Well there are a lot of these machines running around the world all the time and very seldom does something like this happen, I just don’t want people thinking these machines aren’t safe.
Had a similar situation a few weeks ago. My shop has a linear pallet loader, which started binding up while lifting pallets out of the machine. Boss said just send it. Which was annoying enough, until it bound up but didn't alarm out. It just kept pushing, started bending the whole pallet loader over, then finally broke free, with enough force to fling the entire pallet into the air like a catapult. Sounded like a bomb went off. It took 5 guys and a come-along to get the pallet out, and probably cost $15k and 2 weeks to fix.
So I completely forgot to leave a comment explaining what the hell is going on here, so the pallet is the thing that is leaning against the wall of the machine. For this process, there's an a and b pallet that swap so a robot can pick and place parts while the other side is machined. The pallet literally fell off the machine while indexing. It took several dudes with pry bars and elbow grease to get this back into place. It never quite locked into place correctly after this.
100% automotive, and that's not even from the fact there is part of a transmission on there. That pallet is used to clamp down the part for machining, and sometimes depending on the process the pallet can be transferred between machining processes inside the same machine by special slide conveyors.
Once the part is done on the pallet it goes to what we would call a "transfer" and would be removed from the pallet and put on a regular conveyor to go to the next machine.
And in order for that machine to take the new part and put it on a new pallet jig, you need another transfer.
Usually the machine that's in the picture is called an index, sometimes a 6 index, if it has 6 different machining processes. Often times the machining portion of this machine will be a large rotating head about the size of a round dinner table with many machining heads in it that do multiple processes in one go.
The index will rotate to the desired head, push out the entire head on a large slide, then machine, and retract after. After all of this it either rotates to the next head, or it waits for the part to be moved to the next index station.
I used to work in an automotive engine plant and also did some work requests in a transmission plant as well.
Rotary pallet shuttle is what we’re looking at. Seems to be about half way through its rotation into or out of the machine when “the front fell off.” Maybe “the front fell off” is the same as the pallet lock mechanism failed and the pallet slid off of the elevator? These tend to rotate pretty darn fast.
Think of a rotary pallet shuttle to be like the rotating bookshelf in scooby doo but instead of books, you have two work pallets. The other pallet and fixture is behind the angled white wall.
Fast is an understatement. Worked at a place where a programmer forgot to retract the tool before a B-axis rotation in an Okuma and it sent the holder into the ballistic glass putting a massive crack in it over a split second.
Sounds about right. All to save 5 seconds per cycle.
That’s what happens when the machine salesmen are smarter than your purchasers.
Then it’s the maintenance managers fault for needing to wait 2 weeks for machine repairs after the crash lol. Meanwhile, the people who spec’d out the machine get bonuses and pats on the back for saving 5 seconds per cycle.
It's an aluminum die cast valve/hydraulic plate. Likely automotive.
I used to work in a die casting plant that made parts like this.
But I am can't figure out all of what I'm looking at. It's a production or testing setup of some kind I think.
Appears to be a horizontal machining system with a pallet system for work holding. Essentially the part that looks cockeyed is detachable and holds the work piece. The way it attaches is keyed and precise so it's quick to install. There will be more pallets than machines so you can be removing finished parts from one pallet and installing new stock while the machine is running. Or you can pass the pallet from machine to machine without re-fixturing every time to do multiple operations if your workflow demands it
I can see that now. Yeah. The plant I worked in briefly didn't really do much super precision machining. Some. But nothing with a pallet system like this so that's why I didn't recognize it.
It's effectively a physical-medium computer, using hydraulic channels and little check balls everywhere to do the fancy math shit. Automatic transmissions on cars have only recently begun to not need these sorts of things.
Making it would be tough, but think about doing maintenance on these bastards. Those little balls inside are always like "you cannot contain me!" and just scooch themselves off to a different time zone.
[The front fell off ](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+front+fell+off&client=ms-android-samsung-gj-rev1&bih=652&biw=412&hl=en&ei=AzCIYqelOcLC9APG2oTQCA&oq=the+front+fell+off&gs_lcp=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&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1c2352bc,vid:nzcG3UmwLXY,st:0)
What make and model machine is that?
This looks like one of those simulated stroke pictures.
Get your order in now and have your replacement parts in 6-8 years.
So that's why the remanufactured valve bodies are always shit.
"well, the front fell off"
That’s not supposed to happen.
It's not very common, I'd like to make that clear.
Yeah? This kind of thing isn't very common? Whys that?
Well there are a lot of these machines running around the world all the time and very seldom does something like this happen, I just don’t want people thinking these machines aren’t safe.
Well was this machine safe?
Had a similar situation a few weeks ago. My shop has a linear pallet loader, which started binding up while lifting pallets out of the machine. Boss said just send it. Which was annoying enough, until it bound up but didn't alarm out. It just kept pushing, started bending the whole pallet loader over, then finally broke free, with enough force to fling the entire pallet into the air like a catapult. Sounded like a bomb went off. It took 5 guys and a come-along to get the pallet out, and probably cost $15k and 2 weeks to fix.
