ULTRA TEC VL, User Manual

Page 1: ...ACETING MACHINE USER MANUAL NOTE Right Side Mount shown Left Side mount is mirror image ULTRA TEC Manufacturing Inc 1025 E Chestnut Ave Santa Ana CA 92701 USA Tel 1 714 542 0608 Fax 1 714 542 0627 e mail info ultratec facet com www ultratec facet com ...

Page 2: ...DEX GEAR ALIGNING TO THE KEY 12 3 1 3 THE INDEX VERNIER Cheater 14 3 1 3 1 Index Vernier Tension 3 1 3 2 Verifying the 0 position of the Index Vernier 3 2 CONTROL OF THE AXIAL ANGLE THE ANGLE DIAL 15 3 2 1 SETTING THE ANGLE ANGLE STOP AND THE FINE ADJUST 3 2 2 READING THE DIGITAL ANGLE DIAL 17 3 2 2 1 Digital Angle Dial Controls 3 2 2 1 1 The Beeper 3 3 CONTROL OF HEIGHT VERTICAL POSITIONING 17 3 ...

Page 3: ...rranty periods are 2 years for mechanical components and 6 months for electronic and electrical components and exempted are parts which may require replacement because of wear Excluded from the warranty are problems resulting from misuse wear modification or accidental damage If the unit fails to function properly consult your representative or call the factory to discuss the problem If it is foun...

Page 4: ...ing group of satisfied ULTRA TEC owners ABOUT YOUR ULTRA TEC FACETING MACHINE In using your ULTRA TEC keep in mind that it is a precision device capable of exceedingly fine angular and linear settings It is nonetheless a rugged machine that will provide you with many years of use Normal cleanliness with minimal care will give you many hundreds of faceted gems As with any electro mechanical device ...

Page 5: ...long with its box in the event that future shipment or storage is necessary These are the included items The Mast is packaged in a separate box Tabling Adapter and Alignment Bar AC Adapter Calibration Block and wrenches if you have purchased a digital Mast set of Dops wrenches drain hose retention screws Transfer Fixture ...

Page 6: ...Version 1 05 March 2020 6 Splashpan Drip Tank The Base To Remove the Base from the box reach under the wood support base and lift Anti Splash Sponge and Clip installed on splashguard ...

Page 7: ...adily available and we know that you will get the right one without guessing For operation it is only necessary to plug into the source there is no setting switch the electronics of the Speed Control adjusts its operation automatically between 110 and 220 as does the power cord for the digital angle display 2 1 2 THE DRAIN HOSE The Drain Hose slides through the aluminum bushing on the back of the ...

Page 8: ...k the Sponge in between the Lap and the inner Splashguard surface the Sponge will set down against the shoulder in the Splashguard Set as shown the Sponge will prevent splashing as the Lap spins CW 2 1 4 THE DRIP TANK The Drip Tank post slips into a fitting in the corner behind the Splashguard Place the Drip Tank onto the post position it tighten the set screw and it is ready The flow rate is adju...

Page 9: ...side Switch is a toggle for ON OFF The right side switch is for selecting clockwise CW or counter clockwise CCW lap rotation it has a central off position and two directional positions The central knob is a speed selector The incremental positions of the speed selector are not exactly linear but may be considered as each increment providing an added 100 RPM up to number 7 700 RPM at that point and...

Page 10: ...e nut into the keyhole and slide the Mast forward into the slot The Mast may be positioned in any convenient position along the slot To lock the Mast into any particular position turn the locking lever clockwise until you can feel it become snug The nut that fits below the Baseplate can be adjusted so that the lever locks in a convenient position The Collar Locking Knob seen in the photo holds in ...

Page 11: ...s up vertical and then lower it down toward and past the 90 degree horizontal position You will see on the display that the Angle Dial finds itself it now reads the correct angle 3 0 THE BASIC CONTROL FEATURES OF THE FACETING MAST All faceting machines have three characteristics that the operator controls rotational angle axial angle height The precision and repeatability of the faceting machine i...

Page 12: ...O THE KEY When you change the Index Gear it is necessary to re align the keying that is to align the Index Gear 0 position at a 90 relationship to the Dop Alignment Pin thus making the Pin parallel to the Lap surface When doing this also confirm that the Index Vernier at a 0 position The tool for accomplishing the alignment is the Alignment Bar that is included with your machine Faceting instructi...

Page 13: ... Index Vernier is set at a 0 position 3 Insert the Alignment Bar into the Spindle engaging the rear chamfer with the Alignment Pin press it in firmly and lock it in by tightening the Retention Set Screw 4 Onto the surface of the Lap set a piece of paper about 3 inches square a piece cut from a shiny page in a magazine is good to use it is very parallel Set the paper onto the Lap that is the landin...

Page 14: ...of course counterclockwise rotation of the Dial results in counterclockwise rotation of the stone The correct starting position for the cheater is at 0 aligned to the 0 position of the Index Gear See the section 3 1 3 2 below To assist in the rotational turning of the Index vernier a small wrench has been provided 3 1 3 1 Index Vernier Tension The tension on the Index Vernier is set at the factory...

