Machsupport Forum
General CNC Chat => Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) => Topic started by: budman68 on December 27, 2008, 04:34:18 PM
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Finished my 4th (A) axis today and thought I'd share a few pics.
It's a Sherline rotary table which is easily the best little table out there that I have found for the money and that's probably why most major benchtop CNC companies use them.
The base has a step block on the bottom that is parallel to the table to ease in mounting and locating the assembly.
The electronics come from Probotix and so far the stuff seems decent but time will tell. No squealing or grinding or anything like that. Just a nice quiet drive.
Now I just have to learn how to use the damn thing :P
(http://i73.servimg.com/u/f73/13/33/68/88/4thaxf11.jpg)
(http://i73.servimg.com/u/f73/13/33/68/88/4thaxb10.jpg)
(http://i73.servimg.com/u/f73/13/33/68/88/4thaxc10.jpg)
(http://i73.servimg.com/u/f73/13/33/68/88/4thaxl10.jpg)
(http://i73.servimg.com/u/f73/13/33/68/88/4thaxl11.jpg)
Dave
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Looks great Dave :)
What dia is the 4th axis?
Hood
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I like the looks of it too Dave, good job !
Have you determined the amount of backlash ?
Thanks,
RC
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Hood, it's a 4" table and I have it just about 5/8" above the table surface so that gives me about 2.625" swing on it. I don't imagine I'll be doing anything larger than that on it but we all know how that goes..... :D
RC, I have not measured it yet, but it looks to be way less than a 1/4 degree. Probably around a tenth if I trusted my eyes like I should.. ;)
That will definitely be measured though as I'll be using it for small engravings which would stick out like a sore thumb if I didn't compensate for that.
Dave
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Ah ok, bit small for me looking at then, will just have to stick to my original plan of adapting the Bristol Erickson Indexer I have.
Will be good to see your first jobs on it :)
Hood
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lol! Oh yeah, too small indeed, I could probably fit all my tools including my 9" south bend on just one of your machines..... :D
Dave
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ha ha not quite.
Hood
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Looks good Dave,
If you remember, there is a number of good posts relative to setting up a fourth axis and also a
free program for putting text on a cylnder in here. Additionaly New Fangled Solutions has one for gutting gears
and splines. Learn all this well, find the bugs, so you can shorten our learning time.
RICH
Oh, BTW, what kind of chuck are you going to use?
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Thanks, Rich and yes, that program was "wrapper" that I pointed to a fellow member here at one time. I'll have to wite a few test programs to see ho it goes and report back.
As fr the chuck, it's probably going to be an independant 4 jaw Taig chuck from cartertools.com.
Dave
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Looks great Dave. I hope to build a 4th axis for my mill one day. It will be interesting to see what you make with it. It looks like a work of Art it's self.
Great Job!
Brett
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Hi, Dave
Nice job, It's a sherline rot. table ?, There nicely made, Great Work !!
Chip.
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Thanks, fellas, and yes, it is a Sherline and it's a beauty.
Very tight unit but I'll be sure to figure out the backlash and let you know-
Dave
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Dave,
Awesome work on the rotory setup, but also,
great camera-work. The older I get, the more I appreciate
being able to see what you guys are making!
Glenn
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Well thank you, Glenn, I appreciate that.
I'm such a sucker for pictures and I guess that's why I like to take so many. :D
Dave
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Hey Dave,
Hope you realize your never really finished. ;)
RICH
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So true, my friend.....so VERY true - :D
Dave
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Looks great Dave nice to see you have joined the 4th axis club , this will put a whole new level to your machining , I have also taken my rotary table apart to see the mechanics and have virtualy worked all the backlash out , extreemly tight unit now . I have made my remote control boats ( motors ) some really cool water jackets
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Beautiful work, Peter. :)
Dave
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Dave where did you get your rubber bellows from on your mill , I have been looking for some to better cover the back side
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http://www.littlemachineshop.com/1431
Dave
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Thank you very much Dave
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love the leds on the chuck.....i have a taig but its has to be in a euro spec cabinet for safety ..only i have to stand on a tool box to stick my head in when homing ...i use two taper mills (from bits&bits) one in the collet and one in a three jaw chuck i have used a web cam but find it easier to jog from the keyboard using a standing magnifier to locate my Y and a manual z depth locater turned out of ali (just a thread poking out the top with blue tack on it ) i do have an edge finder but find my eyes quicker...
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Dave a video for you , I ordered the bellows also thanks for the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoW7rW_EsjY&feature=channel_page
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Very cool video as always but it's so dark in your area, how the hell do you see what you're doing? :D Is that for the benefit of making a better video?
Question about transfering your chuck while the part is mounted. On the sherline 4th axis table, do you use that threaded adapter that came with the sherline? Is there any runout difference?
One more question, I'm getting close to finishing my enclosure, what lights are you using? They look light 12V lighting, do they get hot (I don't want that) ? I was going to cut a rectangular hole and just put a flourescent light from above but I think I'd rather have two "aimable" lights in each front corner with a ball joint to be able to position the lighting wherever I'd want. Possibly like a small headboard or wall sconses? I was also thinking a strip of track lighting but that might be a bit dangerous! :D
Thanks for sharing - :)
Dave
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Hello Dave
1....I just shut the room lights off for the benifit of the video , I have the standard 4ft fluorescents in the ceiling
2....Yes there is a threaded adaptor that came with the sherline , as far as runout I dont know if there is its got to be minimal .... something I have yet to check and I guess should
3... the lighting is 120 volt with the new screw in fluorescent screw in bulbs , the fixture is a standard bathroon lighting system . doesn't get hot and supplies execellent light . the bulbs take about a minute to reach full brightness
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That's perfect! That is exactly what I'm looking for.
Thanks for that picture, I'm sure Lowes or Home Depot has something like that - ;D
Thanks again,
Dave