Wanting to Build a 4th Axis / Rotary
Group,
I am wanting to build a fourth axis for my machine ( an upgraded 1985 SuperMax YCM-30 ).
This seems to be on of the most knowledgeable groups - so I figured I'd pick your brains first before I start out on this journey.
I'm thinking of buying a 6" or a 9" rotary table from Enco.. something with a 90:1 ratio.
Has anyone here done this?
Some questions:
What did they do about the backlash? How did they take it out ?
Did the further reduce the gear reduction?
What driver are they using to control it? (I'm thinking of using a stepper on it...and driving it with a Gecko drive... )
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe
I tried one of those once
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CNC-Joe
Group,
I am wanting to build a fourth axis for my machine ( an upgraded 1985 SuperMax YCM-30 ).
This seems to be on of the most knowledgeable groups - so I figured I'd pick your brains first before I start out on this journey.
I'm thinking of buying a 6" or a 9" rotary table from Enco.. something with a 90:1 ratio.
Has anyone here done this?
Some questions:
What did they do about the backlash? How did they take it out ?
[I observed quite a bit of backlash - about 2 degrees. There wasn't any way to minimize it in the particular Asian rotary table I had, although I've heard that some allow this.]
Did the further reduce the gear reduction?
[No, there's already plenty of reduction - what you'll lack is speed, not torque.]
What driver are they using to control it? (I'm thinking of using a stepper on it...and driving it with a Gecko drive... )
[That should work fine, as long as you give it enough power.]
Any help is appreciated.
[It will probably work okay, as long as your cuts are really light and you don't change direction in the middle of a program - then the backlash will be quite evident. If you're just planning on using this for an indexer, and plan on locking it down between positions, it should be fine. But if you want to cut while the table is moving, you might look for something better.]
Thanks,
Joe
Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software
Get the 4th axis working first
Then download DeskProto - it will work for free for a month, so if your machine is together, you'll have ample time to try it out. It can handle large complex STL files, and generates a few types of 4-axis toolpaths very quickly. If you want to buy it, let me know - I can get you a good deal on it right now, especially if you're a hobbyist.
Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software