[bent_rod]

Hey guys, I have a Bridgeport R2E4 Series II that ive been stumbling around with for the past year or so. Here is my problem, how on earth does a guy get the collet out of the spindle!!?? Its an Erickson #30 quick change setup. Ive seen videos of other machines and on those there is a little box with two little red buttons. One unthreads the collet, the other rethreads it back on. Those machines were all Series 1 machines. Is the series II different? I have spent countless hours searching, chasing cables, and punching buttons trying to figure this out. Im about convinced something is missing, but what? Where? Any help will be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

[bent_rod]

Update : Ive discovered that it has a power draw bar setup on it. The actuators are air, but they have wires coming out of the solenoids going to the computer main board. Sooo it must be controlled through the face somehow??

[cncfixxer]

It has been a long time since I worked on an E4 but ..... If you remove the power drawbar actuator (4 screws on the C face) then you can screw the drawbar all the way out ...

[bent_rod]

Ok, here is the deal, ive got it figured out finally! Only took me a year. The thing that has the air lines connected to it? Definitely not the power draw bar motor, its an air operated speed controller. The draw bar motor is missing off of the top. On the very last page of the maintenance manual is a picture of the machine with the draw bar stuff installed and yea, mine doesn't have it. Just a hex shaped shaft coming out of the top.

[cncfixxer]

It's probably a Kurt drawbar unit. The unit operates by first plunging the air motor into the Hex part of the drawbar, then after it's bottomed out the manifold valve turns the drawbar motor on to go --CW-CCW depending if you are holding or releasing the tool. I remember an electrical interlock that prevented movement during spindle rotation (for obvious reasons). Where are u located ....perhaps I worked on your machine in it's previous life

[bent_rod]

Well apparently not all of these had a power drawbar? I saw a listing for a wrench/hammer device, and it looks like someone has handled this with a hand tool of some sort.

[cncfixxer]

You got me there. I have repaired many R2E3 + 4's and cannot remember ever seeing one without a power drawbar. The reason being that you can't reach the drawbar without a ladder .... so every-time you need to do a tool change you have to have a ladder

[bent_rod]

Well that's what I thought. It would be extremely unhandy to make tool changes without a power draw bar.

[cncfixxer]

That's childs-play after you have changed the brake on that puppy

[bent_rod]

Oh I bet so! Im pretty pumped though, like I said before, Ive been trying to figure out how to get that silly collet out for over a year now. Granted I have absolutely no experience with mills and a CNC at that. If graphed, my learning curve would be a 90' angle!! Im ready to try making some chips with some basic MDI inputs now. I appreciate your input on this deal, Thanks!

[seanano]

I picked up a Series 1 R2E4 project (understatement) a few years back and did some research on it... The Erickson Quick-Change spindles didn't actually need a drawbar as there is a nut that locks the tool holder into the spindle. The nut is removed by locking the spindle (applying spindle brake?) and using a special wrench to remove the nut (it locks into the slots in the nut). If the spindle has a bore for a drawbar then you can use regular 30 taper tooling with a drawbar but you may need to modify the flange of the toolholder if they are too large of a diameter.

I found the following item on ebay which shows the wrench used:
Erickson Quick Change Spindle for Bridgeprt Variable Speed | eBay