Page 15: ... diagrams do show settings of 0 01 accuracy In terms of the setting sequence the Analog display is the same as the Digital display The Analog readout is a vernier type with a readout of 0 1 degrees On the Analog Mast the Dial Indicator is set to reflect the aimed at angle and responds to fine adjustments 3 2 1 SETTING THE ANGLE USING THE ANGLE STOP AND THE FINE ADJUSTMENT CONTROL The Angle Stop is...

Page 16: ...off and away from the Lap 2 Loosen the Carriage Knob and raise the Z position height of the Carriage to the upper portion of the Positioning Cylinder just where Where it s convenient a little bit of experience will teach you Lock the Carriage Knob Lock the Collar Locking Knob 3 Loosen the Angle Stop Locking Lever releasing the Angle Stop from its locked condition so that the angle can be changed Y...

Page 17: ...hipment and for your setup only requires being plugged in the Power Cord with its AC DC Adapter has been supplied If the readout misbehaves it may be that the source electrical input was interrupted if that happens there is a reset instruction see the paragraph below and a full recalibration is not necessary 3 2 2 1 Digital Angle Dial Controls The POWER button is a push on push off toggle switch w...

Page 18: ...p the calibrated scale to about 1 5 on the calibrated scale 3 4 CONTROL OF FLATNESS This control is built into your ULTRA TEC The surface runout of the Platen is less than 0003 of an inch less than 8 microns Laps are manufactured to be suitably flat but their accuracies vary and all laps have some degree of error The important lap is the one used prior to the polishing operation usually a 600 or a...

Page 19: ...anually by eye using a sander it does have to be flat Dops of 6 4mm and down can be done on the machine using a sanding paper Note 2 V Dops and Emerald Dops which are used for designs with long girdle facets need not have a rear keying chamfer The long girdle facet makes it easy and better to align off the stone itself setting the facet against the lap and then locking the retention screw About th...

Page 20: ...eliminating several tolerance errors and provides good feel of the flush setting onto the lap surface 4 3 THE TRANSFER FIXTURE The Transfer Fixture part of the Kit that comes with your machine is machined from one piece assuring its stability and accuracy The ends of the Transfer Fixture are matched V Blocks mirror images of each other so there s no rule for which side to put the original dop or t...

Page 21: ...ast keep the base clean and free of abrasive especially around the sliding area The smooth plate surface allows easy cleaning The Index Vernier adjusting screw should be oiled once a year If it feels too loose it may be adjusted by tightening the set screw in the rear of the index latch rocker The motor Speed Control is designed to operate our special motor Do not alter or add to the circuit If th...

Page 22: ...adhered The rough stone is cemented to a metal dop and the dop is inserted into the Spindle which positions the stone for grinding and polishing against the rotating lap The pavilion side is done first after which the stone is cemented to another dop transferring holding to the pavilion to complete the crown After the stone is complete it is removed from the dop cleaned up and there it is Now if y...

Page 23: ... a faceting friend whom you could call upon for advice or just to confirm that you are doing the process correctly As you gain experience you will find that most advanced learning comes from talking to other faceters If you are all on your own however don t fret about it you can do it We recommend the book Amateur Gemstone Faceting by Tom Herbst even if you mean to end up a pro There are other how...

Page 24: ...s plenty of time and you will find you can position the dop by eye surprisingly well In your first attempt you may use more adhesive than needed you need less than a drop Too much will cause the setting up process to take a longer if you have applied too much you can wick it off onto a bit of paper Hold the stone and dop together under finger pressure for approximately 30 seconds Run a very light ...

Page 25: ...0 96 Index at 3 9 15 21 etc steps of 6 to 93 Using the vertical knob lower the stone toward the lap until it makes initial contact When you feel it hear it and see the Angle Dial readout go over the 90 00 setting continue to lower the vertical setting a few divisions on the Vertical Knob and grind a flat the Angle Readout will read 90 00 As you do that you will be holding the handle applying a rel...

Page 26: ...pth of the cut Then with the medium lap continue going down in vertical position repeatedly examining the stone as you adjust the depth of the cut the vertical setting until the facets come to a tip at the bottom or almost it will be the Main facets that finally form the tip the culet That establishes the final depth for the Break facets With the first break facet in place at Index position 3 and ...

Page 27: ...target 40 00 Having done that the facet on the lap the angle setting at 40 00 back off the fine adjustment screw about a half turn The 40 00 reading is maintained by the stone on the lap surface Turn on the motor and set a slow speed 2 or 3 on the speed control dial Polish in the same way you had been previously grinding you can bear down to speed the polishing you may see some fluctuation of the ...

Page 28: ...ool when heat is later applied with the cavity dop resting in your palm avoiding a stress between the stone and the cavity dop and hold the old dop in the flame As the dop warms hold the stone firmly in your fingers with the damp cloth and use the pliers to apply a side pressure to the heated dop and at some point the dop will separate from the stone it sort of pops off In this process don t make ...

Page 29: ... Tabling Adapter onto the spindle read the section about the Tabling Adapter Completing the Table When you become more skilled you will find the rough table that was put on for the initial dopping is very close to the final table position In this first attempt you will probably find there is still significant material to remove and that you need to use the 600 lap or the 1200 lap to get to the fin...

Page 30: ...thank Louis Roth for this table Lou comments The cutting angles in this chart represent opinions round offs and compromises so please use it as a handy guide and not Gospel If you see errors or learn some later information we d appreciate your communicating with us ...