Live tooling on CNC turning machines expands a manufacturer’s options by enabling off-center, secondary operations such as drilling, tapping and end milling on the part face and around the diameter. As you might expect, there are a number of important considerations when adding live tooling to your existing or new CNC turning machines. Here are 6 such points to think about.
- If you are working with a 2-axis lathe, make sure you have enough turret stations for the total number of static and live tools required for your operations. Many 2-axis lathes have limited numbers of live stations, so it’s especially important to carefully consider your tooling needs.
- If any of your processes require or could benefit from applying coolant through the live tooling, be sure the live tool holders you choose are plumbed for this purpose. It’s also important to determine if the live tooling is rated to withstand the amount of coolant pressure delivered by your machine. Working on many exotic alloys, for example, may require coolant pressures of 1,000 – 2,000 psi.
- Standard lathes that support live tooling will perform drilling and milling only on the centerline of the X- and Z-axis. If you plan to perform off center operations, you will need a Y-axis.
- You’ll need the appropriate number of X- and Z-axis live tool holders to match your requirements, along with tool clamping that matches the tool shank design.
- Adding the necessary number of static and live tools to the turret may create adjacent tool station interference with the workpiece, especially when facing to centerline on parts and those sized close to the maximum turning diameter of the machine.
- C-axis accuracy is typically measured in arc seconds. It’s important to check part feature relationships, as C-axis positioning error increases when moving away from the spindle centerline. This means C-axis error could potentially use up all of your part feature location tolerances.
Haas CNC turning machines can be equipped with precisely the live tooling you want. Your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet can answer your questions about live tooling and other productivity-enhancing accessories. Give them a call: (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.