vf-2 - align hrt210 rotary table and hts6 tailstock?

[pmurdock]

Ok... I'm having some dramas currently aligning an SHRT-210 rotary table centerline with 8" chuck, and the manual tailstock (HTS6).

First I indicated in the rotary table and it's good to 0.0004" (that was another question - what part of the rotary table do I use to indicate? I used the back side [flat] of the rotary table)

The manual tailstock had these alignment pins on the bottom that I screw in and are supposed to align the tailstock to the rotary table (by using the t-slot pathway)... However the rotary table did NOT have these alignment pins on the bottom?? should it?

So when the tailstock was mounted I moved it close to the chuck and put a coaxial indicator in the chuck and indicated on the ID of the morse taper of the tailstock.. it was out by about 0.020"..

I can see that the problem is that the rotary table didn't have these alignment pins and therefore how can I line up the centerline of the rotary table with the tailstock?? I'm not seeing an easy method to do this.

any tips?


cheers!
paul

[Geof]

The HRT 210 has keyways in the bottom and should have come with a key. Both it and the tailstock can be aligned from the machine table Tee-slots.

[pmurdock]

ahh.. that would explain a great deal... looks like I'll have to order that part up as I didn't see it anywhere..

cheers!
Paul

[russeller]

You could mount a dead center from your lathe in the table and a drill chuck with a laser centering device in your tailstock. I'm not sure how dead-nuts you need it to be but I think that would get you pretty close. The laser center is $90.00.

[stustev]

Don't ever trust the keys and t-slots for final position. I saw a rotary table with keys in the table t-slots have .030 runout in 10 inches. It was aligned by loosening the mounting bolts and tapping it in to alignment without removing the keys. When it was installed it felt tight enough it should have been aligned.
Always check the alignment every time you reinstall. And probably a periodic check during operation would be a good thing.
If you are removing and reinstalling the rotary table and tailstock very often, a subplate would be a good idea. That would also need verified after installation.

[pmurdock]

Originally Posted by stustev Don't ever trust the keys and t-slots for final position. I saw a rotary table with keys in the table t-slots have .030 runout in 10 inches. It was aligned by loosening the mounting bolts and tapping it in to alignment without removing the keys. When it was installed it felt tight enough it should have been aligned. Always check the alignment every time you reinstall. And probably a periodic check during operation would be a good thing. If you are removing and reinstalling the rotary table and tailstock very often, a subplate would be a good idea. That would also need verified after installation.

Just an update.. I found my key and installed it on the rotary table.. that immediately got things to ~ 0.001" not bad.. a few small taps with a dead-blow hammer finished it and put it right in alignment.. thanks guys!

cheers,
Paul

[I_flungdung]

Just curious guys, is this the "hirth coupling" type of indexer?

[Geof]

Originally Posted by I_flungdung Just curious guys, is this the "hirth coupling" type of indexer?

The HRT210 is a wormgear rotary axis.

What is a "hirth coupling"?