# A Call for Beta Testers for a Lathe Electronic Edge Finder



## rgsparber (Dec 24, 2012)

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


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## Hawkeye (Dec 24, 2012)

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.


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## OldMachinist (Dec 24, 2012)

I'd be interested. I my 16" South Bend almost everyday. I would like the information on testing the spindle resistance.


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## Tony Wells (Dec 24, 2012)

I'd be interested. I am a small shop owner, and have work in the machine virtually constantly.


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## Pontiac Freak (Dec 25, 2012)

I would be interested, how do I measure the resistance?


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## DaveSohlstrom (Dec 25, 2012)

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


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## rgsparber (Dec 25, 2012)

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


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## rgsparber (Dec 25, 2012)

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.



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

Rick


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## jgedde (Dec 25, 2012)

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
> ...



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


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## rgsparber (Dec 26, 2012)

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



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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## rgsparber (Dec 26, 2012)

Pontiac Freak said:


> I would be interested, how do I measure the resistance?



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


Rick

rgsparber@aol.com


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## rgsparber (Dec 26, 2012)

Tony Wells said:


> I'd be interested. I am a small shop owner, and have work in the machine virtually constantly.



You would be an ideal beta tester if your machines have spindle resistances greater than 3 ohms. Please let me know off list.

Thanks!

Rick


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## jgedde (Dec 26, 2012)

Rick,

I guess I'm not an ideal beta tester.  My kelvin meter was in my shop...  

Here's the measurements FYI - Spindle to compound: 

Lathe off: 0.12 ohms
Running at 360 RPM (rigged up a carbon brush): cyclical from about 120k to 170k ohms.

John


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## Pontiac Freak (Dec 26, 2012)

My HF 12x36" measures .3 ohms.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2


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## rgsparber (Dec 26, 2012)

Pontiac Freak said:


> My HF 12x36" measures .3 ohms.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2



That is too bad. You would be a candidate for the Model 1.5 but we have plenty of beta testers for it.

Thanks for checking,

Rick


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## rgsparber (Dec 26, 2012)

jgedde said:


> Rick,
> 
> I guess I'm not an ideal beta tester.  My kelvin meter was in my shop...
> 
> ...



You would be a good candidate for the Model 2 which can handle down to 0.01 ohms. 

Thanks for checking,

Rick


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## Tony Wells (Dec 26, 2012)

Rick,
 I'll get back to you on the measured resistance. I have 2 lathes to try it on. An Acer Dynamic 17 X 60 and a Monarch 16 X 54. I'll do some measuring.


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## brt (Dec 29, 2012)

rgsparber said:


> 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.
> 
> ...



I would love to be a Beta tester, but I don't use my lathe (PM1236) nearly enough.

So could you please add me to the list of potential customers for when you're done with the Beta program and are putting it on the market. If you could PM me at that point, I'd much appreciate it.


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