Machine Shaft Retrofit

[Ulma Doctor]

In my normal day job, i run across all kinds of machinery.
all of it is broken in one way or another.
my job is to put all the humpty dumpties' back together, ad infinitum.
this time i had a monkey wrench added.

The factory no longer supports parts for the industrial slicer i'm working on.
but, that doesn't mean its life is over- NOT ON MY WATCH !!!

I had to do the very same retrofit about a month ago.
i ordered the parts from the factory, using their infinite knowledge (read :sarcasm) to update the machine to current production.
they were very slow to send the parts from Germany ( 1 month lead) the parts were ridiculously expensive and the shaft was 100mm long.
i had to cut the shaft down and add the necessary features as i'll be doing today.........

this time, since i already had all the dimensions of all the parts i was to reproduce, i went around the factory completely.

the original production shaft was chrome plated steel.
they were well made and the shaft itself could last around 20 years, if strict lubrication guidelines were to be adhered.
in this case, lubrication only happened whenever i showed up- which was quarterly.
the machine was not maintained well, but somehow survived for 18 years-
until corrosion under the chrome started lifting and bubbling the chrome.
the shaft would physically lock up the moving member and stop operation due to overcurrent faults in the machine CPU
when they priced machine replacement,
i was soon the second call, to see if it could be resurrected
i told em' yep it can be fixed, but it is not going to be cheap or fast.
they begged for any help i could give.
so i put my very best foot forward and accepted the challenge!

the last retrofit revealed the factory used 303 stainless steel for the replacement shaft.
i followed suit and got a double length of the 30mm material, parting it into 2 equal final length parts of 900mm each
i drilled and tapped both ends to M12 x 1.25 x25 mm deep.
chamfered the ends
one end has a 6mm x 140mm deep bore, then cross drilled at 138mm from the end.
this is a grease track for lubrication of the shaft carriage

i had to use an extended length drill



after longitudinal drilling, the shaft was set up in the bridgeport mill for the 5mm crossdrill operation.
i chamfered the grease holes

i added the M12 x 50mm stud and used red locktite to bond the stud.

here is the finished shaft copy, ready for retrofit !!!



you can really see the cancer here below



here is to another 20 years or so!


thanks for reading!!!

 

[Aukai]

Good job, well done

 

[C-Bag]

As my grandpa Bill would say, I’m proud fer ya son.

So the moral of the story is the shaft should have always been made out of stainless and it should have an auto oiler? Sad to think a shaft would make a machine almost scrap.

 

[brino]

Great work as usual Mike!

These situations should really show these food production companies the value that you add.
You can offer all these quick-turn services because you have spent thousands of dollars on equipment and supplies.
I hope that you are compensated appropriately!

-brino

 

[DavidR8]

Well done Mike!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FOMOGO]

Shaft! Your a "Bad Mother" Mike. Cheers, Mike too

 

[FOMOGO]

double post

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Good job, well done

Thanks Mike!!

As my grandma Bill would say, I’m proud fer ya son.

So the moral of the story is the shaft should have always been made out of stainless and it should have an auto oiler? Sad to think a shaft would make a machine almost scrap.

the hard chrome shaft is an excellent choice, it doesn't really wear.
the stainless steel shaft is appreciably softer and will wear at a higher rate, given the circumstance of how this poor machine is treated.
i do like the idea of an auto- greaser!!!
the shaft was not the only problem with the machine.
other control issues and general trauma would have been enough to make most walk the other way.
i guess i'm some kinda masochist or some kinda moron, can't figure which!

Great work as usual Mike!

These situations should really show these food production companies the value that you add.
You can offer all these quick-turn services because you have spent thousands of dollars on equipment and supplies.
I hope that you are compensated appropriately!

-brino

thank you very much brino!
they call because they are desperate, in most cases.
i help em' out- they call again later. work out pretty good most times
on the last job, the factory shaft was in excess of 860Euro(+freight), + labor to R&R the shaft and facilitate operation again.
the job was close to 9K all said and done.
this time, i made a better profit margin

Well done Mike!

thanks David!

Shaft! Your a "Bad Mother" Mike. Cheers, Mike too

SHAFT!!!!
it's funny i sing that most every time i have shaft work, at least once!!!