A Call for Beta Testers for a Lathe Electronic Edge Finder

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rgsparber

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Mark Cason and I have developed an edge finder that simply connects to many brands of lathes with no modifications to the machine and detects when the tip of the cutter comes in contact with the workpiece. Accuracy is better than +/- 0.0001".

Eventually it will be offered for sale by Mark's daughter. But for now we want to be sure it works reliably and has a good user interface. So we are enlisting beta testers to help us test it out.

You will receive a Lathe Electronic Edge Finder, Model 1. Mark Cason will cover the cost of the device plus shipping within the USA. You will also receive a draft of the user's guide from me via email.

In exchange, you must commit to using the LEEF at least 3 times a week starting in the week you receive it and ending when your results are consistently good. You must take detailed notes on your experience and email these notes to us within a day of each use. If the device fails to work as expected, we reserve the right to get it back for study and will ask you to take data from your lathe.

We also expect you to read each version of the user's guide and supply us comments and suggestions on making it better.

To qualify, you must have a lathe with a spindle resistance greater than 3 ohms. Details on how to take this measurement will be supplied upon request.

Thanks!

Rick Sparber
 
Steve, he does mean greater than 3 ohms. They have obviously designed the electronics to react to any resistance less than that amount. Good idea. I can see a lot of uses for it.

It won't work on my Hercus because the resistance from the spindle to the toolholder is only 0.1 ohms. My X2, on the other hand, has a resistance from the spindle to the base of the column of 20 ohms, so it would work very well. I can't measure the Victoria until I finish the cut it's set up for.

Too bad I'm outside the test area. :bawling:
 
I'd be interested. I my 16" South Bend almost everyday. I would like the information on testing the spindle resistance.
 
I'd be interested. I am a small shop owner, and have work in the machine virtually constantly.
 
I too would be interested in beta testing you LEEF. I have an Emco Compact 8 and a Grizzly 12X24. I would also need the info on checking lathe resistance.
I use at least one machine daily.

Dave Sohlstrom

dmsohl at tds dot net
 
Hawkeye said:
Steve, he does mean greater than 3 ohms. They have obviously designed the electronics to react to any resistance less than that amount. Good idea. I can see a lot of uses for it.

It won't work on my Hercus because the resistance from the spindle to the toolholder is only 0.1 ohms. My X2, on the other hand, has a resistance from the spindle to the base of the column of 20 ohms, so it would work very well. I can't measure the Victoria until I finish the cut it's set up for.

Too bad I'm outside the test area. :bawling:
Click to expand...

The Model 2 handles spindle resistances down to 0.01 ohms so you can dry your eyes ;-)

Rick
 
rgsparber said:
To all those interested in being beta testers, I first must know if you have a lathe with a spindle resistance greater than 3 ohms.


To understand what you must measure, please read

http://rick.sparber.org/ueef.pdf


To understand how to measure these small resistances, please read

http://rick.sparber.org/electronics/kelvin.pdf

Thanks to all!

Please contact me off list.

Rick

rgsparber@aol.com
Click to expand...

Ugh! My 4-wire microohmeter is at work and the building is closed 'til after New Years... Seems like a really cool idea. Keep me in mind! I've got a Grizzly G4003 lathe.

John
 
jgedde said:
Ugh! My 4-wire microohmeter is at work and the building is closed 'til after New Years... Seems like a really cool idea. Keep me in mind! I've got a Grizzly G4003 lathe.

John
Click to expand...

I just need to know if your bearing resistance is greater than 3 ohms. No need for micro ohm readings. Besides, you can easily read down to 0.01 ohms using a regular DVM, a 9V battery, and a 500 ohm resistor.

Rick
 
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