- Joined
- Jun 8, 2016
- Messages
- 603
I've heard about the problem of holding zero on a round column mill when raising or lowering the head. I know about it and have been able to work around it so far with no problems. This weekend while trying to mill out pocket in a piece of aluminum, I noticed my slot was moving. First cut was ok, second cut was offset about 30 thou. moving back to my starting point, my DRO's were off by over .250"
Long story short, the head was not tight enough and was turning as the table moved.
Round columns have pitfalls, and I found one I hadn't heard about before. The fix was to properly tighten the head and take lighter cuts. To be honest, I was taking about a .100" deep cut in 7075 with a 3/8 end mill. I was just hogging it out, but it was a bit ambitious.
Tighten the column and take realistic depth of cuts.
Long story short, the head was not tight enough and was turning as the table moved.
Round columns have pitfalls, and I found one I hadn't heard about before. The fix was to properly tighten the head and take lighter cuts. To be honest, I was taking about a .100" deep cut in 7075 with a 3/8 end mill. I was just hogging it out, but it was a bit ambitious.
Tighten the column and take realistic depth of cuts.