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Was messing around in the garage on the weekend and got this odd idea about a 4th axis for my router. I have a couple Nema23 motors laying around from another project and was just trying to figure out what might be involved. Anyone here tried it? If so, love to see the setup for inspiration.
Cheers
Leon
As of yet I have not installed a rotary axis, Leon. But it's in the plans! When I built the control panel I left space for another driver and prewired what I would need. It would have been smart to add the driver while everything was on the bench but I didn't do that (and I kick myself for it!!).
David
Despite what you might see on AliBaba, simply sticking a chuck on the end of a stepper motor does not a rotary table make. You need something with a substantial gear ratio to keep cutting forces from overwhelming the stepper. Using one of Sherline's CNC-ready rotary tables https://www.sherline.com/product/370...-rotary-table/ would be the easiest way to go. All you'd need to do is mount a stepper to it. But you can make your own motor mount for a hand-crank rotary table if you want, or find an old CNC table that has one already.
Hi awerby. Thanks for the reply. I think there might be a bit of confusion with your reply and the links in it. I could be referring to it improperly but it’s not a rotary “table” but rather a rotary axis that resembles much in the way of a wood lathe.
I’ve seen the tables before on the metal CNC mills. You’re pretty much half way to 5 axis milling which is way out of my league. (and wallet) lol
Cheers
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It's the same thing. If you mount it horizontally, it's a "table". Mount it vertically (and provide a tailstock opposite) and it's a lot like a lathe. Lots of big old horizontal tables are on the market, since it used to be the only way to cut a good circle, but modern CNC mills have made that function obsolete.
An issue with rotary tables is the amount of backlash they have. There are adjustments but they still inherently have too much backlash. It's possible to make them work, though.
David