PM 1440HD weight vs floor

P

petertha

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2016
Messages
994
I noticed weight of this machine referenced at 2750 pounds. Its distributed on the typical 4 feet headstock + 2 feet tailstock. Just wondering if a guy should be considering concrete integrity of garage floor before committing to this since it would be parked adjacent to outer wall? ie. maybe pretty concentrated weight area wise relative to typical parked car? I seem to recall my floor was poured a bit thicker than whatever normal is & typical re-bar, but I really cant say what a standard is.

http://www.machinetoolonline.com/PM1440HD.html
 
you should be fine, standard concrete is rated at 3000 psi, add rebar, and something around 3" pour. As long as your garage was not the last stop of the day, and they did not pour too much water in the mix while the concrete was sitting in the truck. driveways and garages are planned for cars sitting on them so they are typically more than sufficient to handle 3000-4500 lbs loads on them for long periods of time...
As for the lathe, that is a real nice machine, been off and on the fence with that one for a couple of years now, almost bought the last one they had back in January. Is that the one? Very nice machine. Good luck with it, you sould have many decade of fun with it.

Rich
 
Are you slab on grade? Likely if it is done as mine, there is actually a concrete beam all around the edge.
Pierre
 
Unless your home was built long ago it should be A-OK.
 
I cant say of I have any subsurface footing material around the perimeter, but my guess would be no. I think it was the typical requisite gravel pad, re-bar, wood forms around the perimeter, pour & smooth routine. The slab was then incised with ~1/4" saw into 4 quarters to contain any unwanted heave cracks within. Then the outer walls constructed & bolted to the floor I guess..

I was thinking more about the concentrated load of lathe vs. a car that is spread out over 4 much wider contact points & the fact that lathe would be close to an edge of the apron vs in the mid section. But sounds like I would be ok. Actually I have a bit more than typical slope intended for water drain which caused me some grief on my existing lathe running out of travel on the jack feet to level the lathe in long axis. So for something like the 'wish list' lathe I'd consider some steel stock under the headstock feet like 0.5" x 4" x lathe depth long" to raise it up a bit & use the jack screws for final levelling.

Which brings up another question - if it steel on steel (threaded jack foot on steel shim bar) is that asking for machine 'skating' issues with vibration?
 
The only time my lathes (both 3000+ lbs) have vibrated is when doing off center turning. There is a whole school of thought that says bolting lathes down is not preferred. I also do not like rubber or plastic type feet. I go for threaded bolts with metal pads or invert the bolts and have them sit on bolt head with grade marking ground off for smoothness. Dial in the level of lathe to a thou in very direction and see how it turns. Adjust tailstock as necessary and recheck again in a week or so. This is what works for me. My 10ee is so short and stout, level is mostly meaningless. I used it sitting on 4 x 4s for months before I made my own feet. My Asian 1640 is another story, it has to be level or I will get taper. If you want to chase vibration and taper and changes in level on regular basis, buy some Mason leveling feet. They should come with a warning, not for precision machine tools. I am guessing they were designed with conveyors in mind but they sure don't tell you about their shortcomings.
 
Steel on steel will slip on each other. The steel pucks under our machines have a recess to receive the threaded feet so they do not slip off. Each puck is 4 to 5" in diameter and 3/4" to 1" thick. Different machines and manufacturers supply different sized pucks.
Pierre
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top