touch off each one. In conjunction with the power drawbar you literally fly through.

The holders look like this one:


Tormach in the US claim to have invented this but there are a number of sources out there that manufature them.

Needleworks probably has a set or ER20 chucks but you can get ER16 up to ER32.

[needleworks]

The collets clamp on a 3/4" diameter cylinder but it also allows the toolholder to have contact with the spindle nose. This makes tool length offset through the tool table possible as you can premeasure the length of each tool and it is repeatable. I find them worth every bloody penny when you have to change tools for a specific job as it saves having to touch off each one. In conjunction with the power drawbar you literally fly through.

The holders look like this one:


Tormach in the US claim to have invented this but there are a number of sources out there that manufature them.

Needleworks probably has a set or ER20 chucks but you can get ER16 up to ER32.

You just hit the nail on the head my friend, that`s exactly what I am using. Only difference is that I am in fact using ER 32 chucks, which do not have the TTS toolholder rings on them, therefore to use an atc, I would have to shrink fit the rings onto them, but that will be a future project.

[uli12us]

I know, tormach has not invented this. I used to work some 30 Years in a small company who used nearly only stone aged punched tape controlled NC-machines fromn the 40-60er years. The parts with huge control cabinets in the size of 2 american cooler/freezers. The machines are Rigid and powerful, but rather slow. They all had a large toolmagazine with coderings and a cylindrical shaft.
At this time tormach wasn't even planned.