[jfong]

Someone asked for some more detail about the spring loaded diamond drag that I made.

Short piece of 1/2 drill rod that bored out on the lathe a little less than 1/4". Used a reamer to fit the 1/4" drill rod so it slides smoothly. Drill and tapped a hole at one end for a spring stop. Drill a 1/8" hole for diamond tip at the other end. Use a set screw to lock the diamond tip in.

[jfong]

Unimat SL1000 CNC conversion
http://youtu.be/7jMET0zGeVI

Have a friend who bought this unimat and basic cnc conversion parts kit off eBay. He asked me if I can put it together for him. Sure why not. I had some extra stepper motors and old centent drivers laying around. He wants to make small brass parts with it.

Always up for a challenge so here it is. Works ok running Mach3 turn. Neat little toy.

[jfong]

After converting the unimat to cnc for my buddy, I decided that my 7x12 mini lathe needs to be converted too. I had this short thk kr26 linear stage that I got for about $40 on eBay. To small for anything else but perfect for the lathe cross slide. Next step is to install the ballscrew for the carriage.

Attachment 235594

[jfong]

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Finished mounting the THK ballscrew today. Next up is to wire up two gecko stepper drivers and hook it up to mach3.

[jfong]

Anyone know of inexpensive lathe cam program? Most of the inexpensive cam I see are for 2d/3d 3axis mill. I've been playing around with the built in mach3 lathe gcode wizards which works great but are fairly basic.

[CarveOne]

LazyCam is permanently beta software included in Mach3 and has been buggy for some users. It has limited functionality. There is a Pro version at extra cost. Don't know how well that has worked. I haven't seen any comments about it anywhere.

LinuxCNC is a possibility, and there should be others available in web searches. CamBam, FreeMill, EZ-Cam are some that come to mind, but of these three I have only used CamBam myself. It works very well, but I like the way VcarvePro ond Aspire work for generating gcode much better. I used EMC2 for a while before the name changed to LinuxCNC.

[jfong]

Thanks C1,
I tried the demo of Cambam a while back ago but I just noticed they have a lathe module now. Its affordable too even. Most of the other CAM programs either don't support lathe functionality or priced beyond my budget. More research and test driving demo software....I also have to recommend a CAM software for my friend to buy for his unimat lathe.


For my gantry cnc, I've just been using a mix of freeware and open source cad/cam programs. None of them support lathe functionality.

[CarveOne]

I started with the free stuff to learn to create simple stuff for testing the machine I built first. Later I bought Vcarve Pro, then 1-1/2 years later I got the VCP to Aspire upgrade. I'll probably have to decide later this year if I'll upgrade it again. I sure do like Aspire though...

[jfong]

I played around with the Aspire demo and it is so easy to create gcode. It doesn't support a cnc lathe but it does do 4th axis wrapping. It's on my list to buy one day. I haven't been using my gantry much these days because the freeware cam I am using isn't as easy as it should be. Anyway have been busy converting my lathe to cnc and also in the middle of making a 3d printer. I enjoy making various machines in my spare time.

[CarveOne]

Some of my Celtic Weave projects have gone over 1.5 million lines of gcode without a hitch. Takes just a few seconds to to create it once I give the command to start It isn't as efficient at code generation as an experienced hand gcoder can do it, but it would take me a lifetime to match it if I tried doing it by hand. So far, the only bad results have been due to something I did, or forgot to do, during tool path setup.

There is a rotary machining forum in the Vectric User Forum that might give you some insight. I've watched it being done on the small Camaster Scorpion machine at the 2013 Aspire camp at Mcgrew Woodworking. It's a wood lathe feature mounted on the long axis side of the machine. They do some pretty complex shapes that way.

[jfong]

When I did the Aztec Calender, the freeware cam program took about an hour to generate the vcarve gcode. Not something I want to do very often. But can't complain since I didn't have to pay for the program.

I just bought another stepper driver so I can hook up my 4th axis rotary to my gantry CNC. I didn't want to remove the gecko driver on the bench metal cnc mill in case I wanted use the rotary on that machine. Again I haven't used the rotary axis that much due to limited freeware CAM that is available to run rotary milling/engraving.

I don't have a wood lathe. I want to eventually make some items like writings pens with the rotary axis. I've done it before but I don't like to cut wood on the metal lathe. The wood dust sticks to every oiled and greased part on the lathe. Just a big mess to clean up.

[awerby]

Once you get your 4th axis set up, give DeskProto a try. You can use it free for a month, and I bet it won't take an hour to generate your code. If you're a hobbyist and aren't using it to make commercial products, we can sell it to you at a vastly reduced price.

Andrew Werby
301 Moved Permanently

[jfong]

Andrew, I'll take a look at the software. This is just a hobby. My tools and machines are used to help me build stuff for my other hobbies. It may take me longer to do something but it eventually gets done. Once in awhile I'll make something for friends and family. Since I have a full woodshop in my basement, I get to build some furniture and stuff for family. It's my down time to get away from working at my real job.

[jfong]

Finished installing the gecko stepper drives last night and a short video of the lathe in action
http://youtu.be/zuGZxvZJS_w

Mounted the two gecko drivers in a old computer power supply case. I hooked up the fan to 5volts, probably not needed since the drivers are mounted to a heat sink but it can't hurt.

[jfong]

I installed my spindle index Hall effect sensor today on the lathe and was very surprised that the mach3 rpm reading was within 1rpm as compared to my handheld Ametek RPM meter. I ran some threading gcode and it seems to do what it is suppose to. I'm going to try to grind a bit today and run a threading test. The carbide inserts I bought off eBay hasn't come in yet.

[jfong]

http://youtu.be/2HpvWgHT8To

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Threading works! I made a 10-24 thread, it was a little tight but the nut did screw in fine. I didn't do a very good job making the cutter at exactly 60 degrees and could of cut the threads a little bit deeper. Not to bad for first time trying to do this.

[jfong]

I received my eBay Sandvik TCMT 21.50 inserts yesterday. They are made of cermet. They cut aluminum and steel effortlessly. I thought my valenite carbide inserts cut really well. These cut much better. I got a bunch for just $2 each. Great deal.

Made some tool holder today for the new inserts.

[jfong]

Made this drawing pen holder out of UHMW plastic and 3/8" steel rod. A spring is used to hold the pen down for uneven surfaces. I also made a slightly larger one for bigger markers. Inspiration was from reading a Hackaday.com post about a neat DIY Spirograph machine.

Attachment 238252

CNC Drawing Pen Holder - YouTube

[jfong]

I saw that the author of Gcode ripper has added touch probe height re-mapping so you can carve on uneven surfaces.
G-Code Ripper

This will be great for carving on curved surfaces. Instead of building a touch probe, I bought a Mitutoyo Touch Signal Inspection Probe model 192-001 on eBay for $7. I cut off the original wire harness and soldered a wire to the circuit board that connects to the internal touch probe switch. The wire then connects to the mach3 probe input pin.

Works great and a simple hack for only $7

[jfong]

My shop vac finally died so went to Lowes to pick up a new one. Woodcraft was having a sale so I bought 25feet of 2.5" hose and another Dust Deputy. The Dust Deputy works better than the Thein collector that I used before.

The 2.5" diameter hose has much more air flow than the original 1" hose. I made some speaker baffle cut outs out of MDF today and it sucked all the dust away.

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