My first big oops on a HAAS VF-2

I was running a part out of 6061 aluminum last Tuesday and forgot to set my tool offset on a 1/2 inch end mill. It plunged right into the vise at 50 IPM, heard a loud crunch and the whole machine faulted out. Had to call my supervisor over and we spent 45 minutes getting the tool holder out and checking the spindle for runout. Lucky it was just a cheap holder and no real damage, but has anyone else had a brain fart like that and got away with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_hayes7112d ago

Yeah man, same thing happened to me on a VF-3 last year, spindle was never quite right after.

the_terry12d ago

Actually I gotta push back on this whole "lucky it was just a cheap holder" thing. A crash is a crash no matter what holder you're using lol. That spindle took the full hit before the holder ever did. You might not see runout right away but trust me, those bearings remember. I've seen guys walk away from a crash like that and then a month later their finishes start getting weird and they're chasing it for days before realizing the spindle got tweaked. Even if it checks out now, that shock load went straight through the holder into the spindle nose and then into the bearings. You should really be checking runout with a tenths indicator at the taper and at the nose, not just eyeballing it. The holder being cheap is the least of your worries man.