We (and other users) made many changes to the earlier machines, and communicated these ideas to the factory. Some of these changes are due to personal or operator preference, but many ideas were universally applicable and found their way into production.
It is intended that this page show some modifications that we have made to the 1998 machine, in chronological order.
10/06/98 First impressions:
03/29/99 Coolant Piping
modifications.
10/06/98. First Impressions:
We have run our first job on the 1998 GT, it is beginning to look like
all the work has already been done.
A little background: by the time we had owned our '96 machine for about six months, we had put a lot of effort into curing some of our gripes with the machine. The machine performed very well, but we had found lots of little details that made life easier. We documented the changes in a sizable pack of sketches, and sent it off to the factory. Apparently, other shops had been giving the feedback to the factory as well. Upgrade responded by sending us (free of charge) a skidful of replacement sheet metal items designed to cure some of those basic problems.
When I look at my new 1998 machine and look through those sketches that I sent to the factory, it becomes apparent that every single issue that I brought up has been addressed in some way. Maybe not exactly the way I would have done them, but the designers have to make sure that the changes are appealing to a broad range of users.
Other items:
The new machine came equipped with a Power-Hold spindle and collet closer. My first impression is that I like it better for several reasons. This unit runs much cooler than the Dunham on the older machine. Also, the Power-Hold requires no tools for a collet change or adjustment. I hope that it withstands the test of time.
The older machine leaks at least ten times as much coolant into the drip pan as the new machine. (Before Upgrade replaced all that sheet metal, it would have been 100 times as much, and all on the floor!) Nice effort here.
The new machine has access panels everywhere. This should make maintenance easier.
The coolant on/off switch: when we didn't know about it, we never missed
it. Now that I have had one for three days, I want to add one to the other
machine.
03/29/99 Coolant Piping
Modifications:
We made this modification to our 1996 machine, so we knew that it was
only a matter of time before this had to be done. The coolant pickup line
on the GT-27 is a 3/8"NPT pointed downward in the coolant tank. Normally,
the metal fines that make it past the chip bin are carried to the bottom
of the tank by gravity. The problem comes when plastic material is machined.
Some plastics have a specific gravity near that of the water-based coolant,
and therefore are able to float through the coolant. Today we experienced
a dramatic loss of coolant flow. It was necessary to disassemble the piping,
which is no easy task. We found a small plastic chip in one of the elbows
that caused a clog. Our remedy here is two-fold: prevent future clogs,
and make the piping easier to service.
The pickup nipple is modified: on one end the threads are turned off
to below the root diameter. Then the 3/8NPT thread is re-chased at the
end of the turned area. These new threads are screwed into a strainer assembly
(I got mine from Grainger for about $13.00). The turned area allows the
pickup to be centered within the strainer. The assembly is then replaced
in the coolant tank.
Next, we re-plumbed the coolant pump with unions so that the clean-out
process can be accomplished more quickly next time. And there will be a
next time.
We used three 3/8NPT unions to completely isolate the pump from the
tank and supply line. Previously, the hoses had to be removed from the
barbs to get to the pump.