Not Your Great-Grandma's Spinning Spindle: Custom Machine Spindles And What They Do
Spindles used to be those pointy, sharp things on spinning wheels. Spindles of that type spun and collected the yarn or thread that the spinning wheel helped to make. Now, spindles of a different kind do all kinds of machining tasks. They still spin, but they do a lot more things and a lot of very different things than just collecting yarn or thread. Here is what modern custom machine spindles can do.
They Bore (Make Holes)
These cylindrical steel spindles are designed to fit attachments of your choosing, which means that they can be outfitted to bore holes through any kind of material you want. When you order a custom spindle, you can make it as large or as small as you need, and then have it hold a boring instrument equally as small or equally as large as itself.
They Cut Special Patterns
All of the beautiful cuts made in wood when you place the wood on a CNC lathe are done by the spindle heads in the machine. They hold cutting instruments, and they are programmed to cut at exactly the right angles, depths, and lengths of cut strokes as programmed. Multiple spindles may be in operation simultaneously, thus producing complicated carving patterns in seconds rather than days. Whatever pattern can be scanned into the machine's program can be applied and worked through the machine's spindles.
They Help Grind
To make cut edges smooth, the machine's operator may switch gears (literally!) and turn the spindles into grinders with just a few attachments. A custom grinding spindle, however, would be made to grind at specific angles, for example. This eliminates the need for any factory employee to spend hours grinding things by hand using steel wool or sandpaper.
They Screw Things Together
Considering the speed and precision with which most industrial machines operate, it should come as no surprise that spindle heads also screw things together. They are able to drive screw-type fasteners in at a speed that would make your head spin just watching the machine work. Some spindles that have been made for this purpose are able to screw fasteners through at different angles, rather than just straight up and down. Their custom features have made it possible to fasten things together at all kinds of odd angles. These are all things to keep in mind when you are thinking about custom spindles.
For more information, contact companies like HPT Spindles & Drives Inc.
