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View Full Version : How hot should the flex drive get?



nicobie
06-05-2006, 02:20 PM
After carving for 1/2 an hour the flex drive on my machine gets too hot to touch for even a second. At 17 hours it froze up and I had one heck of a time getting it apart in order to lube it.

Now after doing a project that took about an hour even the truck was too hot to handle.

The spindle seems to spin freely once I cleaned all the black carbon-like crud from the top bearing.

Think this normal?

cmorlier
06-05-2006, 03:19 PM
No this is not normal. Any time the flex shaft is getting too hot to touch it is a problem.

Give us a call so that we can resolve the problem.

nicobie
06-25-2006, 06:57 PM
More than two weeks after posting this thread I have a machine that still doesn't work, and thats on top of the one that was DOA and all the rest of the troubles I had to try to resolve.

I was sent a few parts and now the cutter won't even spin and when I tried it with the new sleeve and all 3 cables I had, it was a no go.

The original cable worked for 28 minutes with the nrw sleeve but quit after it heated up and quit spinning. (The truck also got too hot to touch).

Somebody needs to get the length right.

I'm starting to get upset with all the problems. And this is only with 17 hours on their warranty clock. What happens when I get close to their limit?

djochim
06-25-2006, 10:23 PM
Nicobe,
It appears that the problem your are experiencing is one that we have only recently identified and not an issue with the actual flexshaft. What we have found is that excess grease on the flexshaft can get forced into the top bearing and cause the bearing to degrade. Once the bearing degrades it heats up rapidly and eventually freezes up. The black carbon like substance is consistent with this problem as is the fact that your spindle quit spinning.

Now that we have identified this problem we are consulting with the bearing manufacture to solve this problem with different bearing seals.

In the mean time we will quickly rebuild your spindle. Please contact us at your earliest convenience so we can arrange servicing.

As for the replacement parts that were sent to you, they are new parts that we test here before shipping. Like the new machines, we always make sure that the flexshafts are running cool before we send them out.

We apologize for the problems and as usual we will take care of them as soon as possible.

djochim
06-25-2006, 10:31 PM
As a general note: make sure that you apply only a very thin coat of lithium grease to the flexshaft when servicing. We have seen instances where servicing causes this heating problem because the shaft is over lubricated. We will post a procedure and picture on the recommended procedure soon.

BobHill
06-27-2006, 02:04 PM
In hours, what would be a "normal" time to relube the drive cable? I've not noticed a problem, and probably like others, would have thought I might under lubricate rather than over lubricate, even using lithium white grease.

Bob Hill

pkunk
06-27-2006, 02:16 PM
In hours, what would be a "normal" time to relube the drive cable? I've not noticed a problem, and probably like others, would have thought I might under lubricate rather than over lubricate, even using lithium white grease.

Bob Hill
According to the manual-20 hours. The software will prompt you via the LCD display.

BobHill
06-27-2006, 02:52 PM
I missed that. Thanks. it would appear to be a good idea to keep a running log, at least until one gets used to everything. Thanks again.

Bob

pkunk
06-27-2006, 06:17 PM
I missed that. Thanks. it would appear to be a good idea to keep a running log, at least until one gets used to everything. Thanks again.

Bob
The machine keeps a log. On the panel, press 'options' and scroll down to run time.

BobHill
06-27-2006, 06:34 PM
I did see that. Thanks again.

Bob

nicobie
07-09-2006, 06:48 PM
I had to send my machine back again as it had other problems.

The team at CW seems top notch.

BobHill
07-12-2006, 01:47 PM
<<The team at CW seems top notch.>>

I'll also vouch for that. None better that I've ever dealt with.

Bob Hill
Tampa FL