KoBo Fixtures

Instructions

Specification

Fixture set for three fold rotation on Ø178mm planets, providing permanent enforced
rotation for 5 or 6 rods per gearbox in two or three levels.

OAL Dimensions Ø178 x 1678mm

Weight (without Substrates): 24Kg
Substrate load per pin: max. 36Kg
Max. Torque (releasing safety clutch) approx. 10Nm
Max. Operation Temperature 250°C
Rotation Sense Counter Clockwise (seen from top)
Safety Advice

Please read these lines carefully before installing and operation of the fixtures.

 When handling heavy equipment please wear appropriate clothes especially

shoes, gloves and eye protection.
 The planetary axle is not a lifting device. It is not allowed to lift the fixture by
use of the planetary axle.
 Always switch of power supplies before approaching the substrate table. High
operation voltages can cross distances and may cause injuries prior to
touching the surfaces.
 Always discharge residual electricity on the substrate table by use of a
grounding spear. High voltage may resist for days in the unit.
 During operation all surfaces of the fixtures will get very hot. Wait until the
components cool down.
 After coating process particles of the deposition may flake off. Please wear
eye and breath protection
 Fixtures may not be blasted or chemically decoated in assembled state.
Bearing elements such as pins, balls, excenter and more are not corrosion
resistant and may not be exposed to blasting material.
 After blasting or chemical stripping parts must be cleaned again and
processed through a heating cycle. Make sure at no time blasting grains or
dust can enter the bearings. Dust will grind down the contact surfaces.
 Prior to first use fixtures must be degassed without original parts on them. Ion
etching process may not start while degassing is happening.
 To reduce wear and maintenance rotation speed should be reduced during
heating and cool down. Use high rotation speed only when it is necessary for
process.
 Gearbox bearing pins are optimized for low friction and wear which makes
them rather brittle. Even though the bearing pins will carry high load they are
very sensitive against shock. Try to avoid shocks during loading and
transportation.
 Most fixtures are set up for counter clockwise rotation of the planets. Some
can be modified by change of the setup. Overload clutches will only work in
one direction.
 Overload clutches are set up for approx. 5 times of nominal torque.
Modification of the clutch set up may lead to damage of the fixtures or table
drive.
 If fixtures are shipped, make sure that packaging is properly and fixtures
cannot move and do not touch each other in the box. Heavy pinions should be
removed for shipping.
 In case of replacing parts only use vacuum suitable materials, never use tin
coated bolts etc. no grease except MoS2.
Nomination

The fixture set consists of a capsuled gearbox which is stacked on to planet axle
followed by two or three central tube which keep the top (bearing) plates in distance
and orientation. Substrate rods are placed on the rotating pins of the gearbox and
upon each other and fixed in the top plates with bushings.

General

The fixture will fit to a 20 x 20mm square shape rod and consists of a gearbox, a
spacer tubes with top plates, the substrate rods and bushings. The gearbox has four
orientations fitting to the base rod. The Top also has four orientations but depending
on the division only one of them will correspond to the gearbox.
Set Up
Check the Gearbox for smooth rotation.
Place the gearbox on a workbench, hit the
kicker latch and it should complete more
than one rotation without load.
Check the position of the kicker latch. It
shall face radial away from the centre. If the
kicker latch does not face radial away from
the centre, loosen both M6 bolts, turn the
latch into the right position and tighten both
bolts with torque of 1,0Nm (equals about
8Nm release torque).

Place the gearbox and the following top

plates on the planetary axle. Make sure the
openings in the top plates are in line with
the gearbox pins.
For some variations of the fixture set the
central tubes (which are welded to the top
plates) are of different length. If so the
sequence of short and long tubes must be
followed according to the drawing.
E. g. for the Tower 178T05 fss the
sequence must be from bottom to top:
1. Short tube (five pins)
2. Long tube (six pins)
3. Long tube (six pins)
Top plate bushings may be inserted now or
later during loading.

On top of the last top plate a rod

lock may secure the assembly
against unwanted shifting.

Due to thermal expansion the

rod lock will show a gap to the
top plate. This is not critical.
Now place the fixture tree on the turntable
and fill it with the substrate rods.

The fixture tree may not be lifted from top of

the planetary axle. Support under the
gearbox or under the flange of the planetary
axle for safe lifting.

Try to avoid hits and shocks to the bearing

pins. They are made from cemented
carbide for long lifetime and low friction but
they are brittle.

Check the position of all rods. All rod tips

shall be at the same level. If one of the rods
exceeds the others, probably it is not yet
coupled to the axle in the right way.

