The broken insert warning light on a DMG MORI last month nearly cost me a $4,000 part

I ignored the flashing light for about 30 minutes during a rush job at Precision Machine in Cleveland and the tool holder cracked in half, has anyone else had those warning systems give false alarms that make you second-guess them?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.dylan6d ago

Those warning systems are programmed by corporate lawyers, not machinists. That light on your DMG was probably saving you from a 50 cent insert wearing unevenly, not a catastrophic failure. I've run Mori Seikis for years and ignored those lights for hours on end without issue. The cracked tool holder likely had hairline damage from a previous crash or dull tool, and the warning being on just happened to be coincidental timing.

robin5916d ago

Oh come on man, you really think those warning lights are just random guesswork? I get that some sensors are finicky but modern DMG machines have load monitoring that's pretty damn accurate. I've seen a spindle bearing go from fine to totally trashed in under an hour because someone ignored the vibration warning. That cracked tool holder wasn't from some past crash, it was from the tool getting pushed too hard with a dull insert and the machine literally told you it was cutting harder than normal. You're basically saying ignore the one system that's actually watching the cut in real time while you're staring at chips flying by. Maybe on old Mori's from the 90s you could get away with that, but these new machines have way tighter tolerances and less room for error.

avery_flores175d ago

Maybe, but some shops act like every blinking light means the end of the world. Half the time it's just the machine being dramatic about a worn insert or a slightly dirty sensor.