Wasted $200 on a 'universal' collet system that didn't fit any of my machines

Bought this universal collet set from an online supplier that claimed it works with all common CNC spindles. Turns out my Haas and my old Fadal both needed different pull studs and the runout was like .005 on a good day. Has anyone else been burned by these generic tooling kits?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_grant781mo ago

You say "universal" like it's a dirty word but honestly what did you expect for a set that claims to work with everything? Of course a Haas and a Fadal are different animals, they always have been. If you bought a one-size-fits-all tooling kit for two totally different spindle interfaces, you kind of set yourself up for disappointment. The runout issue is on you for not checking the specs before you installed it, you can't just slap any collet in there and expect sub-thou accuracy. Those cheap universal kits are meant for hobbyist routers not production work, that's just common sense. Sometimes you gotta pay for the proper stuff for your specific machine, that's the cost of doing decent work.

jamienguyen1mo ago

I read a post from a guy on Practical Machinist last week who ran a universal ER collet kit on a Mori Seiki and it walked the tool right out of the holder during a finish pass. He posted a picture of the spindle nose all chewed up. That's exactly what I'm talking about with these kits. They get sold as some magic fix but they're just a box of compromises. The runout spec on those cheap kits is usually 0.001" or worse, and nobody checks it until they've already crashed a job. You're better off buying a few good collets for the tools you actually use instead of a whole set of junk that sits in a drawer.