Z Axis Ball Screw Replacement on a Fadal VMC
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 30 мар 2017
- Hello everyone, welcome to At-Man Unlimited. Time for some maintenance, the Z axis ball screw has seen better days. We ordered up a new screw and in this video we will replace the old screw.
If you have any questions please feel free to comment or email me, AtManUnlimited@gmail.com
If you would like to support the channel please visit our Patreon page
patreon.com/user?u=4099018 
Наука
Awesome awesome awesome video Tim! I still contend that this is BY FAR the best channel on YT for a Fadal owner and quickly becoming the best resource on the entire web for one too! Thanks a million for all the extremely helpful & entertaining content At-Man!
Thank you Steve, your to kind. Thanks for the support as well. I need to do the work anyway. It does not take to much more time to setup the cameras and then give a little commentary.
Great video At-Man! Thanks!
Great videos At-Man! I have referred to these many times during my tune up of my Fadal. I ended up with 3 ballscrews, along with new turcite and scraping in the saddle. lots of work but rewarding when it runs like new. Keep the vids coming! Thanks for the time greatly appreciated
Thanks for the Feedback Scott, good to hear another machine back like new!
Highly informative. Excellent teaching!!! Thank you for posting something very well worth watching. AAA plus!!!
Thank you
I always love watching engineers swing tools. It is usually pretty comical but I have to admit you are more adept than your brethren. NIce video Tim.
Thanks John, I'm more of a jeans and polo kind of guy. Not afraid to get my hands dirty. I spend over 80% of my time in the lab or the field. I like to think I have a unique set of skills. But the next video coming up (if I ever finish editing it) will give you a chuckle. Near disaster for sure.
Many thanks for the practical exerting illustrations
Thanks so much for taking the time to film this! Extremely helpful. Even though I hope I'll never have to use your tips on this :-P!
Never know with a used machine ;) It really is not that bad.
thanks for your informative videos. you have saved us a ton of money.
Your welcome, glad they helped
The VMC of Theseus.
Great info! I think I followed your explanation of the alignment procedure, but I wish you'd been able to get a few shots of that.
That was the plan but the footage went missing (read I forgot to start the camera). Let me see if I can make a short video with a diagram of what is going on.
looking good and explain good
thank u for ur. info. Go Further!
Great Video ,
Thank you for the advice
Happy to help
Pretty amazing.
Saludos muchas gracias lo tenia invertido y eso me provoco falla en el encoder que trae ahí porque estaba bien sucio y me fallaba la velocidad del usillo y también no me arrancaba la máquina 👍
Very good video Tim. Just a couple of comments: 1st, Do not forget to remove those lock-out bars after work is done. I've seen damage caused a couple times when machine was powered up when those were still installed. 2nd; I always put a bead of torque seal or some slip mark on the resolvers and mounting surface after adjustment. If something starts going whacky later you can tell if maybe your resolver has moved or not.
Very good points, I should have mentioned to remove the bars. Thank you
Thumb up!👍👍
After any changes or tuning of the tool changer it is a good idea to use an unloaded tool holders, have a piece of board on the table and to be ready to catch any falling tool holders until the operation has been proven to work as intended.
Hello Rob, very good suggestion. I do that any time I work on the draw bar or have any concerns with the tool system. In this case it was just a height realignment after changing the ball screw and was manually checked before an automated cycle was run. Always a good idea to be safe then sorry though.
I may have missed it but what size diameter was the ball screw that you replaced? Great video by the way. I learned a ton! Really appreciated the details on what not to do and why!
Excelentes videos, soy de Ecuador.
Tengo problemas en el eje z.
Mecaniza muy mal en z.
Le subí el backlash de 3 a 30. Mejoró algo
Saludos me a sido de mucha ayuda todos videos gracias por regalar su sabiduría. Tengo una duda veo en su motor un filtro, el ventilador saca el aire del motor ? O lo mete hacia abajo? Muchas gracias
El ventilador en el motor del eje inyecta aire a través de los filtros y lo empuja hacia afuera de la parte inferior del motor. Usando google translate, perdón si sale extraño.
Hi, i have a fadal 4020 and i am having problems with the tool changer. It seems there isn't enough air to push the tool out. do you have a video on how to repair the air cylinder on top of machine?
Thank you for your help.
Where exactly did you mount your test indicator to check ball screw alignment?
I like fadals very much but that is standard screw nut. My hurco's have double screw nuts on all axis, and 50mm ball screws
Replacing my 4020 z axis screw it wasn’t enough to be bothersome at .002 backlash since it was able to comp reliably but I didn’t have the confidence it would be repeatable long term. Definitely wouldn’t want that much backlash on an x or y axis. We did the air filter add on but only used one filter it seems to flow plenty good with one but if you get a lot of splashing I can see how 2-3 would lengthen the replacement time. Went with a preassembled unit as well. Think it was $200 more and I didn’t want to get it apart and then need a bearing later or some other surprise it’s just easier to have a drop and go unit. FYI, Currently Fadalcnc is shipping NSK ballscrews. I’m impressed with quality it was easy to align to .00005
Spindle motor has a serious filter :) Maybe i am wrong but the Z leadsc. has a different thread cound too.
