Machinist’s Guide to Toolholder Maintenance
For Collet & Nut Style Toolholders
General Overview
Modern CNC machines feature high-capacity tool
changers that automatically swap toolholders in and
out of the spindle as needed, by means of a high speed
swing arm or a rotary carousel. Periodically, toolhold-
ers should be examined for wear and if necessary re-
placed to maintain cutting performance.
New operators should be taught how to properly eval-
uate toolholders so they can recognize when toolhold-
ers need to be replaced to prevent premature cutting
tool failure, or even expensive damage to the spindle.
Many operators do not know why it is necessary to re-
place their tooling, or have the experience to tell when
it is time to do so.
Determining if toolholder components need to be re-
placed is not a difficult task, but does require that the Example of a collet and nut style toolholder
operator knows what to look for. This article will cover
the criteria used to evaluate collet and nut style tool
holders, describe when and why it is necessary to re-
place them and the implications of not replacing them.
Sizing Toolholders
There are different types of holders that have other means of hold-
ing the cutting tool, such as shell mill arbors, end mill holders, and
shrink-fit. This article deals with collet & nut type holders.
Careful measurement of toolholder dimensions may be necessary for
exact replacement if the part number or description has worn off.
A typical size description of a toolholder is CAT40 x
ER 32. The “CAT” refers to the flange type, “40” is the
taper size, and “ER 32” is the type and size of col-
let that fits into the pocket. The other dimension to
be aware of is the “Gauge Length”. This refers to the
distance the toolholder extends from the face of the
spindle (see diagram.)
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Parts of a Toolholder
A general understanding of toolholder components
and their functions is important. There are four main
parts to a toolholder (also known as a collet holder or
collet chuck).
Pull Studs
Pull Studs (also called retention knobs)
are extremely important because they
keep the toolholder in the spindle. Using
worn pull studs or using the wrong
pullstud for your machine may cause
the toolholder to suddenly fly out of the
spindle during operation, causing an un- Parts of a collet and nut style toolholder
safe situation for the machine operator.
The pull stud screws into the top of the taper of the
toolholder. Some pull studs are hollow, to permit cool-
ant to flow thru the toolholder. When in use, the pull
stud is held by the clamping set inside the spindle
which pulls the holder up into the spindle mouth. A
spring-loaded draw bar pulls the holder into place.
Taper
The taper is the conical shaped area of the toolholder
that enters the spindle when changing the tool. An 8
degree taper automatically centers the tool into the
spindle. The taper is accurately ground to a tolerance
of .0002” for both the taper tolerance and outside di-
ameter tolerance. Some toolholders like HSK have a V-Flange Spindle HSK Spindle
shorter taper than BT or CAT style (see illustration)
V-Flange
The v-flange is the part of the toolholder that the au-
tomatic tool changer locks onto when moving the tool
from the tool changer to the spindle and back again.
The flange is visually identified as the “V” groove found
on the outer most diameter of the toolholder. Cutouts
in the flange help orientate the holder in the spindle.
Collet Pocket, Collet, & Nut Note how HSK taper (right) is a dual-contact taper. Meaning that it is
flush with the gauge line of the spindle face, creating dual contact
pocket between the flange of the holder and the spindle face, and the taper
nut itself and the spindle mouth. Dual contact increases toolholder rigid-
ity for improved performance especially at extended gauge lengths.
Techniks DualDRIVE toolholders provide dual contact on V-flange (BT,
CAT) spindles.
collet
The cutting tool is held by the collet, which is designed to collapse
The last part of the toolholder is the collet pocket, into around the shank of the tool as the nut is tightened, pushing the collet
which the collet is inserted before being secured by deeper into the collet pocket until maximum clamping pressure is
various types of collet nuts. achieved by the Power Coat nut.
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Checking For Spindle Mouth Wear
A worn spindle can cause runout issues that affect
toolholder accuracy and reduce cutting quality and
productivity. This is a condition known as bell mouth-
ing. If toolholder issues can be eliminated by bench
checking T.I.R., then the source of the problem is often
a worn out spindle mouth. A trained professional will
be required to check and repair bell mouthing.
T.I.R. (total indicator runout) is the measurement of axial deflection of
the cutting tool in the toolholder assembly. Techniks toolholders are
manufactured to minimize runout and extend cutting tool life.
You lose 10% of cutting tool life for every “tenth” (0.0001”) of runout
ATC Alignment Issues
It’s crucial to maintain proper ATC swingarm align-
ment. If the ATC does not insert the toolholder per-
fectly, damage to the spindle and toolholder may re-
sult. Also poor cutting tool performance and reduced
tool life will be evident.
Evaluating Toolholders for Wear
A worn out holder will not provide good accuracy and will
quickly wear out your cutting tools. Worn tooling causes
poor surface finish, and may damage your spindle.
Taper Wear / Fretting
Check the taper for signs of wear or damage where
it contacts the spindle mouth. Any problems with the
taper will have a direct effect on machining accuracy.
If there are any imperfections on the taper, the tool-
holder should not be used.
If noticeable marking is evident on the taper (see pho-
to next page) a condition called fretting may be oc-
curring. Fretting happens when two steel parts (holder
and spindle mouth) are rubbing against one anoth-
er. Fretting is caused by imperfect mating between
tooholder taper and spindle, creating vibration and
heat which develops the fretting. It is visible as small
copper colored pits or marks on the taper. This is evi- Fretting (wear marks) on a toolholder taper.
dence that the toolholder is becoming worn. Fretting is
easily mistaken for rust, but it is not. Once noticeable
fretting develops the toolholder should be replaced.
