X2 Electric Draw Bar

[pete from TN]

Well that is good news, of course the only experience I have currently with bellville washers is the preloaded ballnut setups I did for the machine and the High pressure air regulator I made for my pcp airgun. I was actually thinking mine is gonna need about a dozen washers from what I was reading on the website concerning bellvilles Hoss posted. Again aiming for the 3k mark and about the .100 inch travel.

I am glad to hear that a general contractor seems to think I am on the right track with the siding setup. It just seemed to be what all the new homes was using so I went with it. I am sure glad I did not just cover up all the old siding because in removing it I found some small problems I had to repair and would have never seen them if I did not take it all off...peace

[pete from TN]

It is actually pretty small in person, nice I suppose for finding a place for it. The unit looks to be decent quality and for the price hard to argue.... I am gonna try to play with it this week and see what pops up in my head to configure this thing. Really glad it is just 120vac and gotta figure out how to wire it up. There is a small black lead coming from the actual ram area on the gearbox that has a small three or so pin connector. Not sure what that is for yet but I am anxious to find out. Took it outside after work to hold it up against the millhead to kinda see what it looks like and it seems very small next to the Lathemaster head. This should be real interesting, cannot wait to have a power drawbar and eventually a simple toolchanger... peace

[SScnc]

Hi Pete,

The wires are, BLACK (Push), RED (retract) or the opposite, My wires are hidden by the switch enclosure right now. The WHITE is the neutral. The small wires coming from the gearbox is the reed type sensor switch which counts rotations.

The sensor assembly can be popped out if you don't plan to use it right now, the slot should have a cover on it though to keep stuff out of the gearbox.

I just got back home tonight and I have a new idea for this that I will be trying on my X2 that if it works as planned will be a big improvement and may be a big help to your setup too. Give me a couple of days to fab it up and I'll provide more details and pics at that point.

[pete from TN]

HEy thanks man, I was pretty sure about the power wiring but the other thing is what I was wondering about. I will probably take it out and try to wire it up soon. I was just out there head scratching about how to make this baby work on my machine. I intend to use a scissors type clamping assy and about a 4-1 ratio and because of the layout of my machine will probably as I said before have to look vastly different from yours. I am interested in anything you have to show me of course tho.... Just out of curiosity, how many turns of the drawbar do you figure is enough to safely make it work, I may be able to use the factory drawbar if I make the collar under the bellvilles a little smaller than the massive washer I had machined awhile back to help center the drawbar over the spindle for the high speed runs... My spindle pulley is rather large too so I will not be able to make the uprights like yours has close in and about the size of the diameter of the actuator. The lower pulley on mine is roughly twice the diameter of the actuator body at the short side. I am thinking maybe some sort of platform that straddles the spindle pulley that has a fixed plate to accept the actuator fixed end and then some linkages to create the scissors setup and then the moveable ram attatches on the bottom. Pulling up on the lever instead of pushing down which is essentially stronger... peace

[SScnc]

Originally Posted by pete from TN how many turns of the drawbar do you figure is enough to safely make it work

To be honest, I don't know. I just kept fine tuning it until it held the TTS very firmly with no chance of slipping with the size of cutters I normally use and also released it properly.

Originally Posted by pete from TN Pulling up on the lever instead of pushing down which is essentially stronger... peace

I haven't taken the actuator apart but I'm almost positive that it's designed to push only, I'd say there is a thrust bearing for pushing only.

Steve

[hoss2006]

To see if your drawbar has enough length, tighten an R8 tool in the spindle.
Loosen the drawbar but be careful not to knock the tool out.
Unscrew it, then carefully reengage at least 3 turns of the drawbar.
The gap above the spindle will show you how much room you have for bellevilles.
Putting the tension on them will give you a couple more turns so you'll be safe with little worry of stripping the threads.
Need more space? You can turn the head down in a lathe and give yourself a little more reach.
To put the tension on the springs, tighten the drawbar finger tight with a tool in spindle.
Give it one full turn with a wrench and check that the tool still drops out using the power drawbar.
Keep track, add a 1/4 turn and retest. Repeat until the tool hangs up a little then back off that 1/4 turn.
Now you know how many turns it'll take next time with the wrench and that you're getting as much pull as possible.
Hoss

[pete from TN]

Thanks for that man, so you are saying that three turns before the compression of the bellvilles is adequate... I am not even sure how many thread turns are in the collet?? I gotta check. Good tip to turn down the head a tad for a little more breathing room... peace