Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Topics include, Machine Tools & Tooling, Precision Measuring, Materials and their Properties, Electrical discussions related to machine tools, setups, fixtures and jigs and other general discussion related to amateur machining.

Moderators: GlennW, Harold_V

jouesdeveaux
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:27 pm

Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jouesdeveaux »

I'm a newbie to machining but after about a year of fooling around I now can confidently place an ER 32 collet into the clamping nut and screw it into the collet chuck on my 7X12. And I've made some nice small diameter things of 304 SS.

BUT: all of a sudden I got a severe attack of tool envy :oops: and bought a Swiss made REGO-FIX clamping nut really cheap at a garage sale.
PROBLEM: unlike mt humble Chinese made collet nut, the REGO has no non-concentric ridge that allows me to wiggle the collet into the clamp before setting into the collet chuck.
HOW DOES THE REGO-FIX CLAMP WORK?
In the first pic below, you can see the familiar non-concentric ring in my usual clamping nut.
In the second pic, the Rego-fix, there is not such ring. The only way I figure to insert the collet is to insert the collet into the chuck first and then tighten down the nut over it. That is a really (really, really!) tight fit, so I haven't done it. I don't want to apply full force cause I'm afraid that this is not the right way.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

IMG_0004.JPG
IMG_0005.JPG
User avatar
Rick
Posts: 481
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 8:34 pm
Location: Stone Mountain, Ga.

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by Rick »

If you look on Rego fix web site, their clamping nuts should have the eccentric ring. Looks like you may be missing the ring.
Rick

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)
"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading". Unknown
Murphy's Law: " If it can go wrong it will"
O-Tool's Corollary: "Murphy was entirely too optimistic"
jouesdeveaux
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:27 pm

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jouesdeveaux »

Thanks, Rick. The only clamping nut on the REGO site is an "Hi-Q" model which does indeed have an eccentric ring and may be used with or without a "coolant flush disc". I was unable to find anything about the kind of REGO clamping nut I have, which is a "HK" model.
User avatar
Dave_C
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:34 am
Location: Springfield. MO.

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by Dave_C »

In the first pic below, you can see the familiar non-concentric ring in my usual clamping nut.
I suspect this one is designed to be self releasing as it will draw the collet out of the holder when you unscrew it while the one without the ring will not!

Dave C.
I learn something new every day! Problem is I forget two.
jcfx
Posts: 713
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 1:24 pm
Location: NY

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jcfx »

I'm wondering if the collet nut you got from the garage sale may be before Rego Fix introduced ER style collets
and may have been for E32 collets.
I have a set of Schaublin E25 collets that use a plain collet nut like the one in your picture, without an eccentric
ER25 collets are not compatible with my E25 collet holder.
Googling around I haven't found any info on E style collets that predate ER style.
jouesdeveaux
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:27 pm

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jouesdeveaux »

The REGO nut WITHOUT the eccentric ring is clearly marked: "ER 32". But see REGO's response below.
jouesdeveaux
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:27 pm

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jouesdeveaux »

Many thanks to all commentators. See below the very classy response I got from Jon Harvey at REGO.
Gerry

Good morning,
The HK/ER series of nuts is pretty old, we are thinking they came out in the late 90s or so. It is entirely possible that the design didn’t quite hold up over the years to match what we are not producing as far as collets go. Unfortunately we can’t really help as far as that specific nut goes since we really have no way to check and see the issue ourselves.

That being said, could you give me your shipping address? We’ll ship you our current friction bearing nut free of charge. It’ll have the same internal coarse threads and all that, however it would be the most current product and we would be able to guarantee it working with your collet. Hell, you’ll likely see an increase in clamping force with the newer design as well!

Let me know and we’ll get a nut shipped out asap.

Jon Harvey I Technical Support
REGO-FIX Tool Corp.
User avatar
tornitore45
Posts: 2077
Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:24 am
Location: USA Texas, Austin

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by tornitore45 »

Whow there are still admirable companies out there.

