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Thread: NT30 Collets

  1. #1
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    Default NT30 Collets

    A week or so ago I was reading a post, and unfortunantly I can't for the life of me remember which one it was.
    Anyway in the post was mention of different types of collets. One coment I recall there was mention of NT30 collets and they believed there was no such thing.. Unfortunantly I was not near the workshop and it's taken me this long to get back. Long story short, they are available on Alli Express and are not that expensive.. I will include a link and photo of one of the ones I ordered.
    I have had them for around 6 months now and love them.....
    The usual not affiliated just a happy customer applies.....
    Matt

    Here is the link.
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...1b084c4duTUaXJ
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  2. #2
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    Apart from the grip of the collet around the tool is there anything stopping the tool from moving in the collet when released from the spindle?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by pipeclay View Post
    Apart from the grip of the collet around the tool is there anything stopping the tool from moving in the collet when released from the spindle?
    No, It's just a basic collet... I wouldn't want to be using it for cnc because you would be forever re-doing your "Z" height..
    But for my purpose on my KONDIA they are great, they are espesially good in regards to clearance because they don't have 3" of tool holder to work around..
    Matt
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    Thank you.

  5. #5
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    Default

    I acquired some that came with a vertical head. Problem is the NT/ISO series spindle are non stick and drives via the drive dogs, not the grip on the taper.
    Gold, the colour of choice for the discerning person.

  6. #6
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    Default

    That would be me in the milling machine upgrade thread. I should have put 'exists' rather than 'existed', as that is probably clearer, and was what I meant. I'm really not surprised to find they're a thing.

    The original point of that comment was in regards to the popular opinion on the interwebz that NT30 was far superior to R8 in a typical (up to say 1250kg) Bridgeport style machine, but normally 'proved' by comparing the ability to spin R8 collets on a heavy cut vs the holding power of solid body NT30 tooling when making that statement, which I don't feel is a fair comparison. My argument is that if you spin a solid body R8 tool, you're probably pushing past the limits of what a typical Bridgeport is really capable of anyway, and the extra taper engagement/drive dogs of NT30 isn't going to help much as the limiting factors at that point are elsewhere in the machine.

    The major diameter of NT30 is the same as R8, just that the engagement length of the taper is twice as long on NT30 - so I'm not really sure that the extra taper engagement contributes significantly to rigidity. The heavier duty variants (1500kg+) probably can make better use of the increased torque transmission of NT30, but again I'm not sure that NT30 in a Bridgeport is inherently any stiffer than R8 (it runs the same size spindle bearings and quill in a Bridgeport). The point of this rambling (and the original post) is that I personally don't think it's worth any new purchaser getting super hung up on having to have NT30 over R8 in that class of machine from a rigidity perspective. And if you really need something 'stronger' than R8 I feel like you're best to skip NT30 altogether and go to NT40, providing the base machine is massive enough to actually make use of the extra stiffness of NT40. This is of course all specific to Bridgeport style machines, anything else becomes a rather different equation.

    Getting back to the collets, given the single acting design of those NT30 collets is basically the same as the R8 design, I'd be surprised if they're significantly more resistant to spinning in the spindle under heavy load than an R8 collet, particularly if the tool diameter held in them isn't a perfect match to the collet bore (ie. A few tenths undersize or oversize). The theoretical increased taper engagement becomes exactly that (theoretical) under those conditions, the same problem as R8 and 5C have (or for that matter pretty much any single acting collet). Just something to keep in mind if you're running any of these collets direct in spindle, that their limitation in holding power (IMO at least) probably has far more to do with the basic design rather than what spindle taper they may be.

    No indictment intended on anyone who uses collets direct in their spindle, be it R8 or NT30, and I get why people use them. I just personally prefer to run solid body tools in the spindle as I feel it's far more resistant to spinning than any collet design (even double acting like ER), and I'd rather spin a collet in an easily replacement $50 ER collet chuck than spin a collet directly in the spindle.

    Just the way I see it, something for people to consider for themselves and make their own conclusions on.

  7. #7
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    Default

    This Old Tony has a video on DIYing NT30 tool holders. They are on my to do list.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2LcYKi0o3U

  8. #8
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    I was steered to them a while back, but they are only $10 (or under) dollars cheaper than a complete ER collet chuck which holds it's tools in.
    If you have height issue they would be great.

    I have a lot of collet chucks, so tool changing is easy without holding the tool in as well.

    What I'd like to see made is a NT30 to MT2 and MT3 where the MT is inside the NT30, not an extension from the end of the spindle to save height as drills are so long.
    Thinking of making these myself.

    Sent from my 5007U using Tapatalk
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  9. #9
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    Dave J,
    I have NT30 / MT3 holders that have a slot through the NT30 taper to aid tool extraction, so quite a bit shorter.
    They are both old iron however, so perhaps no longer available.
    If of interest, I could provide photos.

    As for a NT30 collet, I would always be worried about it turning in the spindle.

    Keep well,
    John.

  10. #10
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    For what it's worth I have used these nasty looking 30 taper collets in a two horsepowered mill for the past ten years. Slippage has not occured but I am mindful of the possibility of its occurrence should I overdo things. The odd man out is a 16mm AliExpress collet. I purchased it and a 20mm collet following a post by Dave J several years ago. The 20mm collet went straight into the bin after discovering it had about 0.005" runout.

    The brutalised collets were a gift from a bloke in Holland who could no longer bear to look at them. Someone cut the external drawbar thread to suit something unknown. Appearance aside, the collets are a godsend to anyone owning a Z bereft mill.


    30 Taper Collets.jpg

    BT

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