Brother TC-R2B Spindle Repair

The Brother TC-R2B is a CNC drilling and tapping center.  It comes standard with a grease lubricated and coupling driven spindle capable of running up to 16,000 rpm.

CHALLENGE

This Brother TC-R2B spindle arrived to our facility as a shaft and bearings with drawbar, no housing was provided.  Upon initial inspection, we noted that the bearings would not rotate.  There was a catastrophic failure of #2 front bearing, particulate from the destroyed cage and balls contaminated the other bearings.  The tooling taper ID was visibly worn and bell mouthed, but tool contact and runout were acceptable.  Lastly, the 45mm rear bearing journal had an oversized band, which is up to 5x ISO, likely from a rub.  No other dimensional deviations were noted for this repair.

SOLUTION

The following actions were performed on this Brother TC-R2B spindle:

• Clean, inspect overall dimensions
• Rework the high band on the 45mm rear bearing journal
• Kiss grind the tooling taper ID
• Replace bearings, gripper balls, o-rings, and assembly screws

RESULT

After reassembly of all components, adjusting bearing preload, and undergoing break-in and testing procedures, this spindle passed our final quality inspection before being returned to our customer with a 1-year warranty.