I was looking for a replacement blade to my Fiskars pruner on their website and could not see the correct model. Upon e-mail inquiry they sent a new blade free of charge.

Is funny as some companies spend millions in advertising and PR but are quick to loose a customer for 20 bucks.
Mauro Gaetano
in Austin TX
pete
Posts: 2518
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:04 am

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by pete »

First ER nut I've ever seen without the eccentric ring. I'm still not sure how it was designed to work since that eccentric ring is used to withdraw the collet and help release the tool and extract the collet. I've read more than a few times about not snapping the collet into the ring first can seriously damage ER collets. Since yours doesn't have the ring at all that may not apply. And that email from Rego - Fix says a whole lot about a company that stands behind there products 100%. Very impressive. But "pretty old" and from the late 1990s? 1890's would be pretty old in my book :-)

Only a wild guess, maybe it was designed for cnc work where the tools stay in the chuck until there worn out and they used a seperate extractor while bench changing the tools in a 40-50 taper tool changing block? I still don't see any advantage in that design other than it being a lot easier to make.
jouesdeveaux
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:27 pm

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jouesdeveaux »

Thanks, Pete.

I think "pretty old" means that the tech staff is pretty young-- but as you say, they are a credit to their company :D .
And they're sending me a brand new-fangled one. I will report how that goes.

Gerry
jouesdeveaux
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:27 pm

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by jouesdeveaux »

Today I received the new Clamping nut from REGO-FIX. It is their latest: Hi-Q ERB32 for ER 32 collets. Just like the one that did NOT work for me, the new one has a friction bearing ring. UNLIKE the one that didn't work for me, the the lip of the friction bearing ring is ECCENTRIC and is marked with a dimple where you insert the tilted collet. Then the collet just snaps in. Then is closes down onto the threaded collet chuck. To get maximum gripping, REGO suggests using a torque wrench. For my LMS collet chuck hitched to a Grizzly 7X12, my pin-spanner works fine by hand. I tried it on some of the small diameters (like 0.083"), and I could not make the rod budge in the collet no matter how hard I tried.

Happy ending. My tool envy syndrome now has acquired top-of-the-drawer swiss-made clamping nut.
Cary Stewart
Posts: 542
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:54 pm

Re: Collet Clamping Nut driving me nuts!

Post by Cary Stewart »

Hello,
I just found my Rego-Fix full line catalog from about 2002. It does list the HK/ER nut. Below is a description with instructions for this nut.

"HK/ER HIGH-SPEED FRICTION BEARING CLAMPING NUT" "The HK/ER is a high-speed friction bearing clamping nut designed for heavy duty machining. It is interchangeable with all the other nuts to DIN STD 6499. (Not interchangeable with mini-nuts.)"
INSTRUCTIONS:
"ASSEMBLING COLLET: Put collet on flat surface; push clamping nut down until it snaps in. Check that collet turns freely in the clamping nut."
"REMOVING COLLET: Hold nut in one hand and push against the collet sideways until it snaps out."
"CAUTION! Collet types GB, ET1 and ET2 cannot be used with the HK/ER nut! This nut limits the clamping range to half that of a standard nut1"

In assembly the diagram show the collet standing on end and the nut is being pressed straight down. There is a cut away drawing of the nut with collet.

These nuts were available for ER types 16, 20, 25, 32 and 40. High speed in not defined. However, in looking through the catalog it would seem that it is designed for spindle speeds in the 15,000 to about 25,000 rpm range. As an aside they made a nut, Type ER MS, That was rated for use up to 120,000 rpm. All features of the is nut are ground and the use of ER-UP (Ultra-Precision) collets is recommended.

The man from Rego-Fix is probably right in that an improved type was developed and this HK/ER nut series was deleted from inventory. I don't have their latest catalog. I hope the above helps.

Best, Cary Stewart
Post Reply