In reply to "Al the mans" post above, I would say by definition, if your gonna use Mach Mill to run your lathe spindle then in the cooresian coordinate system under the MILL functions. the Lathe spindle would be the CLassic "A" axis since it would rotate in parrell along your MILL X axis. On the other hand if you added another axis to Mach Lathe then Al the mans def above would be correct.
My assumption was, that you were wanting to use the lathe spindle as a A axis under the mill functions.
On to your next question:
How much do you want to fool with it? You can automate the Mill head raise and lowering via a moter (see Bloy's machine), you can even put a switch under the 5th arm to disable the raise/lower drive so you can only operate it if the 5th arm is unlocked. Now for full automation, you can then also add another geared down motor that would turn the locking spindle. Further, all of these functions, could also be controlled from a Macro in Mach Mill that would pass information to a PLC to do the job, OR, you could just have a PLC stand alone to do the job. You could even set mill head hiegth settings via, selector switch or again via Wizard/macro in mill.
You could also replace the 5th arm locking spindle with a powerfull electro-magnet that would switch on/off when you are hitting the up or down hiegth button.
Like all things, it will depend on how much, time, money, and inginuity you want to drop on your machine.
Scott  |