Awesome video Sir and I am watching your videos and Sir I want to know how to make backlash program in Hmc machine
Saludos excelentes videos. Me puede orientar tengo una Fadal 2216 año 1997
Al encenderla subo la palanca y segundos después el botón verde
Estaba funcionando bien pero ahora hago lo mismo y ya no se escucha el tronido al apretar el botón verde y la máquina no enciende bien.
A veces si lo hace y aveces no tengo que estarla apagando hasta que el pequeño tronido se escuche.
Podría orientarme a ver qué puede ser ?
Is it critical to do a new alignement (same as you did for Z) of the screw when replacing thrust bearings for the X axis on a vertical machine center? I'm trying to get a old Kira VTC30 up and running and I found really really bad thrust bearings so they need to be replaced. Really nice videos. Just discovered your channel today and I've enojoyed this vidoe, the one about cooling and the skimmer for now. I had my mind set on forget about flood coolant but you convinved me to make a skimmer and try it out :)
Hello Frank, anytime one of the ball screw mounting points is disturbed its a good idea to check the alignment of the screw. If you can do thrust bearings without taking off the bearing plate or the ball nut then it should stay in alignment. Don't be shy about using coolant. If your machining aluminum it makes a huge difference in tool life and machining speed.
Have you published a list of what all these parts cost ? Great videos.
Fadalcnc.com
Trying to figure out when you said you aligned the ball screw with a dial indicator but you never showed how you went about this. Would you say how you set that up? There is nothing in the Fadal Manual about this procedure of alignment that you said you did.
Lovely
Did the head stutter when traveling down? My bed mill needs a new screw. Attempted adjusting boxed ways and it didnt help. Jogging up to .0015 has no movement going back up and occasionally it drops into the part when it hangs up so we’re tearing it down next week to get measurements and order a new ground screw.
Check the gibs adjustments
Man that alignment would suck. Our machines have pins and they make it super ease
Was it really necessary to remove the way covers? It seems like you did everything from the top. Or did I miss something?
Can I place the x axis in any position to change the ball screw ?
Awesome
Tool changer will deflect when u put tools in so now it is set for the gap when u have tools in that location....
what were all those air cleaners doing on top of that big round black tube up on the right side of the head. I've never seen that b4
The big black tube is my spindle drive motor. The stack of air filters is my way over kill solution to keep junk and coolant out of the motor. Fadal had a retro fit with one of those filters, but it choked off the air flow a lot, so I just added more.
Also... the thrust bearing pair (at the servo , holding he ball screw and taking ALL axial forces) can cause big vibrations and a lot of looseness (at dynamic stops and starts) . It can also allow to ascend from the desired POS due to bearing wear when milling ... and will climbs up typically when using angled bits (because the bearings are not pre tensioned )....
You can adjust the pre load on the thrust bearings by putting a different shim between them. In my case it was the ball nut that was bad though.
1st time it was so bad.. (not the srew...) number to number is 0,1 mm ! ruclips.net/video/iPSprDWADTY/видео.html
Hi
Can you change machine settings if you install a new ball screw with a different pitch ?
Fadal only supported two pitches
Know of any good tutorials or directions on Fadal's fixture menu, especially finding center of a part or stock. Not really clear on some of these selections. Maybe a video idea. Thanks
Check the fadal general operation video I did, I think I covered a little of it there. I plan on doing some more fadal operation videos. Just so many topics and so little time. Thanks for the suggestions.
Thanks, haven't gotten to all the videos yet, but will soon. Great job on the videos. Have the VMC15 in my garage at home. Great machine.
Nice! Yes, I really like mine as well.
How do I check what pitch ball screw I have I bought Bridgeport with ball screws and I want to cnc it
Measure how far the table moves with one turn of the handle.
Hello Tim,
I am picking up a VMC20 in a couple of weeks and would like to make sure the machine is good to ship before the rigger arrives. When the counterweight bars are in place will I be able to lower the spindle down close to the table? Id like to minimize the system height during shipping.
Thanks!
P.S. I have been steadily going through all your video's. I think you are going to save me 4-500 hours when everything is said and done. Awesome!
Hello Alan, No once the bars are in place you wont be able to lower the Z head any farther. When your shipping you want to take the weight off the chains. Once the bars are in place raise the Z head up so the weight rests on the bars and then block the Z head. Just don't leave the weight of the Z head on the servo motor long as it will start getting warm on you. The counter weight chains have a nasty habit of breaking in shipping.
Thank you very much. I do still have a lot to learn.
Your welcome, go to Fadalcnc.com and download all the manuals. Good reading
At-Man Unlimited Machining
Will do! What's great is that the machine is one owner one user, do all of the original documentation is coming with it.
