All About Collet Maintenance by the Sharpening Experts

A collet can be a collar, band or sleeve that holds a work piece or tool securely. When used as a clamping device, they can produce a high-level force with precise alignment. There are collets used for both outside and inside holding, to handle both inside and outside surface machining, respectively. The most common shape is for a round tool, however, there are rectangular, hexagonal, square and other shapes as well. Collets can provide advantages such as mounting a variety of heads with different bore diameters and minimizing runout in machine operations.

Why Should Collets be Replaced?

Proper collet maintenance is one of the easiest ways to prevent many poor tool performances and/or breakage. Collets should be replaced on a regular basis, for optimal results with your equipment.

When Should Collets be Replaced?

A guiding rule is to replace collets every 2 to 3 months, based on an 8-hour workday. Typically, that is approximately every 400 to 600 run time in hours.

Also, if you notice slippage inside the collet replacing them is advisable. Another recommended time is when you can visibly notice tool damage then it is time for replacement immediately. If you need a replacement or are unsure of the last time the collets were replaced, ask an Expert Die or Peak Toolworks rep to assess it for free!

Advantages of Collet Maintenance

Collet maintenance can result in many advantages that save you time and money. They include more consistent production runs, better cut quality and a reduction in costly machine downtime. These are a few brief reasons, not an extensive list.

Similar to the preventative maintenance of oil changes for your vehicle, collet maintenance can also provide peace of mind, save you time, expense and help run your machine at its best.

Peak Toolworks is celebrating 82 years in the carbide and diamond tooling industry. They have a vast portfolio that includes: Peak, NAP, Gladu, Expert Die, Inc, General Saw, RKO, Riverside Tool and tool sharpening. Follow us on social media or contact us today: sales@peaktoolworks.com 1.800.457.7468 French customers: demandes@peaktoolworks.com 1.800.363.9117