Welcome to this "VMC Leveling" video
This VF-2SS is connected to air and power and is operational
however, the machine is not at the proper height or level
to provide optimal performance and accuracy
There are three steps to the leveling process
First, the machine is positioned at the correct height above the coolant tank
Second, level the machine front to back
and side to side to permit good coolant and chip flow
Finally, remove any Twist or Bow in the base casting
The tools needed for this procedure are:
a three quarter inch (3/4") socket and ratchet, a one and a half inch (1 ½") wrench
a tape measure, a 5 tenths or 1 micron test indicator
and a magnetic base to mount the indicator
and Haas Leveling Tool T-2181
A precision machinists level is also acceptable for taking level measurements
This video features a VF-2SS
but the same procedures apply to all VF Series machines
Larger machines with outrigger supports require additional steps
during the leveling process
This information can be found in the Haas
machine Installation manual
To clear the coolant tank
lift the Base Casting three and a half (3 ½") inches off the ground
by adjusting the four corner leveling screws to the same height
On base castings with
6 or 8 leveling screws the middle screws should not be touching
the pads during the leveling procedure
Move the X and Y axes until the table is centered
Clean the table surface and the leveling tool
Make sure the calibration of your level is correct before starting
Place tool T-2181 on the mill table
and monitor the exact position of the bubble on the precision vial
Using a t-slot for alignment
rotate the level 180 degrees and place it in the same position on the table
The bubble should stay in the exact same position
If the values are different by more than one division
then the level should be returned to Haas for adjustment
With the leveling tool at the center of the table
and the short leveling vial parallel to the Y-axis, the shorter vial is measuring the angle
of the machine front to back
Lift either the front or back of the base casting as necessary
to make the machine level
Remember to always lift the
lower end of the machine to maintain clearance to the coolant tank
Each time you make an adjustment turn both leveling screws
on that end an equal amount
Adjust the screws until the bubble is centered
Adjustments close to zero will make subsequent changes easier
With the machine leveled front to back, use the longer precision level
lying along the X-axis, which shows the angle
of the machine from left to right
Again, lift the lowest side of the machine to bring it level
and turn both screws an equal amount
With the machine now level
front to back and side to side
continue using the longer vial parallel to the X-axis
We are now ready to check for twist in the base casting
Start with the mill table at the front of the machine
look at the position of the indicating bubble
Move the Y-axis across its full travel stopping at the column
At the column side, look to see which rear corner of the machine
if any, is lowest as shown by the leveling tool
In this video, the leveling tool is angled down
at the right rear corner of the machine as we get to full axis travel at the column
This shows the right rear corner of the machine is low
The value is three marks away from zero
Lift the right rear corner of the machine
until the leveling tool reads zero
Now move the table to the front of the machine
and note which side is lowest
Adjust the lowest corner up until the leveling tool reads zero
Move the table across travel and each time adjust the leveling tool value
to zero by lifting the low corner of the machine
Usually the value will change several times
and get nearer to zero with each adjustment
Repeat this step until the bubble is adjusted to zero at both ends of the Y-axis travel
Next, adjust the middle leveling screws until lowered onto the leveling pucks
Hand-tighten each screw onto the puck until the puck stops turning
Set each screw by tightening an additional 10 degrees
With the middle screws tight the remaining
steps in this process are: Re-measuring for Twist
and measuring for Bow in the base casting
and then measuring the Spindle Sweep.
Any adjustments from this point forward will be done with the middle screws ONLY
with both middle screws adjusted the same each time
These adjustments should be very small as we are almost finished
With the leveling tool still parallel to the X-axis, re-measure for twist
Start at the operator side
move to the middle of Y-axis travel
and then to the Column side
Adjust the middle screws to remove any twist caused when the screws were tightened
Again, ONLY very small adjustments
should be made to the middle screws while re-measuring the level values
Next, measure for any bow, either up or down
along the length of the Base Casting
Place the Leveling Tool in the center of the Mill Table
with the precision vial parallel to the Y-axis
Look at the bubble position at the operator side
at the middle of Y-axis travel
and at the Column side
If the measurement shows there is bow in the base casting in either the up or down direction
use the middle screws to make adjustments
Remember, only move the screws
in small and equal amounts
The tolerance for both the twist and bow measurements is
0.0002" over 10" or 0.02mm over a meter
Errors because of twist or bow will cause
errors in the spindle tram values
With the twist and bow adjustments complete carefully remove the leveling tool
Attach the Test Indicator to the Magnetic Base
Move the spindle head down to the middle of Z-axis travel
Attach the magnetic base to the spindle
Position the test indicator to measure a 10" or 250mm diameter circle
Move the table to a position where the test Indicator tip
will remain on the table's surface when facing both the
front and column sides of the machine
Moving the Z-axis in "tenths" mode, bring the Test Indicator down to contact the
mill table and zero the test indicator
Take a measurement every 90 degrees of rotation
This provides two values along the Y-axis
and along the X-axis
Total Indicator Reading for all four positions
should not exceed 0.0005 inches or 0.013 mm
If the spindle sweep is not within
specification along the Y-axis, we can use the
middle screws to make very small adjustments to the sweep readings
while changing the bow and twist values by a negligible amount
Each time you make a middle screw adjustment to change spindle sweep
be sure to re-zero your test indicator at the operator side
before re-measuring the effect of your adjustment
This will minimize the chance of confusing values
In this video the test indicator starts
with a value of 0 facing the front of the machine
We see 0.0001 at the right hand quadrant
-0.0002 at the back side of the table
and 0.0002 at the left hand quadrant
If the value at the back had been out more than 0.0005
a very small adjustment
to the middle leveling screws
to either lift or drop the table would be required
Only the values from front to back can be effectively changed
by adjustment of the middle leveling screws
If the adjustments to make spindle sweep better are very small
you don't need to check bow and twist again
Lock the leveling screws in place
Tighten the locking nuts while holding the leveling screws so they don’t rotate
The customer's machine is now at the proper height
and level and is free of any twist or bow in the base casting
This provides the basis for optimal machine accuracy