To Buy or Not to Buy?

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To Buy or Not to Buy?

May 18, 2010 — by Chuck Toolmex
The other day Ark Kielb, the President and CEO of Toolmex, asked me if we were selling chucks of what the chuck holds. I paused and thought about what the typical response might be, and then I took the complete opposite tactic, and said, "We are selling what the product holds." Right answer!
Lots of companies sell chucks and tooling products, and everyone will tell you why their products are better, but they never tell you if there is added value to purchasing their workholding and tooling. At toolmex, we offer you a lot. We have a 2-tier testing system, ensuring that our chucks and tooling are quality products. We have a great customer service team, and of course, let's not forget that we have been in business for over 40 years, so we know what we are doing!
By now you must be wondering where this is going. Is this the same old pitch you've heard time and time again? Absolutely not. I want to talk about the benefits and advantages to buying a new chuck versus repairing and/or reconditioning your existing chuck.
We all know that chucks can last for years and years. However, there will be a time, sporadic or not, when a jaw cracks or may be wearing unevenly. This is when you will need to make an informed decision—do you repair, recondition or buy a new chuck?
In all circumstances, safety should be your first priority. Next, decide whether the chuck will be operate for only a short period of time, or whether you expect to get a longer period of trouble-free use. And, most importantly, decide how much the cost difference of repairing and/or reconditioning versus getting a new chuck will affect your purchasing decision. The difference may not be as much as you may expect, and the benefits to ordering a brand new chuck may outweigh it.
Let's look at the reasons why you might need to repair or replace your chuck:

1. Does the chuck visibly appear to be worn?
2. Has an accident broken something in the chuck?
3. Has the chuck begun to lose its gripping force or its accuracy?
4. Is the chuck design incapable of holding a part to meet your part process and tolerances?

REPAIRING or RECONDITIONING YOUR CHUCK

Usually, this is the least expensive option and the quickest way to get you back into production. If there is a broken master jaw or a broken jaw activator caused by an accident, then replacing the broken part and cleaning up some damaged surfaces may make the chuck serviceable at very little expense. However, what happens when the broken part is a special part? It may now need to be reverse engineered and manufactured, which is more time-consuming and costly than if you called your local distributor and asked about the best chucks they have to offer. Some chucks today are technologically different than older chucks, and are better engineered with better tolerances.
The repairing procedure may provide a very serviceable chuck, returned almost to its original condition prior to breaking. However, the repaired chuck is still a somewhat worn chuck with a warranty that is typically good only on the replaced parts. A final consideration is that replacement parts may not have the same fit with worn parts, which, in turn, may not provide the best situation for holding parts. You then need to ask yourself what kind of service will you get with the repaired chuck, if any, and if there is someone that you can call and ask for a new chuck to be sent to you overnight as a replacement? Any problems and/or deficiencies inherent to the old design and any desired changes usually require replacement.

REPLACING YOUR CHUCK

Quite often, the cost of reconditioning exceeds 60% of the cost of a new chuck or it's simply time to update and replace it with a newer model chuck. The new chuck will have all the advantages of the latest designs and materials. This is especially beneficial if your operations have changed and you require redesigns to improve performance.
In addition to receiving a full 1-year factory warranty, considerations for selecting new chucks are:

1. The need to operate chucks at a higher RPM, which the newer chucks will do unlike their older counterparts.
   Today's selection of coated carbide tooling requires much higher speeds and feed than ever before. Current designs take high speed into consideration, using counterweights and counter centrifugal mechanisms.
   
   
2. The additional travel required in master jaw strokes.
   The usual stroke of a standard power chuck is 3/8" per jaw which in most cases is quite substantial. However, with the long stroke chucks, this can be up to 1" per jaw. This permits gripping parts where a flange may have restricted gripping to only a certain area, which may not be the ideal situation. Also, the longer stroke will allow the gripping of more part diameters with the same set of jaws, thus reducing setup time. With automation, the long stroke chuck allows parts to be loaded easily, and also permits chips to escape more effectively.
   
   
3. The ability to mount locators on chuck facings.
   Newer chuck models allow Locators or Locator Bungs to be mounted on the face of the chuck, which provides a stationery repeatable flat surface for the part to locate. Usually the locating face is on the moving top jaw and may yaw when clamping, causing inconsistency from part to part.
   
   Today, in order to stay competitive, many companies have to run "Lights Out" with robots or automation, which requires a great deal of sophistication throughout the whole processing, including the chucking. Monitoring the chucks' actions is critical to preventing a problem which could shut down the process. Feeding air pressure through the locating surface is a common way to detect whether or not a part is located properly. A drop in air pressure signals that the part is not seated properly, and is allowing air to escape. Air may also be fed through the spindle to blow off chips from the mounting surface and part. Today, sensors can be used to indicate clamp/unclamp, part location and clamping pressures.