BEARINGS  ETC.

Some of the most commonly asked questions are " What is your machine made of? "  and " What kind of bearings do you use?"    We use tapered roller bearings, ball bearings and thrust ball bearings on the motions of our machines.  In fact, we have direct replacement numbers for Timken parts for every bearing.  There are over 40 bearings operating the motions on each machine.  The leadscrews are supported by double thrust ball bearings for zero lash, the main spindles run in tapered roller bearings and all the idler pulleys and motors use roller bearings.  many of those old 1980's designed machines still have pulleys running on metal to metal bushings. 

                                     Just a few of the over 40 bearings used on our machine
                                        
 

The machine castings are of fine grain " mehanite " which is the standard for machine tools around the world.  This type of casting is renowned for its strength and stability and its ability to be machined, ground and polished to a high finish.  the thickness and density of our castings contributes to the mass which is so vital for machine stability.  Our machine weight of 1400# tells the story when compared to other 3 in 1 machines claiming similar size but weighing in at a  lightweight  6-700#.

PATRIOT fine grain mill table with ground finish

To maintain your machine in top operating condition we offer a number of maintenance features which, though sometimes overlooked, make a big difference in the lifespan of a machine.  We incorporate button oilers on the main bed slides so that you can keep a constant supply of oil onto those hidden parts.  The main carriage has shielded felt bed wipers on each corner which serve the dual function of keeping chips from between the moving parts and laying down a film of oil as the bed travels.  We have fully adjustable  gibs on all our carriages  which are purposely made of soft iron, so the wear is taken up by the easily replaced part rather than the main castings.  Carriage locks improve the machine accuracy by allowing you to lock down the non-moving carriage when cutting. 

Multi-point gib adjustments, bed wipers and button oilers