227 Automated Needle Welding Project Continued Part 04

Please Note: I am a beginning machinist and I do not pretend to know everything. Please always operate machinery in a safe manner and if you don't know, find a reliable source. DO NOT COPY ME. I make a lot of mistakes. I provide these videos for entertainment only.

[@goldmanjoe]

Nice work. Looking forward to seeing the next part(s).

[@DudleyToolwright]

Thanks!

[@mrayco]

Your channel is very informative and interesting though...why you don't have views??? Nice video

[@DudleyToolwright]

No idea and thank you. I don't use switch bait or hyperbolic titles with catchy somewhat inaccurate pictures, perhaps that is why or maybe the content only appeals to a few. In any case, I really appreciate the sentiment.

[@user-ig5pt3sr3x]

Useful!

[@DudleyToolwright]

Glad to hear that!

[@TangentJim]

Robert - Let's start here . Excellent Video as usual . Great project . Excellent Machining .Now for my critique -- Why do you choose to use a four jaw chuck with with soft jaws ??? It's very cumbersome and time consuming . In my world , I choose to bore soft jaws in a 3 or 6 jaw chuck . You control concentricity and create a shoulder to control your desired length. You can remove the part from the chuck and put it back without any issues . You can also remove the soft jaws and put them back without any issues . I rarely need to use a four chuck for round pieces. -- Jim

[@DudleyToolwright]

I chose the 4-jaw chuck so that I could dial in the part but, I had not considered soft jaws, a tool I always seem to forget. You are absolutely right, Jim. Thanks for the tip.

[@TangentJim]

Robert - If you use Soft Jaws - you'll become addicted . Repeat after me - Four Jaw Chucks are for Irregular shaped pieces . 3 and 6 Jaw Chucks are for round pieces . Write that on the Black Board 20 Times . Remember one thing - I will be watching . If you forget - I'll have to deal with you - "Severely" -- Jim

[@dannywilsher4165]

Interesting.

[@DudleyToolwright]

Thanks. I am sorry this project is being done piecemeal. It must be a bit hard to follow.

[@dannywilsher4165]

@@DudleyToolwright No problem. I'm enjoying the project.

[@hansenprecision9390]

Very nice!! Do you draw up plans for this type of assembly or do you design as you go? I have to draw plans when I drill a hole or I screw up the part🤣

[@DudleyToolwright]

The last part had full drawings made. This part, I made the drawings as I went, but still made them.

[@EDesigns_FL]

I'm not a big fan of relying on threads to maintain concentricity, and I suspect that you're going to have more runout than desired. The female taper of a 5C collet holder is supposed to provide alignment and should be rigidly attached to the spindle. In your device, the taper is floating and the collet is entirely dependent upon the clamping threads for alignment. I believe that a hollow drawbar extended through the spindle, like a collet holder on a Southbend lathe, would have been a better arrangement. I hope that your device meets requirements, but if it doesn't, you have plenty of space within the spindle for a drawbar.

[@maxheadflow]

Maybe mount the 5c collet holder in a bearing? If that's the case the spindle setup isn't necessary. The collet holder becomes the spindle. Then the collet release is is simpler. Add: obviously you need a drive to rotate the collet. Stepper motor with a belt?

[@EDesigns_FL]

@@maxheadflow There appears to be numerous areas for improvement, but without more information about the manufacturing process, I'm just guessing at what's going on. Typically, material is feed through the spindle towards the collet/chuck, e.g. bar feeder. It generally provides a more efficient path, but for some unknown reason the material in this situation is being feed through the collet, and ejected out the back of the spindle. The end user may be attempting to piecemeal processes together rather than designing a comprehensive solution.

[@DudleyToolwright]

A drawbar is an excellent idea. There is a reasonable amount of eccentricity allowed for this fixture so if the center of the 5c collet is not perfectly centered it will still work fine. This setup is for laser welding and it might move the focal point a bit, but there are moderate tolerances allowed.

[@DudleyToolwright]

Interesting suggestion as well, thanks.

[@DudleyToolwright]

The choice of feeding in the needles from the front was defined by the work space which has minimal room to the left of the headstock. Also, since this is laser welding, there only needs to be minimal friction on the closed 5C collet to allow it to rotate. The welding process applies almost zero force on the needle. These ideas are only my first draft.