Had my worst week in 8 years of running a CNC last month

Last Tuesday my spindle started making this grinding noise that gave me chills. Found out the bearings were shot and it cost me $1,400 to get them replaced by a guy over in Milwaukee. Then on Thursday my coolant pump died mid run and ruined a $600 batch of aluminum parts. I swear I almost packed up and went home but my apprentice talked me into sticking with it. Has anyone else had a string of failures like that where you just wanted to walk away?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_owens8d ago

Oh man, that sounds brutal. I had a buddy who owns a shop over in Green Bay, and he hit a streak like that a couple years ago. His CNC lathe threw a chuck jaw clean off during a run, took out the door window and sent carbide shrapnel everywhere. Then the next day his air compressor seized up and he had to borrow one from a competitor just to finish a rush order. The dude was ready to sell his machines and take a job at a gas station, I swear. He stuck it out though and eventually said that bad month taught him to keep spare parts for everything.

fisher.charlie8d ago

Did his buddy end up buying most of those spare parts from the same competitor he borrowed the compressor from, or did he find a better supplier after that mess? I'm curious if that relationship got weird or ended up saving him down the road.