Specifications

Southwestern Industries, Inc.

ProtoTRAK SMX K2, K3, K4 & Retrofit Safety, Installation, Maintenance, Service & Parts List Manual

4.1.2 A Special Word About X & Y Gibs

The slideway surfaces are vital to the performance of the bed mill.

Gibs should be:

• flat

• free of twist

• free of burrs

• free of blockages in the oil passages and channels

Defective or scarred gibs must be replaced. Shimming of gibs may not yield acceptable

results.

It is good machining practice to avoid the use of shop air to clean the chips off a machine.

This risks blowing chips into the sliding way surfaces and compromising the performance of

the machine.

Gibs that are not adjusted correctly will affect the performance of the machine. It will lead to

positioning and repeatability problems. The gibs should be adjusted at least twice a year.

See Gib Adjustments Section 5.2.1.

4.1.3 Lubrication

Lubrication is one of the single, most important maintenance issues and plays a key role in

assuring the performance and durability of the Knee mill. At the beginning of each day

manually supply oil to the way surfaces.

Lack of lubrication can lead to a variety of problems with your machine motion due to

increased friction in the sliding ways. This increased friction may lead to part inaccuracies and

decreased life expectancies of your ball screws and way surfaces.

4.1.4 Machining Set-Up

The machining set-up itself is always something that can greatly influence the performance of

the your mill. The following are some things to keep in mind.

Problems With Can Contribute To:

Feed and Speeds (spindle rpm)

See below

Poor finish

Machine chatter

Excessive speeds and feeds can break cutting

tools or wear tools prematurely.

Tooling

Using the wrong cutter for an application

Entering the wrong size diameter and

programming with tool compensation.

Poor finish

Parts incorrect size

Cutting too deep Part dimensions incorrect

Driving and cutting forces cause deflections,

since no material is totally rigid

Machine chatter

No coolant Poor finish, decrease the life of the cutter