New toolholders that quickly develop fretting, or tool-
holders that stick in the spindle, may indicate a spindle
that needs to be reground.
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A worn taper causes an out-of-round condition when
the holder is inserted into the spindle. This is called
“runout”. Runout causes premature tool wear and ex-
cessive vibration during operation. This vibration can
cause poor surface finish which may require additional
operations to correct. Vibration can also cause heat
build-up in the spindle and damage spindle bearings.
See our video on youtube to learn how to check tool-
holder T.I.R. Search for “How to check runout”.
Collets
Collets are manufactured from softer metal than tool-
holders and feature special slots and cutouts allow-
ing them to “collapse” and “spring” to tightly grip the
cutting tool. As a result, they will wear out faster than
the holders will. Worn collets will cause cutting tools
to fail prematurely, costing manufacturers thousands
of dollars in preventable costs. Collets should be re-
placed whenever wear is evident so the accuracy and
performance of the cutting tool / toolholder assembly
is maintained.
If there is any damage to the outside or inside diam-
eter (I.D.) of the collet it must be replaced. Look for
scoring marks in the I.D. where cutting tools may have Scoring on collets that spun in the pocket due to inadequate holding
spun in the collet, causing damage. Once damaged, power from the nut.
collets cannot grip the tool shank effectively, so hold-
ing power and accuracy are reduced.
While there is no standard rule of thumb for replac-
ing a collet, some common causes to replace them
would include: If a tool is broken off while in the col-
let and it has scored or marked the inside or out-
side of the collet in any way, it should be replaced,
or if the collet is kept in a very humid environment
and not sprayed with rust preventative, and has
been allowed to rust or pit, it should be replaced.
When a tool holder is not being run for a job and is
taken out of the machine, it should be wiped clean and
have a light coating of a rust preventative sprayed on
it. When the time comes to place that tool back into
service, it should have the “oil” wiped off of it before
it is placed back into the spindle. Care should also be
taken that the coolant used is also of the correct con-
centration, so that it does its job of not only cooling
the part, but also preventing rust on the tool holders.
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Collet Nuts
In order for the toolholder to be balanced and main-
taining accuracy while machining, it must have a bal-
anced nut. Many manufacturers use bearing nuts with Cut-away view of a bearing
their collets. However, since bearing nuts have moving nut showing bearings and
parts (nut, bearing race, bearings) they are difficult to seals.
keep balanced, and prone to seizure if the seals fail.
We recommend using “Power Coat” nuts instead.
Power Coat nuts are balanced and provide 75% more
holding power on the tool shank, providing increased
accuracy and rigidity that is necessary when machin-
ing under side loads. Because they are balanced and
more rigid they extend cutting tool life significantly.
Pull Studs (retention knobs)
The pull stud is a critical safety component because
it maintains the connection between the spindle and
the toolholder. If that connection fails, the holder will Marks on the end of a pull stud that is either
dangerously fly out of the spindle. not correct for the machine spindle gripper,
or the gripper is damaged.
Check the pull studs periodically for signs of wear,
cracks, or other damage, and replace any that are not
perfect or a dangerous situation may result.
Preventive Maintenance
To insure proper performance of your toolholders,
overall cleanliness of toolholder, collet pocket, collet,
and nut must be maintained. It’s important to remem-
ber that all these components are manufactured to
perform within tolerances of ten-thousanths (.0001”)
of an inch. Any dirt, dust, oil, chips, or other contami-
nant left on the spindle, taper, flange, collet, collet Spindle wipers are the best way to prevent contaminants from building
pocket, or nut can cause poor T.I.R. (runout) leading to up in your spindle mouth.
premature wear of cutting tool, toolholder, and spindle
mouth. We recommend a regular preventive mainte-
nance program be implemented in your shop to pro-
tect your investment in cutting tools, toolholders, and
collets, and reduce scrap. Use tightening stands and a torque
wrench every time you change out
a collet or pullstud. Proper torque is
essential to collet & nut toolholder
performance.
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A program that includes cleaning and checking your spin-
dle, toolholder tapers, collet pockets, collets, and nuts
with every use will go a long way towards improving your
CNC machine performance and protecting your ROI. Black Gold ring
Regularly bench checking the T.I.R. of your collet & nut
toolholder assemblies is also recommended to identify
toolholders which are wearing out of spec. It’s impor-
tant to use a tightening stand and torque wrench to
properly tighten pull studs and collet nuts to maintain
shop safety and prevent premature damage to collets Black Gold rings are sized to fit the tool shank and seal the pocket from
and collet pockets due to over-tightening. To prevent contanimants, protecting both the collet and collet pocket.
contaminants from entering the collet pocket, we rec-
ommend using inexpensive Black Gold rings to seal
the pocket during operation.
Summary
Regular bench checking of collet and nut toolholder assemblies using a
gauge pin will quickly identify any T.I.R. issues.
The most cost-effective way to increase your CNC
machine productivity, reduce down-time, and reduce
scrap while maintaining part quality is proper care and
use of your toolholders. Toolholders are a small pro-
portion of machining costs, but can have a big impact
on productivity and ROI.
Collets and tool holders are made out of metal, and if
not taken care of, they will rust and pit. If worn or dam-
aged tooling is allowed to run in a good quality spindle,
they will cause premature failure of the spindle.
The information published here is educational in nature and intended to provide general guidelines for the care and maintenance of toolholders,
collets, nuts, and CNC machine spindles based upon our years of experience manufacturing toolholders and troubleshooting toolholder issues for
our customers. It is not intended to be a rigid set of practices as not all toolholders are manufactured to the same standards as ours, and your
results may vary depending upon your CNC machine condition, the quality of your toolholders, and the conditions under which they are used.
