Recently my power draw bar has been failing to retract, meaning it remains in contact with the drawbar stack for several seconds causing me to have to hold the tool in place while it retracts and it maintains pressure, keeping the spindle locked up. It eventually retracts and I can resume operation but is very time consuming. Will a rebuild of the air chamber resolve this or is it likely something else. TIA
@Mark_Bradley Welcome to the Tormach Forums!
The first things that come to mind would be the cylinder seals. Perhaps a sticky solenoid, or psi problems in general.
I assume you are running air tool oil in your FRL? What PSI is your FRL set to?
Greetings Sam,
My pressure is set at 135psi, I have an inline oiler. A little history, This machine was unused when I acquired it about 4 yrs ago. It has not had a lot of hours put on it as it’s a Hobby machine for me, self taught Fusion, etc. About 2 yrs ago I installed the in line oiler, this issue is new, meaning it began just in the past few weeks and has been getting progressively worse. The drawbar is quick to release the tool but very slow to retract and apply clamping pressure to the holder, taking upwards of 30 sec to fully retract and allow the spindle to turn.
The PSI on your FRL should be set between 90-120 PSI. This however, most likely, wouldn’t be causing you this issue. Just a note.
Not a bad idea to start with the rebuild kit.
I am experiencing a similar issue with one of our two 770M mills. Recently, at start up in the morning, the cylinder will release the tool properly, but will not retract immediately, the air leaks from the solenoid, for a few seconds or a few minutes, until it finally closes. It will not do this again during the day.
Is this a symptom of the cylinder or the solenoid?
If the air is leaking from the solenoid itself, then in that case, the solenoid itself needs to be replaced.
How do I tell if it’s leaking from the solenoid?
You would hear air constantly leaking out of one of the ports on the solenoid itself.
Greetings Sam,
Is the solenoid located on the left side of the tower? Part # 4V2-10-1/4.
With respect to rebuilding the cylinder, is there a video available for the process?
The solenoid location and Tormach part number for any leaking solenoid would be dependent on what mill you have, if you have an atc, etc. With the being said, what mill do you have?
John Saunders did a drawbar rebuild quite a few years ago. It can be found on YouTube or in our Tormach Knowledge Base, found here.
A new solenoid has solved the problem for us. Thank you!
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I have the 1100mx and use the tormach air regulator and oiler for the drawbar. I filled it when I built the mill in march and the oil level has barely dropped 2 mm over the year. I change tools at least once every day so it is being used. Is this a normal amount of oil consumption?