"New" Rotary Axis

Topics related to wrapped rotary machining in Aspire or VCarve Pro
Post Reply
User avatar
TReischl
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4577
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:04 pm
Model of CNC Machine: 8020 48X36X7 RP 2022 UCCNC Screenset
Location: Leland NC

"New" Rotary Axis

Post by TReischl »

My old rotary axis was pretty pathetic. It worked, but was a PITA. I cobbled it together in my excitement to get a 4th axis running. What a mistake, put up with it for a couple of years. A few weeks ago I said ENOUGH! Here is the result:
1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
4.jpg
5.jpg
6.jpg
Been using it for a few weeks now and it works fine, much better than the old one. It can swing a 12.5 diameter piece. I can increase that by moving it back in the well on the machine.

The bearings came from Fastenal and were inexpensive, IIRC about $16 each. All the aluminum except for the pulleys came from the local scrap yard.

I turned the spindle up on my lathe except for the threads. Those I milled in place on the cnc to get the best concentricity that I could. The threads are 1 - 8 which matches all my lathe tooling.

The plate on the headstock is set up to allow for easy tensioning of the belt drive. My old one drove me nutz.

There was no way I could bore the length of the tailstock. So I made up about 8 one inch thick pieces of hard maple and precisely bored those holes on the cnc. The tailstock spindle has a square thread I milled in it on the cnc. The spindle is bored with a #2 morse taper. First morse taper I ever turned. Incredibly it turned out on the first go. Amazing. So now I can use all my tailstock accessories too. The wooden block under the tailstock bearing block was used to adjust the height of the spindle. Height on a rotary axis is the most important detail. If it is not dead on the machine will cut a taper instead of a true cylinder. The top plate on the tailstock serves no purpose other than allow tool touch off. It is wired into the control. Oh yea, I bored a hole all the way through the tailstock spindle so that I could tap out accessories wedged in the morse taper.

While I was at it I added some locks to the Y axis, you can see those in the last picture. I will probably redrill and tap those because I instinctively put them on center. Dumb move, the nuts are also on dead center. DOH! Live and learn.

This one is much easier to use than the old one.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

User avatar
Leo
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4082
Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:02 am
Model of CNC Machine: 1300 x 1300 x 254 Chinese Made
Location: East Freetown, Ma.
Contact:

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by Leo »

SWEET :D
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

User avatar
TReischl
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4577
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:04 pm
Model of CNC Machine: 8020 48X36X7 RP 2022 UCCNC Screenset
Location: Leland NC

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by TReischl »

Thanks Leo!

Oh yea, forgot to mention. All of the parts that are not turned on the lathe were milled on the cnc. I have finally started to get the hang of milling aluminum on the router. Works good, a little slow compared to a milling machine, but it gets the job done. I do not have mist coolant or air so I have to be careful to avoid welding up the bit. I found HSS works best for me.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

User avatar
highpockets
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 3667
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:04 pm
Model of CNC Machine: PDJ Pilot Pro

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by highpockets »

Look good Ted...

Thanks for sharing...
John
Maker of Chips

User avatar
Rcnewcomb
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 5886
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2005 5:54 am
Model of CNC Machine: 24x36 GCnC/WinCNC with ATC
Location: San Jose, California, USA
Contact:

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by Rcnewcomb »

All the aluminum except for the pulleys came from the local scrap yard.
Ted is the kind of guy you want in your group when the zombie apocalypse comes and you need to convert that school bus into an armored transport. :mrgreen:
- Randall Newcomb
10 fingers in, 10 fingers out, another good day in the shop

User avatar
TReischl
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4577
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:04 pm
Model of CNC Machine: 8020 48X36X7 RP 2022 UCCNC Screenset
Location: Leland NC

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by TReischl »

Ya cracked me up, Randall, my wife too, she is still chuckling. . . .

Seriously, the scrap yard is really good to have in the area. They also have new stock so if I cannot find something in the scrap I can always get what I need out of new stock. It is like nothing I have ever seen, a lot of stuff is sorted, need a weird nut or bolt, just take a walk down the weird nut/bolt aisle. An entire area is devoted to brass. Then there are a bunch of aisles that have "stuff", like old cooking pots, frying pans, grates. They are missing one thing though, literally the kitchen sink. My better half wants me to build a potting bench out behind our storage building with a sink to rinse things off in. They have not had a sink in there for at least six months.

It is a huge operation, about a half dozen buildings with one of them pretty much dedicated to walk in sales. But if you need an old aluminum boat, or a bulldozer, just the place to go.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

User avatar
scotttarnor
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 941
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:40 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Piranha XL , Shark HD520
Location: La Crosse WI

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by scotttarnor »

That is so cool ! What RPM's does it spin at ?
Scott T

@scottscnc

User avatar
TReischl
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 4577
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:04 pm
Model of CNC Machine: 8020 48X36X7 RP 2022 UCCNC Screenset
Location: Leland NC

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by TReischl »

scotttarnor wrote:
Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:02 am
That is so cool ! What RPM's does it spin at ?
Hmmm, your question implies that you think it is a lathe. Looks like a lathe, but it isn't.

The rotary motion is controlled by feedrate.

If you are not familiar with rotary axis pop over to YouTube and search them up. Lot of fun to see what folks cut on them. I put a post up about a week ago on a segmented "fluted" vase I created on it. Unfortunately I did not create a video. But there is a tutorial on how I created the vase.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

User avatar
scotttarnor
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 941
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:40 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Piranha XL , Shark HD520
Location: La Crosse WI

Re: "New" Rotary Axis

Post by scotttarnor »

I was asking because it looked like the motor in the picture had a NEMA 5-15 plug, After blowing up the photo I see it is an RS232 connector, My mistake. :oops:
Scott T

@scottscnc

Post Reply