[TXFred]

I have a CNC'd 7x14, and am making a stand with a high capacity chip tray for
it. Since I no longer need to reach any controls on the lathe, I am thinking of
mounting it at a 45 degree angle, similar to a slant bed lathe, in order to let
the chips and coolant fall away from the bed.

Unlike on a slant bed lathe, I would be keeping the toolpost on the front of the
machine.

I've been racking my brain trying to think of reasons why this might be a bad
idea. I'd like to hear from the devil's advocates on the forum. Is there any
reason why the lathe would not work correctly at a 45 degree angle?

Frederic

[whateg01]

What kind of lathe. If it has an oil bath, will it affect lubrication of the geartrain? Just a thought.

Dave

[ninefinger]

Frederic,

Did you ever go ahead with this idea of tilting the lathe at 45 degrees? Sounds like a good plan to me as I have more vertical space than front to back.

Mike

[A1CNC]

I did this with a 9x20 grizzly lathe I converted to cnc ~ 3-4 years ago and it has worked well.

The majority of the chips now fall in front of the machine.

[ninefinger]

Thanks A1. I will probably add this to the list of to do's as I convert. As there is no oil bath on this machine and the saddle is clamped to the bed front and rear I don't see a reason not to. Also once I add some tapered gibbs to the saddle it should be better still regardless of orientation.

Now to model up the lathe in CAD and decide which conversion approach to take (direct or belt drive on X)

Mike

[TXFred]

Frederic,

Did you ever go ahead with this idea of tilting the lathe at 45 degrees? Sounds like a good plan to me as I have more vertical space than front to back.

Mike

I did. It's not pretty, but it works well. I'll post a picture later.

[ninefinger]

Hi Frederic,

Lookinig forward to your pics. I'v got so many projects and no time but this little lathe keeps nagging at me to get converted (I have a 13x34 Standard Modern non cnc for big work)

Mike

[TXFred]

Here's a couple of pictures. This lathe was converted on the cheap. I already had a G540 controller and PC that I had built for my X2 conversion. Details of the controller are here. And I used the Fignoggle plans to convert the lathe, using scrap metal I had lying around. The frame is made from scrap bedframes, a cheap source of sturdy angle iron.

The Fignoggle system uses the existing screws, so the result is a lot of backlash. For most lathe operations, that's not a problem. Mach's backlash compensation does a good job of correcting for it. Good programming helps to, making sure that you always approach the part from +X and +Z.

The only parts I bought for this project were two steppers, an emergency stop, a project box, and some bolts. At some point I'll rework this lathe with a treadmill motor and some decent ballscrews, or just upgrade to something bigger and better.

Full shot of the lathe. The monitor is bolted to a piece of angle iron that's welded to the frame.


Close up of the lathe. I still need to make a chip guard to go over the lathe, and add a keyboard / mouse shelf in front.


Looking down onto the lathe at a 45 degree angle. This is the angle I see when I'm operating the lathe. It's a good viewing angle.

You can see that I removed the compound slide and replaced it with a solid piece of steel. It made a nice improvement in the lathe's rigidity.

[pippin88]

Thanks for the photos Fred.
Where do you have your home switches?
I currently have mine at full +x (tool as far out from centre line as possible) and full +z (tailstock end). The x it's fine, but the z means I can't use a tailstock easily as the carriage needs to move all the way along.

[TXFred]

The switches are mounted to the carriage. The green wires are the home switch wires. There's a silver tab beneath the tailstock that operates the Z home switch. There's another tab on the cross slide to operate the X switch.

It's a very ghetto system, put together in an hour. But it works well for now.

I positioned the Z tab so that the lathe would reach home before colliding with the tailstock.

[ninefinger]

Thanks for the pics Fred. Now I just need to get off my duff and do the conversion.

Mike

[LeeWay]

I was thinking about mounting mine like this as well.
Mine is a home made Gang Tool lathe.
It has bellows on it and this is where both my parts and the bulk of chips go.
I have to constantly brush the chips out. They are all brass, so I recycle those.
At an angle, the parts and chips would fall into a tray. Very cool.
Thanks for the pictures too.
Helps to visualize it.

[A1CNC]

I did the same with my Grizzly 9 x 20 (G4000)

It is way better than a flat lathe for chip clearing. I made a "temporary" enclosure that has been on there for~ 2 years now! I now have 3 other real turning centers so chances of improving mine are slim!

I modded a southbend 9" collet closer for mine.
Any who, here is a picture of mine.

[fretsman]

These are some great ideas here, may I ask how you folks are protecting your motors from debris/coolant ?

Thanks,
Dave

[TXFred]

may I ask how you folks are protecting your motors from debris/coolant ?

I'm not.