9x20 Lathe CNC conversion

[jumps4]

cncing a lathe is a lot easier than a mill and a lot cheaper
but you will not use it near as much in most cases.
once done it does almost everything without taper attachments. gear changes, ball turners ect.
steve

 

[OakRidgeGuy]

Well, in my case, it will get a lot of use, just doing specific things..

 

[cjsamples]

eBay breakout board

Steve,
Do you have a link for that breakout board? Tried to find it on ebay and had no luck.
Thanks, Chris.

 

[jumps4]

here is the one i used
it has no opto-couplers
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DB25-Male-S...431?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4607987807
if your going to use a uc100 usb controler you will need this gender changer also
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Pin-DB25...549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c65b8cb75
steve

 

[jumps4]

my lathe project has been on the back burner for a while i have been working on other projects but i still have to finish the enclosure and coolant pump system.
the lathe is usable now just not completed. I'll post a few pics when i get a chance.
steve

 

[jumps4]

I installed a 3/4hp sewing machine motor that works better than the original and have been building the enclosure and guards. i did all the wiring and have yet to install the flood cooling but it is wired for the pump. also added a light in the enclosure.
steve

 

[Dirty Engineer]

Any further updates on this conversion? I have an identical lathe I'm converting.

Anything you might do different if you were to do it again?

 

[redman]

here is the one i used
it has no opto-couplers
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DB25-Male-S...431?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4607987807
if your going to use a uc100 usb controler you will need this gender changer also
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Pin-DB25...549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c65b8cb75
steve

Couldnt you just buy the female one instead of getting the gender changer?

How happy are you with your stepper packages off of ebay? Besides the breakout board is there other problems with the kits you have purchased? Is there any advantage to using 3 different power supplies rather than the big ones sold with the keling kits? Drivers as good as geckos?

Sorry for all the questions. I appreciate all the pictures and videos you have posted so far. It's been very helpful for me in understanding this process. Thanks!

 

[jumps4]

Any further updates on this conversion? I have an identical lathe I'm converting.

Anything you might do different if you were to do it again?

the lathe works as well as i planned, at the time i didnt have much need for it and was built as just a fun project. now that i have it and use it all the time there needs to be changes. one the saddle was too worn and required a new 8" long gib to keep everything straight. that needs more power to move because of added friction. it works perfect for everything with no problems except cutting course threads. it wont move z fast enough to cut 8tpi unless the spindle is moving really slow. so i'm adding a 1600 motor to the z axis and a ballscrew there. x is fine.
the other problem is mach3 and the lathe, it is really buggy its like they never really work the bugs out of the software and wizards and what version to use is a guess. my mill works perfect but lathe you really have to watch it while it is running. just yesterday i was turning a big pipe bending dye and everything was going ok. i wanted to just boost up the feed rate a little. thats not a problem on the mill you just press the feed arrow and it speeds up a little while running. on the lathe i pressed the arrow and nothing happened, i tried a few more times and nothing. then all of a sudden it took off feeding at full speed burrying the cutter in the part. i wont try that again. mach3 seems to have always put lathe on the back burner.
steve

 

[jumps4]

Couldnt you just buy the female one instead of getting the gender changer?

How happy are you with your stepper packages off of ebay? Besides the breakout board is there other problems with the kits you have purchased? Is there any advantage to using 3 different power supplies rather than the big ones sold with the keling kits? Drivers as good as geckos?

Sorry for all the questions. I appreciate all the pictures and videos you have posted so far. It's been very helpful for me in understanding this process. Thanks!

sure that would be an option instead of the gender changer. the option came up when using a uc100 or not with the same parallel cable. i have had good luck with everything i have purchased off of ebay as far as working but you have to be careful about the power supplies not being big enough (amps) or too low of a voltage. you really have to read the add and not just go for the cheapest. the seperate drivers and power supplies work better than the tb6560 boards with everything built into one, i have 2 tb6560 boards running, one on a sherline mill and one on a sherline lathe and they are good for that. anything bigger and they go poof too often. i have never owned geoko drives so i know no comparison. but what i do know is these guys are really competitive on ebay and to make the kits sound better they will fudge a bit on the specs. they may say the motor will be 880 oz/in but the power supply you get will never get that kind of power out of the motor because it is too small. or the motor is high power high speed but that requires twice the amperage your controller is rated at so you never get to wire it to get those results.thats the problem i'm having threading on my lathe. the motor drops in power rapidly as the rpms go up, so to move fast to thread i need a faster lead screw pitch and a bigger motor to get those speed or drop the spindle rpm really slow resulting in a poor finish on the thread. the ideal in cold roll i have found is to thread at about 600 rpm but that requires over 30upm feed to do 20tpi (not exact math) i start to falter above 20ipm right now so i have to drop the spindle rpms conciderably on course threads. if i wasnt threading the lathe works really well.
steve