[dvirb]

Hello guys,

a newbie here, with yet another question about cnc mills:

The question is simply what I've typed in the title - Do I need to have a 4th axis on my cnc milling machine in order to mill precision circular shapes ? or a 3 axis machine will do ?


thanks for any help

[awerby]

It depends on the mill, and how much precision you need. But there are a lot of rotary tables on the market right now dirt cheap, because they aren't as necessary now as they used to be.

[CRO-WD40]

boring head instead of 4th axis?

[dharmic]

Depends on the geometry of what you're trying to do. If the circular shapes are no deeper than the tool and z travel of the machine then you can profile them out of flat plate and they'll be reasonably accurate. Think "disc".

But if they're more "rod" than disc then that becomes difficult just due to the limitations of tool deflection and so on, and a 4th axis becomes important.

Either that, or get a lathe to do lathe type work.

[dvirb]

Thanks so much for the replies! I am looking for smooth circular curves in a block of metal, to house a set of gears (pretty small precision gears)


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