Workshop
Tiny but Mighty Project
Mighty Mouse
I haven’t posted here for some time. I have been busy doing a ton of work on other projects and the “machining of steel” part of my shop has been a bit idle. I have been machining wax so that counts for something.
But I made up for the slack a very tiny bit last night by machining a small locating pin for my wife’s sewing machine from a steel rod. Hardly worth mentioning actually, but like I said, its been a long time and no posts here.
What I started with was about a two inch length of 3/16 (0.1875) inch steel rod. The pin finished out at about 5/8 (0.625) inches long. The ends needed to be different diameters for half the length each. I took no measurements and just turned the pin to fit the existing holes. This was a repair/replacement for an existing plastic pin that broke. I replace one several years ago that is along side of this current one. The pins are used for locating a removable platform or deck around the sewing head. The steel pins are of course much more durable than the original.
The fat end of the pin is a press fit into the plastic platform base and the small end slides into a locating hole on the machine base.
OK, so the point is — this pin is not something you can just go somewhere and purchase, and it is far better than the existing plastic part it replaces. It is a better invention. (That’s my favorite new word, invention.)
It was super easy to make. The lathe (I used the PD400) is always set up. Total time even with finding the steel rod, was about 30 minutes. I also used the cutoff saw to cut… Continue reading
Lighting Efficiency
I am a professional Certified Energy Manager (CEM) with a few other credentials (BEP) (CSDP). So let me say my real occupation is in energy management and conservation. I am not one of the radical “save the planet” phreaks, but I do take a very practical sustainable approach to energy management.
So anything that can be done with reasonable expectations and return on investment is on my todo list. Many things being promoted today are more political fodder than a practical solution.
One great advance today is in LED lighting. Where there is a need for good lighting, very low heat and a huge reduction in power, the LED lamp has come into it own. Here is what I have begun in my own shop.
This is my X3 small mill. I have two task lights, one mounted on each side. Each fixture is rated for 100 watts but I always used 50 watt PAR20 bulbs. You can see one illuminated in this picture. Using both fixtures, it is 100 watts and most of that power is radiated as heat rather than light.
You can see how “warm” the color tone of the light is. This is typical of incandescent bulbs, especially as they age.
Here is a closeup of the same picture as above. On the left is the incandescent 50 watt bulb next to the 9.5 watt LED PAR20 bulb. On the right is how the LED bulb is packaged. You can see on the package it is a PAR20 FLOOD, lasts 30,000 hours and is 500 lumens. I chose the 5000°K bulb which is a very white “outdoor” natural daylight color. So it uses more than 5 times less power and will last 15 times longer than the old bulbs. The LED lamp is built far more rugged… Continue reading
Preview Taig CNC Lathe
Taig CNC Lathe
Update! Article Published!
Click on text above…
Here is another one of my “Sneak Previews”. You can read the previous posts that hinted at this concept. The post before this showed where I was going.
You can see assembly is not complete but this reveals the complete design. The only part I had to make was the conversion mounting plate between the Taig lathe and the Taig mill table. The base plate of the mill is 3/8 thick and so is the adapter plate. A 3/4 inch 10-30 bolt works perfectly with the existing holes and doesn’t extend through the adapter plate. I am thinking of epoxy (and bolts) in the final assembly of the mill base to the adapter to prevent any possible shifting.
The adapter still has the Dykem from the very careful layout of the holes. The base plate was also squared very accurately (on my X3) and this precision is used for squaring the lathe on the mill table. I am aware the lathe bed must be accurately aligned with the mill table.
The pulleys and a chuck will be installed next. One cannot help but notice that honking motor hanging out there. That is the standard 1/5 hp PSC mill motor. 1750 rpm (only $30!) The power is a simple plug in to the existing switch.
In this view it can be seen that even with the full lathe mounted there is plenty of travel in the Z axis to handle any width of material that will fit the chuck and bed clearance. I will experiment to determine if the stock Taig tool holder needs to be mounted farther to the right. I think it does for wide facing cuts. A quick change or turret tool post could certainly be used. The base of the… Continue reading
Design Study
Hmm…
I have the design of my Taig CNC mill to CNC lathe conversion further along. I have the few scraps of the non-Taig material in hand and I placed an order for all new Taig components I will be using. I had an eight year old spindle and a 3,000 rpm Dayton motor but I decided to design with current parts and slower motor so there would be no surprises if I put together a kit. I also have a new idea for the tool mount that will be much easier and probably cheaper to implement.
The CNC lathe conversion is ultra easy and low cost if you own the CNC mill. I will dare call it a quick change process. It consists of mounting the Taig lathe bed on the Mill table, removing the mill spindle and motor assembly in one piece, and clamping on the lathe tool holder on the Z axis. I will be using a standard lathe 3/4 -16 spindle with a 1/5 hp mill 1750rpm motor to power the spindle with standard mill belt drive. I like the fact that the standard Taig tailstock can be used if required. There is plenty of working room above the lathe with the mill head removed.
Lathes should not be spinning at 10,000 rpm so the smaller mill motor will be a good choice rather than using the faster CNC mill motor, at least for the prototype. Of course testing is needed to prove this point, but it only makes good safety sense not to spin too fast.
Future development could be with a geared drive for slower rotation and an rpm reader to allow for thread cutting.
I decided to design and build this conversion mostly because it seems so easy to do. I don’t have… Continue reading
A Taig CNC Lathe
I have some basic materials on order for building my prototype Taig CNC lathe. I have the rough designs sketched out and I am satisfied it is completely doable. It is a HOB design I discussed in a previous post, “Taig CNC Lathe Ideas”. I have ordered a cast aluminum (MIC-6) plate so I can build a stable quick change one piece base for the lathe head and tail post which will mount quickly on the mill. I also ordered an aluminum stock piece for making a suitable mount for the tool holder(s) on the Z axis carriage.
I am not going into detail yet on my design as it is subject to change. Of course everything is subject to change. I’ll publish the prototype once I have it tested. I have sketched several designs for the motor mount. The first one is the standard Taig mill mount on a post. The motor is the biggest variable in my design notes.
I intend to use the basic Taig 6 step pulley on prototype #1 with space and mounting options for later variable speed motor experiments and ultimately a stepper driven spindle motor or other means for thread cutting.
Lastly, I have a very radical idea. Why does the spindle head have to be on the user’s left? It will require reversing thinking on X and Y moves but easily done at the MACH3 machine setup. It will look to the operator as if standing behind the typical lathe layout. The benefit on the Taig mill is it puts the spindle motor over the X axis stepper and the cutting tool, in position pointing down on the top of the part, is no longer held in the “backward” view. The spindle head is threaded on, so we usually don’t want… Continue reading