CNC Lathe on a mill - what do I need?

[zwdeal]

Thanks metalbyter. I was curious if you used any special attachment for that.

[Geof]

I was looking at a recent KBC Tools catalogue and they have a small chuck mounted on a backplate that screws into a 5C collet fixture.

It is 3" diameter OD with a capacity of 5/64" to 2-15/32" with a 5/8" through hole and a weight of 5 lbs.

This could probably be adapted onto a different taper and might work quite well for turning on a mill. The part number is 1-850-Z9550 and you should be able to find it at www.KBCTools.com

[zwdeal]

Thanks for those information Geof, they are a little pricey for me, I thought it would be for some reason before hand. :-)

So, I probably get a micro lathe from HF, just to see what it is all about (turning, facing, etc).

[S_J_H]

Finished up the setup. Seems to work real nice after some quickie tests.
This is just for fun but it should be able to make some nice smallish parts.
I'll add a spindle sensor so maybe it could do some threading.

Setup details, 7x head with a dual 3m poly belt drive I made on my 9x lathe.
Head is bolted through the table and uses a rear clamp also.
A spindle clamp locks the spindle from rotating. A 3/8" R8 collet is ground so it allows the 4 way tool post to sit flush against the spindle face.
The quill allows fast tool centering.
Turning uses the table x and Y axis for feed which on my mill is pretty good with .0005" or under backlash.
I have a 7x tail stock also if needed.
Now I just need to learn how to program it,lol.





Steve

[project5k]

oh, i gotta have one of thoes!!! i was thinking about converting my mini lathe over to cnc and running it as a seperate system from my mill... but this just might be the way to go...

so are you running turn with this setup or mill, and some imaginative programming? i dont need to thread anything, i just need to be able to make my parts over and over again...

[S_J_H]

so are you running turn with this setup or mill, and some imaginative programming?

Well this cnc lathe on a mill stuff is all new to me. I have been using mach3 mill for a couple of years but never used Mach Turn. I have some learning to do before I can put this thing to good use. But right now the mechanicals of the setup seem to be working pretty well.

Steve

[hoss2006]

Hey project5k,
I played around with the wizards in Mach 3 Turn and they were pretty easy to use.
Here's a few sample videos trying it out on mine.
http://www.hossmachine.com/projects_5.html
towards the bottom of the page.
Also here.
http://www.youtube.com/hossmachine
Also try Bob Adams Cad2lathe.
Hey S J H, could you explain the spindle sensor for threading?
I am adding a spare stepper to be able to do 4th axis stuff and threading but would like to hear if the dc motor could do it instead.
Thanks Hoss

[S_J_H]

Hoss,
the way I understand it is that MACH can read the spindle speed by using a senor on the spindle and then adjust the feed to match for threading.
The lathe guys would be a much greater help than me. Ron111 posted a lot of info and a how-to in his thread- http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showth...t=32470&page=4

Post#41.

Steve

[project5k]

so help me understand the tool holder that you are useing for this.. it looks like maby its locked up into the spindle with an external clamp or something of the sort.. i would think that the tool holder in the spindle would just cause the spindle to turn under cutting loads.... how is it held steady?

also, on all these x3 machines, when you convert to cnc, your moving the whole head up and down, not just using the quill right? the quill is parked up inside the head, and locked into place somehow? I'm asking these silly questions as i dont have my machine yet, so i've never actually seen one of these in person up close...

[S_J_H]

project5k,
The quill always has a lock so if your machine has a quill you lock it if you are using the head movement as the z-axis. Some guys lock the head and motorize the quill. I think that is done more often by the round column mill guys though.
In my picture the square clamp locks the spindle to the stationary quill. With the clamp installed the spindle can not rotate at all. The tool holder uses a stud inserted into a r8 collet which had the face ground down to allow the holder to seat flush against the locked spindle face. I lock the stud into the collet and then just slip on the tool holder and tighten it to the spindle face with a nut.
It all works great.

Steve

[project5k]

ahhh ok, that makes sence, i was laying in bed last night thinking about how to do that, and i ended up with the tool holder in a collett locked up in the spindle as well... I'm sure that my x3 will have the lock, but i cant say with any athority till it gets here (TOMARROW!!!!) YIPPIE...

Going this route makes so much more sence than having 2 sepperate machines (a mill and a lathe) for me now... perhaps later, when i need more production quantity i can look at doing the rough outline cuts on a cnc lathe, and then doing the 3d carving 4th axis with the mill...

[S_J_H]

Well I have no lathe cam software and don't know how to use G-code very well.
I messed with MACH Turn for a little while and it only gave me a headache.
Well heck, I don't know any better so I improvised to be able to just use my milling software and stay with Mach Mill. I just drew the tool path I wanted in a cad program. Real easy and fast to do using built in commands. Then I just used my milling software(sheetcam) to convert the cad toolpath into g-code and give it a feed rate. The DOC for turning is configured by the drawing itself. The drawings are just one long continuous line. The drawing can easily be scaled. I drew these 2 tool paths as a quick test of method and madness. They seemed to work pretty efficient as there is almost no wasted movements.
tool path drawings-


One of the drawings being converted to code by Sheetcam-

The resulting test Gazinta from lathe head sitting on a cnc mill.


Steve