The thick (bottom) end of the substrate rod

shall not touch the gearbox cover or the top
plate. The kicker latch if hit, shall still run
smoothly.
Turn the kicker latch slowly to the fix rod on
the substrate table. If the kicker latch hits
this rod with speed it may be partially
released.
Maintenance

To ensure proper function the following measures have to be carried out:

 Removal of excessive coating material from all
surfaces which are exposed to the PVD process
 Cleaning and greasing of moving parts.
 Check geometry of functional components for
deformation and wear.
 Check the general function.

Tools and materials needed:

 Allen key size 4 and 5 (best one set ball headed and one set T-handle)
 Vernier Calliper
 Torque wrench 0,5 – 2,0Nm (with allen key size 4)
 Scotch Brite abrasive fleece
 Molycote spray D321R
 Compressed air
 Process for decoating the cover parts

Maintenance schedule

Check the proper rotation and the torque of the gearbox after each batch.

Remove coating material from the cover when the thickness exceeds 300µm.
Inspect the geometry of functional elements at the same time.
Retighten the bolt of the latch with the torque wrench at the same time.

Disassemble, clean and grease the gearbox after it failed the torque test.
Ship out for manufacturer inspection if above measure will not help.

Rotation and torque check

Place the gearbox on a rod (similar to the planetary shank). Rotate the latch by hand
few rounds in both directions (see image below). There should be no peaks in the
necessary torque. While rotating check the substrate axles for proper rotation.

Check if there is enough clearance between the sleeves and the cover. The
clearance shall be more than 0,5mm.
Remove Cover and bottom Cover (Pan Handle)

Remove all substrate rods, the central tubes with top plates. Now remove the cover
hood. The cover hood is guided by two pins. Depending on the division of the
gearbox it may fit in only one or in various positions.

Below the cover plate there are two bolts to fix the central bearing. After these are
removed the central bearing may be taken out as one. The planetary pinions can be
removed to the top (for check and re-greasing them). For the gearbox 178T06 the
pinions cannot be removed w/o disconnecting the base and ring plate.
Flip the central bearing upside down (best on a plate with a hole of Ø50mm so the
unit will not rest on the two guide pins) and untighten the bolts for the kicker latch and
the bolts for the bottom shield. Cover and bottom shield can be sent to the decoating
process.

After the bottom cover is removed the main bearing is accessible for maintenance as
well. Please note that the main bearing now may fall apart if it is lifted at the inner
ring.
Please note that the decoating frequencies for top and bottom cover are different.
Top cover can be blasted completely and more frequently. The bottom cover has two
threads and a bearing cone (in blue) which should not be blasted. The bearing cone
can be protected with duct tape and the threads with pieces of Ø5mm O-Ring. After
blasting spray the bearing cone again with MoS2.
Lubrication
Use Molykote D321R spray for lubrication of moving parts inside the gearbox.
Eventually replace the original nozzle of the Molycote can by a nozzle with tube for
better punctual application.
It is not necessary to disassemble the central bearing for the application of the
lubricant. After the housing and bottom cover has been removed (see above) the
spray can be applied on the teeth of gear and into the gap between bearing rings..

The planetary gears can be greased by placing them upside down into a plate with
holes. Then apply Mos2 from the sides (rather than from top). Eventually also apply
new MoS2 to all bolts

Finally install the bottom cover and the safety latch again. Check the movability of the
safety latch before tightening the corresponding bolt. The latch must be able to
disappear under the bottom cover. Tighten the bolts of the safety latch with 0,6Nm.
Higher torque leads to less rotation failures but more damages on the gearboxes.
Trouble Shooting in case of high torque

High torque may appear due to:

1. Insufficient lubrication
2. Dust or chips between moving surfaces
3. Deformation on the gears
4. Deformation of cover parts
5. Wear on the sliding groves
6. Wear on the main bearing balls

@1: Blow off dust and lubricate again.

@2: Blow off dust and chips, eventually degauss the bearing pins. Hit the sleeves
with the opening to a wooden plate to remove particles.

@3: To find out which gears cause problems some or all of the planetary sleeves
can be removed.
@4: If high torque appears only with mounted cover, maybe the cover is deformed
by blasting or impact. Listen for scratching sound, look for scratches,
eventually replace cover parts.
@5: If the central gear runs hard without installed planetary bushings either the
balls or the groove may be worn. Worn parts have to be replaced.
@6: By time the balls in the main bearing may become dull and run heavy. Balls
are standard Ø6mm KL3 (100 Cr 6) but degreased and treated with Mos 2.
Race must not be full with balls, if full, remove three balls.
 Carbide Pin Exchange
Remove all substrate bushings

Remove the main bearing assembly (two bolts M6 visible from the top

Secure the gearbox housing in a clamp, quite close to

the position where the pin shall be exchanged

Eject the broken pin with an ejector punch Ø 3,0-3,5mm and a hammer
Put a new pin in the empty hole. Make sure that the pin is parallel to the others.