HF 33686 Spindle movement question

Tomzo

H-M Supporter - Silver Member
H-M Supporter - Silver Member
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Jul 27, 2021
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Greetings. A few months ago I bought a used HF 33686 mill/drill and have been learning how to use it. Still some way to go there. As I was working on installing a TouchDRO system I was up close and personal with the machine and noticed that when I grab the spindle by hand and turn it it moves a degree or two and then stops. I can turn it back and forth and I hear audible clanks as it hits one spline and then back to the other. Here is a short video showing the movement and sound:


I don't know if this is normal or not. I figure there needs to be some clearance so the spline can go up and down through the pulley on top. I also figured that once it starts rotating it will just bear on one spline so this movement when stopped is no big deal.

Of course, I am often very, very wrong in these matters so I figured some of you that have more experience may be able to clue me in.

Thanks in advance.

Tom
 
Normal clearance on the spline ! Make some chips ! :)
 
Well how about that - I was right for once! One other question - there is no key in the R8 taper on this machine. Does not seem to make much difference as it holds things just fine as far as I can tell. Is that anything to worry about?

Thanks

Tom
 
One other question - there is no key in the R8 taper on this machine. Does not seem to make much difference as it holds things just fine as far as I can tell. Is that anything to worry about?

Thanks

Tom
No.
 
No , not really anything to worry about . Most of them get wiped out anyways and get to be a PITA when changing tools .
 
Alright then - one less thing to think about. Time to make some chips!
 
It didn't happen without pics ! ;) :big grin:
 
Here is an image of me roughing the end of some thin aluminum stock for the Z Axis DRO mount. I had some electrical tape on the ER32 body as I had been checking the RPM and the finish was too reflective for the little sticker to get a good reading.

I will create a separate post for my TouchDRO install in that forum.
Making Chips.jpg
 
And here is a link to that thread:

 
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