Check The Levers

[rake60]

I have a thread running here about the new Enco 12 X 36 lathe we just bought at work.
It isn't properly set up yet, but they needed a shoulder moved .080" on a pin today.

No Problem....

The pin is hardened steel and about 3/8" in diameter, so I set the spindle speed to 750 RPM.
When I turn the spindle on the saddle takes off at a high rate of travel toward the chuck.

Apparently some inquisitive soul had engaged the threading half nut and left it engaged.

I have never had that happen to me before.
At home, I'm the only one who ever touches my lathe and when was working in machine shops,
everyone knew better than to leave a half nut engaged.

Since machining it a new thing to this plant and human nature is to explore new things,
I guess I'll have to be more careful when starting up a machine.

Rick

 

[fcheslop]

Hi Rick,theres nothing worse than when the phantom fiddler strikes.

 

[Herbiev]

People like that dont stop and think that their actions could cause severe injury to one of their workmates :-\

 

[te_gui]

I even go so far at work as to disengage the lead screw. That way if someone engages the half-nut instead of the feed, it won't take off quite so dramatically. This isnt always possible on some lathes, but is a nice feature on this big Clausing

 

[rake60]

te_gui I took your advice.

I set the Feed/Treading lever Feed Direction lever both to their neutral positions.
Then I pressed the E-Stop button to keep the machine from starting up until it is released.

Last night the owner of the company went in to turn down a couple bolts.
He was unable to get the machine to start up.
:hDe:

I need a happy medium here but I'm not sure there is such a thing.

Rick

 

[hopeless]

if the owner can't work out how to start the machine maybe leave it alone or get lessons. Your method is the safest one and will stop injury and thats always a good thing. How would the boss feel if someone gets badly injured due to not unskilled staff playing with the machine? Maybe offer the boss some lesons to get him started.
Pete

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Where I work, we would want to know why the shoulder was .08" off in the first place. Who didn't follow proper procedures and why weren't checks in place to prevent this from happening? What can we do to stop this from ever happening again? Please form a working group and report back to us exactly how we can bring this operation into compliance with ISO 9001 standards. Once you are aware of the problem you are part of the problem.

You are on the agenda in next week's All Hands meeting. Be prepared to present and answer all questions for a post-mortem session. Be on time.

 

[machinerguy]

I put the feeds in neutral when I start too, but...once, after finishing a 5-40 that was cut by "palm power" without disengaging the half-nut, I wound the tool back, tore off a piece of Scotch-Brite, and hit the power for a quick polish. I swear that carriage did a wheelie when it headed for the chuck at full blast! I shut it down with minimal damage and no injuries, luckily!

 

[steamer]

Where I work, we would want to know why the shoulder was .08" off in the first place. Who didn't follow proper procedures and why weren't checks in place to prevent this from happening? What can we do to stop this from ever happening again? Please form a working group and report back to us exactly how we can bring this operation into compliance with ISO 9001 standards. Once you are aware of the problem you are part of the problem.

You are on the agenda in next week's All Hands meeting. Be prepared to present and answer all questions for a post-mortem session. Be on time.

Rof}
YUP!

 

[bezalel2000]

Where I work, we would want to know why the shoulder was .08" off in the first place. Who didn't follow proper procedures and why weren't checks in place to prevent this from happening? What can we do to stop this from ever happening again? Please form a working group and report back to us exactly how we can bring this operation into compliance with ISO 9001 standards. Once you are aware of the problem you are part of the problem.

You are on the agenda in next week's All Hands meeting. Be prepared to present and answer all questions for a post-mortem session. Be on time.

ISO 9001 realy is an international standard!

I thought that was Just an Ozzie management style :big:

 

[shred]

A friend had a Monarch 10EE. And a couple young daughters that liked to come into the shop sometimes and play 'driving the bus'. He got good at making sure all the levers and flaps were in the right positions.

 

[rkepler]

A friend had a Monarch 10EE. And a couple young daughters that liked to come into the shop sometimes and play 'driving the bus'. He got good at making sure all the levers and flaps were in the right positions

There's a couple of combinations in the gearbox that lock it up with all of the 3 or 5HP drive pushing it. I've been in that gearbox and would hate to take it apart to fix something busted that way. The shafts are all endloaded, there's a couple of hours finagling to get things right again if you pull one.

The first thing I do before starting the lathe after any time off is to make sure that my spindle isn't locked and that the speed is set low (on the 10EE it's a turn of the knob). Before starting up after changing feed or thread I manually turn the spindle and look at the leadscrew or feed rod and make sure it's about right. That way when you flip the drive on there's no big surprise (except for the time I forgot to pull a parallel from behind the work. That was a small ouch but a big surprise.)

Still laughing at the mental image of a carriage popping a wheelie...

 

[rake60]

Where I work, we would want to know why the shoulder was .08" off in the first place. Who didn't follow proper procedures and why weren't checks in place to prevent this from happening? What can we do to stop this from ever happening again? Please form a working group and report back to us exactly how we can bring this operation into compliance with ISO 9001 standards. Once you are aware of the problem you are part of the problem.

The shoulder wasn't really .080" off.
It was a pin from another die set being modified to work in a different application.

Out plant is ISO 9001 certified. (Damn paperwork).

Rick

 

[Ken I]

Still laughing at the mental image of a carriage popping a wheelie...

Yup - damn nasty surprise when it happens - having learned my lessons in a multiuser shop I tend to back the carriage away from the chuck and opperate the cross slide, rotate the chuck by hand slightly just to be sure there are not going to be any unexpected surprises when I start it - its second nature now.

Ken