I have a bunch of ISO30 tool holders - but you can’t ever have enough.
Occasionally I need to take the collet out, and switch in a new end mill.
Once they’ve been tightened down - these collets are really in there.
It seems wrong to put the ISO30 in a vice, and tap the collet ring with a screw driver until I can get it to pop out.
What techniques are the folks smarter than me using ?
Thanks,
-scott
You should be using a iso30 tool fixture and appropriate collet wrench er32/er25/er20 etc.
Echoing what Michael said… never put them in a vice. Ever.
Also, tapping them out with a screwdriver is also a really bad idea. You’ll gall them up and knock them out of balance.
You need the proper spanner wrench and special holder for your tool holders.
https://www.avidcnc.com/iso30-tool-tightening-fixture-p-1449.html
We can sell you the wrenches as well
To answer a different aspect of your question - if you keep unscrewing the collet nut, eventually it pulls the collet out of the tool holder.
I’m guessing you mean popping the actual collet out of the nut? I don’t have any of the ATC ones, but I run ER40 for my mill and lathe. I’m constantly popping those out. They are pretty stiff…and after dropping them or shooting them across the shop I modeled and 3D printed this to safely pop them out. You could do something similar…
I guess I am failing to describe my problem very well.
Yes, I have that exact tool holder. I use it when I am putting the nut on and off of the ISO30 tool holder. I actually use an Amana torgue wrench as well to tighten and loosen the nut. My problem is once the nut comes off - the collet is compressed so tightly around the end mill and pushed so hard into the tool holder, that I am unable to pull the collet and endmill out after unscrewing the nut.
The 3D printed tool looks interesting.
Again, hoping someone smarter than me can give me some pointers.
Thanks,
-scott
Could there possibly be any wood chips/dust in there preventing it to loosen? I never had that happen before the bit usually just slides right on out. Could the torque wrench be set too high?
Here is an image of where I get to. I use the tool holder, and I can easily remove the top nut from the ISO30. But when I take the nut off the top - it does not apply any lilfting force on the collet. The Amana torgue wrench that I’m using it set to er20 - the lesser of the two torque settings. But there is no way that I can just pull this collet out with my hand.
-scott
On an ER32, the collet snaps into the nut before you screw the nut on. This helps loosen the bit and eject the collet from the holder. Not sure if an ER20 is set up the same way.
Yes er20 snaps the same way.. if you don’t hear that you could have a problem..
Hmmmm, I had never done the “snap” into the collet nut on any of them. Just did compression. Oh my - this is going to be painful getting all of these out.
Every ER collet/nut I’ve used works like this…they snap into the collet nut. This is certainly the reason it’s stuck. You may have to get violent with it to get it out, and when you do that collet (and any others you’ve mashed like this) should probably go directly into the circular file.
Collets/nuts are balanced and if they’re worn/damaged they can become unbalanced leading to poor cut quality and spindle bearing wear.
As I’ve told my children over the years - good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement. I have not stopped acquiring experience.
Thx
I have a similar answer to any who asks “how did you learn how to do that so well??”
And my answer was “I am pretty sure I’ve found every way to do it NOT so well, so it’s really process of elimination” 
I always tell people “don’t ask me how I know that”.
“It’s good to learn from your mistakes, but it’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.”
That has always been my moto:)
