Anyone play with the Chinese "router fourth axis" yet?

[bogiestl]

Found this on Ebay... If the spindle for the thing will deal with the stress, I'm wondering if it might be interesting to mount a larger stepper?

CNC Router Rotational Axis, the 4th Axis, A axis for the engraving machine 1650 | eBay

[hoss2006]

I posted that a while back, I don't know if anyone has taken the "plunge" yet.
That's who I got my pendant from so they aren't bad to deal with, ok shipping speed.
With a 50:1 ratio a bigger motor isn't going to gain much, it should already have tons of torque.
Hoss

[bogiestl]

Hmm... I might... I'm basically thinking, however, that if I can find a spindle that I can use with an R8-mounted chuck, that could also work. I'm not needing huge, and I am a little worried about the worm gear backlash/wear that Warfield speaks of...

[hoss2006]

Yeah that's what makes a harmonic drive like this is supposed to be so desirable, no backlash.
A typical rotary table 4th axis will need adjusted from time to time and even then backlash isn't likely to be zero.
Hoss

[bogiestl]

I'll be machining steel, with the largest parts approximately 1.25" diameter, and if I need to, I can deal with smaller cuts (as long as I don't get into the realm of surface hardening). I'm hoping that I can work out a "real" fourth axis, so that I can do real curving cuts, rather than just an "indexer" type of thing (which is what we've got in the shop right now).

[awerby]

The no-backlash feature sounds good, if it really works. But I wonder if it will mount any other chucks besides that 3-jaw - most of the stock I use is square or rectangular, not round.

Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software

[hoss2006]

Looks like a typical lathe chuck on there Andrew with the mounting studs thru the faceplate
so I'd imagine a 4 jaw chuck would fit too at least with an adapter from LMS.
Hoss

[bogiestl]

Okay, looking like I'm going to be doing one in the next few days... I'm just hoping that it is overall rigid enough to work with steel parts. And I may be looking for a four jaw at the same time too...

[cornbinder23]

Cool let us know how it works out for you!
It's a nice compact unit from the pics.

JTCUSTOMS

[outsider787]

Any other word on this?
I've been eyeing it for a while, and am unsure if I should pull the trigger.

adrian

[cyclestart]

This 4th is a topic in the DIY router forum

linky:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn..._4th_axis.html

Buyer adapted a fancy chuck, unclear if min-lathe chucks are a bolt-on affair