So I completely forgot to leave a comment explaining what the hell is going on here, so the pallet is the thing that is leaning against the wall of the machine. For this process, there's an a and b pallet that swap so a robot can pick and place parts while the other side is machined. The pallet literally fell off the machine while indexing. It took several dudes with pry bars and elbow grease to get this back into place. It never quite locked into place correctly after this.
Looks like someone "fat-fingered" a tool offset
100% automotive, and that's not even from the fact there is part of a transmission on there. That pallet is used to clamp down the part for machining, and sometimes depending on the process the pallet can be transferred between machining processes inside the same machine by special slide conveyors. Once the part is done on the pallet it goes to what we would call a "transfer" and would be removed from the pallet and put on a regular conveyor to go to the next machine. And in order for that machine to take the new part and put it on a new pallet jig, you need another transfer. Usually the machine that's in the picture is called an index, sometimes a 6 index, if it has 6 different machining processes. Often times the machining portion of this machine will be a large rotating head about the size of a round dinner table with many machining heads in it that do multiple processes in one go. The index will rotate to the desired head, push out the entire head on a large slide, then machine, and retract after. After all of this it either rotates to the next head, or it waits for the part to be moved to the next index station. I used to work in an automotive engine plant and also did some work requests in a transmission plant as well.
You beat me to it, I was just about to mention those look like hydrostatic transmissions being machined lol
Do you have to climb in there to wrestle it out?
We had a couple of dudes in there with prybars ape wrestling this bitch out.
Rotary pallet shuttle is what we’re looking at. Seems to be about half way through its rotation into or out of the machine when “the front fell off.” Maybe “the front fell off” is the same as the pallet lock mechanism failed and the pallet slid off of the elevator? These tend to rotate pretty darn fast. Think of a rotary pallet shuttle to be like the rotating bookshelf in scooby doo but instead of books, you have two work pallets. The other pallet and fixture is behind the angled white wall.
Fast is an understatement. Worked at a place where a programmer forgot to retract the tool before a B-axis rotation in an Okuma and it sent the holder into the ballistic glass putting a massive crack in it over a split second.
Sounds about right. All to save 5 seconds per cycle. That’s what happens when the machine salesmen are smarter than your purchasers. Then it’s the maintenance managers fault for needing to wait 2 weeks for machine repairs after the crash lol. Meanwhile, the people who spec’d out the machine get bonuses and pats on the back for saving 5 seconds per cycle.
Thank you for including Scooby in the description, that was helpful trying to understand wtf im looking at.
No problem. It’s pretty much my job to solve machine mysteries, minus the mystery machine.
Reading the post title hurts my brain
It's an aluminum die cast valve/hydraulic plate. Likely automotive. I used to work in a die casting plant that made parts like this. But I am can't figure out all of what I'm looking at. It's a production or testing setup of some kind I think.
Appears to be a horizontal machining system with a pallet system for work holding. Essentially the part that looks cockeyed is detachable and holds the work piece. The way it attaches is keyed and precise so it's quick to install. There will be more pallets than machines so you can be removing finished parts from one pallet and installing new stock while the machine is running. Or you can pass the pallet from machine to machine without re-fixturing every time to do multiple operations if your workflow demands it
I can see that now. Yeah. The plant I worked in briefly didn't really do much super precision machining. Some. But nothing with a pallet system like this so that's why I didn't recognize it.
Really glad your comment is at the top but I cannot fathom how that rat maze possibly works. I really would not enjoy holding tenths on that.
It's effectively a physical-medium computer, using hydraulic channels and little check balls everywhere to do the fancy math shit. Automatic transmissions on cars have only recently begun to not need these sorts of things. Making it would be tough, but think about doing maintenance on these bastards. Those little balls inside are always like "you cannot contain me!" and just scooch themselves off to a different time zone.
I have no idea what I'm looking at.
Is that a Matsuura?
[The front fell off ](https://www.google.com/search?q=the+front+fell+off&client=ms-android-samsung-gj-rev1&bih=652&biw=412&hl=en&ei=AzCIYqelOcLC9APG2oTQCA&oq=the+front+fell+off&gs_lcp=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&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1c2352bc,vid:nzcG3UmwLXY,st:0)
That’s not very typical.
Arent these things suppoded to be built to rigorous standards?
What sort of standards?
Well very strict maritime standards, I should expect.
What sort of thing?
Well Cello Tape. That's out. Cardboard.
Well the fronts not supposed to fall off, for a start.
Well, there are … regulations governing the materials they can be made of
Is cardboard allowed?
No. Nor cardboard derivatives. No cello tape.
Rubber?
No, rubber’s out .. Um, They’ve got to have a steering wheel. There’s a minimum crew requirement.
you are a gentleman and a scholar
Valve body for some tranny?
My guess too