Old Versus New Collets and Tool Holders

Don't overlook collet and tool holder maintenance. July 22, 2013

Question
Me and my company bought our first CNC within the last year and it is running great. Does it make a difference in production or quality, having new tool holders versus the old beat up tool holders? The same goes with the collets and covernuts.

Forum Responses
(CNC Forum)
From contributor M:
It all depends how beat up your holders and collets are. I would suggest checking the tool tapers for damage as well as the collets and nuts. Make sure your spindle taper is in good shape. If the holders are out of balance due to damage, you may have some quality issues. Depending on the condition and age of the collets, you may want to replace those first. I would suggest using a torque wrench and some type of setup stand and taking good care of your holders. Unbalanced tools may also damage your spindle bearings, which will be more than replacing some collets and holders.

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From the original questioner:
Thanks - this is helpful information. I don't think my holders are that beat up; they only have a few nicks on them. So far they have been working great and I haven't had any quality issues. I recently bought a torque wrench and it's great to be able to measure the pressure, because just by the feel of it I know I was over-tightening all my holders.

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From contributor C:
Let me also add, the collet is more important than the tool. If running production, collets should be changed at least 2 times a year. More if you drop them, over tighten them, or if the machine has crashed any.