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No rigid tapping afterall on the Fadal

Oops! I looked inside the Fadal and the spindle drive says on it that it is for rigid tapping. So I asked the guy I'm buying it from all about rigid tapping and how it works and why he uses compression/extension tap holders when he could have used ER collets and he says the machine doesn't have rigid tapping. I had just assumed it did because of the spindle drive. It turns out that it also needs some chips installed to get the rigid tapping option. He never said it had it, I just assumed and when we talked about it today he was surprised that I didn't know the machine didn't have that option. So now I will need to shop around for the chipset that will enable the machine to rigid tap. Unless Iggy or someone just happens to have them laying around. Thanks everyone for the rigid tapping info anyway. It's one of the things that seems like a very worthwhile addition to the machine. Eric

Reply to
etpm
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Eric, just do tapping with a spring loaded tap holder. Especially if you have a servo spindle that can maintain RPM.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus4881

That's how tapping is done on the machine now. The machine comes with tapping holders and lots of the tap holders. Some are even the clutch style. I will be looking for a good deal on the chips though because rigid tapping can be much faster, apparently. Eric

Reply to
etpm

I believe on my Supermax with Fanuc control rigid tapping is slower. It has to stop the spindle after it gets into tapping position to start the rigid tap cycle. Then it restarts the spindle and taps ths hole.

I'm not tring to set any productiuon records so I use the rigid tap cycle, sometimes with rigid holders sometimes with ten/comp holders.

Remove 333 to reply. Randy

Reply to
Randy333

I think that it is not as big of a deal, myself. I implemented rigid tapping on my Interact "because I could" and it was about $100 in cost. Plus it makes some things easier, as I do not need to do expensive computations of feedrates. Plus I can post videos on youtube.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14796

Just being able to post videos on youtube has got to be a plus. Worth at least 100 frog pelts. Eric

Reply to
etpm

Well, that was possible because you retrofitted the machine, of course. Not sure if Eric is planning a retrofit. And, of course, Mach does not do rigid tapping without a Galil card.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

Yep, and I am very happy.

I am really glad that I did not use Mach3.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus14796

Greetings Iggy, Why are you happy that you did not use Mach3? I have been considering using Mach3 on a lathe conversion. I have seen a lathe running Mach3 threading parts and it seemed to work well. Cheers, Eric

Reply to
etpm

IMHO, the call should be based on wheather you have steppers or servos. Mach is a great stepper control but doesn't take position feedback. EMC is slightly more complex to install and may be slightly behind on ease of use, but it has ability to receive feedback from encoders and drive servos directly.

Mach can be made to work with servos, and EMC can work with steppers. So, if your heart is set on one control go for it.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Greetings Karl, I have been using Gecko servo amps which close the loop themselves. This means that the control software doesn't need to accept feedback from the encoders. I haven't decided yet if this is a big disadvantage. I think that in a low speed application it's just fine. Eric

Reply to
etpm

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