Ok, so I’m pretty damn new to cnc machining centers and I’m having what looks to be a major problem with the one I use. I use an old Kiwa 510 colt which is in mint-condition and belongs to my university. This machine is basically new, it probably has less then 50 hours since bought in 1991-92. I am the first one to really use it because the machine wasn’t parametered correctly and didn’t have complete manuals. No one really sat down, like I did, to figure it out. Instead, other people used a different machine tool we have (which is not as good).
Anyway, its giving tell tail signs of bearing failure and I have a few questions concerning this problem;
What might have caused this failure? Could the bearings have taken a ‘set’ from not being used the past 15 or so years? Could they have overheated? They started to make noise right at the end of a huge 2 day project.
Another thing about this; when I got the machine going I made sure to check all the oil’s, but there is one listed that I could not find. The manual calls to check the spindle oil cooler, but I can’t find it anywhere! The diagram shows the oil cooler as a separate unit off to the side of the machine. But it’s nowhere to be found!
Lastly, are these bearings something that I can replace? This machine is in our engineering building which has a fantastic shop. I wouldn’t be afraid to do it unless it required special tools that we don’t have. The diagram (which is just a simple diagram, not a service manual) shows the bearings at the base of the spindle by the chuck, exactly where the sounds coming from. It also gives a company and part number for the bearings.
Anyone have any experiences with this machine or changing spindle bearings in general?