[HLF Ordnance]

I was thinking of getting one...

Does anyone think it can cut 316L Stainless? Is anyone cutting stainless with it.


Im looking for a CNC lathe and dont have a ton of space or money.

TIA

Kyle

[beanbag]

I was thinking of getting one...

Does anyone think it can cut 316L Stainless? Is anyone cutting stainless with it.

Why wouldn't it be able to?

[Wog]

I discussed this with Bob at Tormach several years ago. He had said that it would turn stainless with light cuts. My question was "can it part 304?". I sent him a 3/4" round 304 sample and he tested it. His reply was that it wasn't recommended.
If you do need to just turn it, I'd go with 303 stainless if you can. I turn this on my large lathes, cuts/parts great.

[HLF Ordnance]

Thanks WOG!!!

I have a request from my father-in-law (which means no profit, thus I want to do it at home on my 1100) to make some instruments for his dental surgeries.

It needs to be 316L because some of them come to a .02" blunt tip off of a 10deg taper that will be put under shock. I know 316 is a pain to machine but I think 304 might bend???

Might put a collet holder in the table and machine it like that. Or put the work piece in the spindle and get the TOSA tool vert lathe kit.

Kyle

[bobeson]

As a duality owner, I strongly discourage planning to use it for anything except soft metals with small diameters. The spindle motor is severely underpowered for open-loop CNC control, and it stalls easily and often. I cut over a hundred 1/2" diameter W-1 steel parts for one project, and although I eventually got them all made within tolerance, it was an experience I plan to never repeat.

[beanbag]

Might put a collet holder in the table and machine it like that. Or put the work piece in the spindle and get the TOSA tool vert lathe kit.

Kyle

All u need is a lathe cutting tool if you are able to mount the work in the spindle. I have cut 316L this way with so much ease, as long as you have the right kind of insert.

[HLF Ordnance]

thanks guys, I am going to put the work in the spindle. Duality lathe is cool, but I already have a small chinese lathe. haha

[WOTDesigns]

Is the motor the only concern in these duality lathes? Its all I see when someone mentions the duality. Is it not possible to throw a bigger motor on? Perhaps a KB controller too? Is the speed signal 0-10 vdc? I just picture a KBIC controller and a 3/4-1hp motor and keep the cuts reasonable.

Or is it just that much easier (obviously cheaper) to mount in the spindle and learn to program that way?

I'm asking because I have parts that are 3" round by 8" long 1018 that need about 2/3 of the metal removed (picture a dumbell). Takes FOREVER on a manual lathe and I would love to be able to do it on a duality under CNC. My impending purchase is getting closer and wondering if it is modify-able as I would throw it on the ever increasing total.

I'm sure its smarter to just cnc a 12x36, but just wondering as I've seen these same concerns over and over and to the completely ignorant (never seen one in person) it seems like a fairly straight forward fix... SEEMS and IGNORANT likely being key words here.

[beanbag]

3" x 8" long- I would rather do turn milling with the 4th axis (if you have one)

[Wog]

If you don't have to use 1018, switch to 12L14 and you'll save a lot of time whichever method you choose.

[bobeson]

I think it would be an impressive bit of engineering to tweak the duality into something that you'd want to use for cutting a 3"x8" bit of 1018.
You'd be much, much better off using a modified lathe or else building a beefier version of the 4th-axis mill-turn unit like what this guy has been making:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2-Kdud7eiA"]Simpson36's mill-turn 4th axis.[/ame]

Personally, I'm waiting to see what the Tormach lathe looks like, and then I'll either get that or else a low-end Haas. When I get a big enough shop, I'll eventually get a real manual lathe to replace the duality entirely. As it is, I only use it in manual mode now, so it's no different than all the other mini-lathes out there.

[WOTDesigns]

That indexer set up is really neat! The cost if the duality plus mods comes too close to microkinetics conversion kit to be worth it. I love the idea of adding a turret later too. Only major downside is having to use their software when I already know mach and mastercam :-/ Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there and just keep looking forward too the tormach lathe.

[HLF Ordnance]

wow thats a sweet setup!!!

Any recommendations on inserts for 316?