[Mikey4865]

Hi All,

I am currently using a CNC Swiss to make parts that range from 3-8 inches long (so can't pull back into the guide bushing and can't run without guide bushing). We currently take the parts from the machine and sand them 1 at a time. I am looking for a way to sand them in the machine. My idea is to simply put a sanding tool inside one of my live tool holders and run the part up and down a couple times before spitting the part out. Material is stainless steel.

Does anyone have any experience with flap wheels or other sanding equipment inside a CNC oil based machine?
Would a flap wheel even work when its covered in oil...?
Maybe a wire brush wheel...?

[Ideaguy]

what part of the swiss part are you sanding? turned o.d. , end, i.d. or entire length. ?

[Mikey4865]

turned od ranging from 3/16 to 1/4, lengths range from 2.5 to 5 inches and there is a large ear on each end.

Thanks for your help!

[Ideaguy]

are you sanding to have a rough finish or to try to remove a burr. I would think that the oil pressure against the flaps would keep the flapper from being a repeatable operation . we have used both a wire wheel and a wire cup to create a rough finish for gluing. We have also used a spinning end mill at a shallow cut and a very fast feed to create a repeat o.d. rough finish after a turn on stainless and on a face.

[Mikey4865]

Tolerance on the OD is 0.005 so holding a size it not needed with the wheel. Just something to blend the mismatch so a rough finish is OK (we currently use 180 grit sand paper to blend the diameter and tumble afterwards) .
The part positioning does not allow me to use an end mill. A wire cup would also not be applicable in the orientation.
As for oil I can adjust pressure a lot.

I was quickly looking at some nylox wheels, silicon carbide grain, and thought those would be a good place to start.

[Ideaguy]

what kind of swiss are you running that doesn't have live tooling on three axis. I can't picture a mismatch so big it would require sanding. if a wire wheel isn't good enough, just a mounted dremel type drum sander or mounted grinding wheel for a dremel should do the job at way less cost than the specialty places.
good luck. I hope you find something.

[Mikey4865]

Live tooling isnt the issue, its the orientation of the part being so long that makes it difficult. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thank you

[Ideaguy]

Live tooling isnt the issue, its the orientation of the part being so long that makes it difficult. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thank you

one last thing. we once had a part too long to pull back and we made a 3 inch spacer to put in the stick tool holder that we mounted a air spindle to with a wire wheel in it.
let me know how it turns out. even if I didn't help much, we eliminated some stuff.