[Drools]

Can I be one of the first to get in line for one?
Depending on the price of course
Have you considered using an ER20 collet?

[mactec54]

The next part of this build, was to inspect the Bearings as the customer had used them, What I found was not good, one of the Bearings cage was cracked & the other had slight damage, So I disassembled the bearings, to take a better look, All the main Bearing surfaces were ok, so the only way to save them was to make some new cages for them

Some photos of the new Bearing Cages & reassembled Bearings

[Khalid]

Are you making these cages your self? What is the material of cage.. Why not you are using ready made bearings?

[mactec54]

Khalid

The Bearings were already made, But the Cages had been Damaged, So to Save the Bearings I made some new Cages

The Material is a special Engineered Material, which is better than the original Material
It was a custom blend of (3) different Materials that I had over from another job, I work with a lot of special plastics
in injection molding & machining

Could I have made the complete Bearing, or a custom Bearing, Yes I have made custom bearings before

If you have the time & someone is paying for it, anything is possible

[mactec54]

Drools

Yes any of the ER sizes could be used to build a spindle

[Khalid]

Mactec..You are incredible

[spoiledbrat]

I agree with Khalid. Mactec, you are an inspiration to us all.
Great work. Hope all is well!

[kiwibrick]

Add me to the list of people interested in one of these!

[tskguy]

Very Vey Nice!! Cant wait to see more.

[ger21]

I bet you could buy an HSD for less than all that time is worth.
Outstanding work, as usual.

[RomanLini]

Yeah +one more agreeing with Khalid's point!

You know the guy's a pro when he just "makes" some more bearing cages...

[mactec54]

Khalid
kiwibrick
tskguy
ger21
RomanLini

Thank you all for your support & comments

There is a special thanks go out to spoiledbrat, I'm glad I could make you feel that way considering the situation you are in

spoiledbrat is a Black Hawk Pilot/Test Pilot & is on his 4th or 5th 12 month deployment

[asuratman]

So do you want to be spindle specialist? You have good skill in bearing and your thread in spindle amaze people here..

[mactec54]

Before assembly all the spacers, end caps were checked to see if all surfaces were flat & parallel

There was also a lubrication port added to the body

It was then assembled

[mactec54]

asuratman

No I'm not a spindle specialist, Just trying to show what can be done to build a simple spindle, That DIY guys could do & use

[ftkalcevic]

Just trying to show what can be done to build a simple spindle, That DIY guys could do & use

I'm just a hobby machinist, but would like to try something like this for my CNC router. What special tooling/machining was required to be able to machine the collet holder? I'm guessing it was hardened steel? I've never done anything harder than mild steel on my mill drill or lathe. (I did drill some stainless steel once, and I just put a dent in it and turned it bright orange!)

I'd also love to see your set up for regrinding the collet on the finished spindle. I bought a cheap chinese spindle (not through ebay - stupid!) which has terrible runout. I'd like to try and correct it before scrapping it.

[Khalid]

I will really like to see a video of:
1- Dial indicator readings on tool tip.
2- Cutting /Machining of something with this spindle.
Regards

[mactec54]

Khalid

The video of this one will be up to the customer

The spindle Taper when finished will have Zero run-out

When it is complete, The taper will be reground with the spindle completely assembled

It then depends on how good the collets & tooling you use, This will determine how much run-out you will have

[mactec54]

To assemble the Spindle & lock the End Caps in Place, A Pin Wrench was made, to torque the the front & rear End Caps

The front End Cap holds the outer race of the Bearings tight into the Bearing pocket,This is part of the preloading of the Bearings

The rear End Cap has a Smalley Wave Spring in front of it, for thermal expansion of the Spindle

Spindle Mounts also in place

[Drools]

Fantastic, one more question, how many hours have you put into this project? I'm thinking it is just about done now.