Hello Tim,
Thanks for all the great information. Just moved my machine in and everything went well. I ended up lowering the head into a block very close to the table and running a pin through the lifting hole at the top of the column. Then I used very heavy ratchet straps to take the weight off and secure the counterweight to the pin for the move.
Do you have a video about Fadal formats 1vs2vsfusion post processors? I'm not a programmer, so I would prefer to just start with the combination that needs the least tweaking. It appears that there is a "fadal" post native to fusion, but I'm not sure which fadal format it supports?
Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place.
I do cnc field service, usually it is the thrust bearings not the ball screw
Yes, check thrust bearings first. In this case the screw was completely trashed. It was also not the original screw that came with the machine as it did not match the other 3 and was from a 3rd party with no labeling.
i had 3 junk screws could have reused thrust bearings. (didn't though)
Did the worn ballscrew toss a tac error or am I looking at a servo issue?
No, tach errors are most likely a dirty tach or bad wire
buenas tardes le cambie a mi fadal el paso del husillo de bolas para el eje x podrias decirme donde puedo hacer los ajustes para que me de el paso en el cnc por favor muchas gracias
If you have a Fadal controller there is no way to change the pitch setting of the screw to my knowledge.
Is all this stuff in a manual somewhere ? Or how did you learn it ?
Some is, some is not, I have a good friend that is a cnc whisperer so to speak
How much was that screw, ballpark$? Thanks for the great videos!
Check out Fadalcnc.com there about $1300
What were the BLs for the Z befor and after ? (if u have those numbers)
Over 0.003, after 0.0002
@@AtManUnlimitedMachining not so big or a change.. icfound that the biggest change comes from.the couplers ...plastic stuf....
hey i am Owen looking to buy a fadal use cnc milling machine and would love your help you are doing some great job
Hello Owen, besides the videos I have done, I'm not sure I can provide much more assistance. Good luck in your hunt!
ok thanks man
It seriously looks like that column is made of a steel tube with strips welded to it and machined to mount the linear rails. Is that it ?
Yep, that is about it, this machine is a weldment, then stress relieved, and machined and ground. When you install the rails you have set screws on the sides to help straighten any error out.
Please How to Eliminate Axial Slack from Ball screw ?
My 4020 screw was about .030" BL.
LOL I guess I should stop whining about 0.004"
Wait, was your BL setting in the machine at 30? That is in tenths.
No, it was measured at 0.030".. definitely not tenths. It's a AC machine. Well it was pretty well packed in with chips in all 3 axes so I'm surprised it even turned at all. Yeah my machine was pretty bad. They turned it on, let it run and didn't do a lot to it except probably let the coolant sit a year or so and change cutters, mills, etc.
Yikes
Yeah I know. I really don't think they knew a lot about CNC machines. I happens to see the condition of other machines they offloaded, and they were that bad or worse.. i'd hate to see what worse looked like. I should've bought Steinmeyer, but the guys at my usual dealer suggested I send my screws to a place and so they just sent me replacements and yeah they were the originals. An update, I'm lookin at another 4020 and a 15 both for the same price.
good afternoon you could say goodbye if I can change the pitch of ball screw and you could say goodbye where I can adjust the pitch or the rotation of the engine thank you very much
Fadal only used 2 pitches, an inch pitch and a metric pitch, you can't use any other pitch screw if you have the Fadal controller
Hello my friend, can you give us XYZ ballscrew part number for NSK. The machine 4020 fadal 2004 year. Machine is metric.(if you help will be very happy.) Regards from Turkey....
You can buy new balls and reload the nut yourself , it isn't hard to do ...You should be using kluber grease on those things though ...the wrong grease will cause the balls to skid at some point and flat spot them ...some nice SS balls will make it like new again , for about 10 or 12 bucks ...huge lead counterweight in back , you can manually lift that axis as long as the servos are turned off , all you need to do is tighten the thrust bearings while the ballscrew is as close to each one as you can get it ...No need to reinvent the wheel ...and turning a phase angle resolver does absolutely nothing once the machine is reinitialized ,,, except waste time and pad your paycheck ...
I felt the actual screw was in bad shape, up close the races are pitted. I would rather just send it out to get reballed though so the preload is properly set. I use the high pressure bearing grease recommend by the mfgr, all the rest of the machine lasted almost 25 years, good enough for me. Even with the screw nut all the way to the trust bearings, it still needs alignment, the Fadal thrust bearings are located in a bore on the mounting bracket, the bracket is a tight fit onto the column, it does not float. So you can't simply tighten the thrust bearings. As for the resolver, yes, changing the resolver body in relation to the motor housing will rotate the screw, this adjusts the cold start position. Please refer to the Fadal maintenance manuals, Section 6, Axis Drive Systems, page 194 for setting the cold start position for a DC drive machine. So I'm not wasting my time, just preforming proper procedures to adjust this type of machine. As for the paycheck, I'm working on my own machine, the owners never get paid.
Gr8 video but You skip main portion of task. You just wasted my time.but still i hope a complete sharing of knowledge in next video.thank you
Not sure what I missed, machine runs great now!