Can anyone recommend a good mid range ER20 collet supplier? All the included collets are very stiff and require me to remove the nut / collet and use locking hemostats to remove and insert the end mills off the machine.
Keep in mind I have no finger function so I’m looking for collets that will allow the end mills to either drop out on their own after loosening or take very little effort to change mills. I don’t mind paying for mid range decent collets.
Is there a chance the supplied collets will loosen up with use?
I found nice balanced ER20 collet nuts at Avid Cnc but I need to reduce my tool changing struggle until I can afford to get my hands on an ATC
The Precise Bits folks have ER-20 collets in a couple of different grades:
I’ve also bought from Maritool and have been pleased w/ the ER-11 collets I’ve bought from them.
When buying, do note that often, the collets and nuts are sold separately and plan accordingly, also there are different sorts of nuts using different sorts of wrenches
How many different end mills do you use? If it’s only a small number, you could consider buying a nut and collet for each one and just switch out the whole thing each time instead of trying to remove the end mill from the collet. In that case, the fact that they were hard to remove would be a good benefit for tool changes.
I’ve been happy with the Amana er20 collets I’ve got from Amazon. Had the same issue with ones that came with HDM. The Amana bits will stay in the collet but are easy to slip in and out for tool changes.