Watched a new guy crash a spindle in under 3 minutes last Tuesday

We had a temp come in to help with a rush job on our old Haas VF-2. I showed him the basics for maybe 2 minutes, turned around to grab a tool, and heard this grinding noise. He had the rapid override at 100% and sent a drill chuck straight into a vise jaw. Bent the spindle a little bit and ruined the whole setup. The before and after was night and day, that machine ran smooth for 6 years before that. Now it vibrates on anything over 8k RPM and we're waiting on a repair quote. Has anyone else had to deal with an operator who ignored basic safety steps like checking your clearances first?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_campbell17d ago

Dude that hurts to even read. Had a similar thing happen at my old shop with a kid fresh out of trade school who thought he knew everything. He was programming a new part on our Fadal and hit cycle start without checking the Z offset first. Sent a 3/4 endmill straight through the table. Whole machine shook like it was going to tip over. The crash was so bad it actually cracked the casting near the spindle mount, and the repair guy said we needed a whole new head assembly. We were down for like three weeks waiting on parts and the boss was livid. Its crazy how fast someone can wreck thousands of dollars of equipment just by skipping one quick clearance check. Some people just have zero patience for the basic steps and it ends up costing everyone time and money.

iris_davis9017d agoMost Upvoted

Blame the training then, not the guy. You gave him two minutes of instructions on a machine he's never touched and expected him to know better? That's on you really (and your setup too for not having the tools locked out or a safe start routine). If you want people to check clearances, you gotta make it part of the process, not something you assume they'll remember. Plus, who leaves a new guy alone with the rapid override at 100%? That's like handing a kid the keys to a race car and getting mad when he crashes it.