Awesome work! Do you by chance have some video of it In action?
Sam,
Have you started on this yet? Looks like you are almost at the point of being ready to take the plunge!
I ended up finding a Harbor freight 3 in 1 Lathe mill on Craigslist never used for a really good price and picked it up and now looking for turret ideas... Kind of as a way to procrastinate starting the conversion...lol
I use to have some videos of that thing...but they are gone now...it works excellent if you are going to make a gazillion parts.
But as for one offs...not too user friendly
Why was it not user friendly? Was it because of the cam software? I use Camworks which allows me to define the tool crib and I can force it to use the tools in the crib to generate its tool paths... I was thinking of having two, a front and rear turret so I could load up with a bunch of tools and just design a part in solidworks, run it through Camworks, spit out code, chuck up stock and hit the go button.
I just made the thing because it was a Challenge..and it worked..But for me to keep it setup on my C6 is just not logical...Maybe on a larger lathe...I use the Mach Turn Pgms for most of the stuff I make and it works very well...as far as Cam. Pgms. I use a DOS based lathe pgm and am able to pick the toolpaths and eliminate air cuts an still be Proficient in time and Quality.I made that turret on my C6 and my SX3 Mill.Numbers are within .0005/.005.. So just make them
Nice! I have a bigger Lathe specifically for the purpose of having turret(s). It's actually a 3in1 17x31 but I'm removing the milling portion as I have a converted g0704.
It offers a very large 18" x 6" table with almost 11" of X travel so I have enough room for a turret in back and qctp in front or mybe even some gang tooling.. Tons of options for really.. Although I did just get a quote on a new 6 tool turret from china for under $600 which has me kind of tempted since it comes fully ready to rock and roll with all the electronics, motor etc.. Certainly would be a quicker solution.
How much would you guess you had in yours all said and done not including your time?
Probably $250.00/ Stepper Motor; Driver; 12v RelayBoard; 12vSolonoid Valve; O rings 1/4"Quick Connect air fittings;CapScrews...Might be the best thing to buy the china turret..and make sure they have instructions ...Complete instructions for configuring Mach Turn I think I had to Make a Screen Set for the Turret Too...So I would know what tool was up ect. Ok well im out of here...Bob
The 4.5" bolt circle hole pattern shows right fitting dowel pins which wlare what holds the faceplate in position. The air cylinder pushes the faceplate off the dowel pins the motor rotates to the commanded position and the air cylinder releases the faceplate which settles over the dowel pins and locks in place.
All the work involved and so little time. We purchased most the components and materials already and then found a supplier who can provide us with ready to install 6 tool turrets for $1200 that look identical to the mocrokinetics models offered for $2,000.00. Hardly makes it worth the time. We have $250 in materials already without servo, pneumatic cylinder, and some various other parts, suspecting in all likliness $6-700 even with a small closed loop servo it adds up and think about how many days to fabricate. Maybe if you have a weeks paid vacation off of work but if your making money in a home shop I’d recommend just buying one and save yourself the time. Your still going to have a base attachment, wiring, air lines, and time setting it up. Apparently these turrets come in a kit with cable, line, wire, etc... very tempting though looking at the plans and parts here it’s tempting as well. We made a 21t splined involuted spindle with a female collar that uses 40x80x19 tapered bearings at either end. The splined collar simply floats while the spindle can be thrust pnuematically and sprung back against a Hirth coupler. The only thing driving us to want to finish our own is to add live tooling with a 18,000 rpm secondary spindle attachment. It would be a far bigger challenge to add live tooling to a pre existing turret without significant modifications. Hmmm.., decisions... great post guys. I’ve seen a number of these already made by similar plans and all have been fantastic. Another factor is all the tooling for the turret and holders, coupler, etc... tooling cost us another $400 since we only machine aluminum here on a regular basis and then add in decent coated carbides, tapered mills, etc..., well it gets as expensive as buying a unit. Essentially if you just need a basic electric turret buy it and fit it and if you want special features than build your own.
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Re: cnc stepper lathe turret plans
Originally Posted by Wm McNett
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