NEW ACRA 1640TE

[Firestopper]

Since I wasn't impressed with the DROpros display mount and arm, I made my own. The arm is .625" x 1.5" aluminum bar stock and the mounting bracket was made from a scrap chunk of 1.5" aluminum, cut and finished to 4" base x 5" tall. I wanted to have the ability to swing the entire display out of the way to remove the headstock top cover. I also wanted it at a comfortable working hight. The base is drilled and tapped for two 5/16-18 mounted atop the electrical cabinet. A piece of 1/4" x 3" flat strap (same hole layout) was used as backer to prevent the cabinet from flexing. Two bolts secures everything from the inside if the cabinet.

I like the working hight. The speed control is the left knob while the smaller knob on the right switches between SFM or RPM.
The DROPRO's bracket/arm had the display rotated to the right about 1/3 bubble off on a 8" level driving me nuts.
This looks much better.

Here you can see the swing clearing the way to remove the top cover on the headstock.
The backer plate really prevents any flexing. The cantilever weight is enough to flex the 16 ga, enclosure and would more than likely bounce/vibrate with the machine running. The whole assembly is very solid.

The head also rotates right to left. This is the extreme rotation to the left keeping slight slack on the cables.
The power cable will straighten up some when rotated to the far right while the two armored cables will slacken.

The rest of the cables will be secured after the backsplash is reinstalled.
The tool post T-nut was removed and drilled out for a 3/4-16 tap. The Aloris uses a larger stud than what the machine came with.
The benefit of a long table, two projects at once. A push of a button and the machine will be back on center over the rotary table project.

The CXA really fits nice. I wanted to get more measurements for the tailstock DRO quill bracket with the QCTP in place. Plenty of room even with a short live center.

Looks right at home.

Next punch list item was to indicate in the taper attachment. I got it within .0005" in 12.5" I need to drill two holes and pin in place ensuring it stays located. Any movement will result in cross feed leads screw binding. The deadman clamp and lineage rod also were installed for indicating.
The taper was set as far as possible, the carriage traveled smoothly by hand. A pice of tape was marked prior and after travel and matched up with the DRO readings. The 1440's taper attachment works well too but, it required the cross slide nut to be removed and the deadman clamp. The ACRA only requires the deadman clamp and is much smother.

Another view. The clearance between the Y scale/cover and the deadman clamp worked out well.

I'm hoping to make real progress on the TS scale tomorrow, then pin the tapper attachment and get the back splash back on.
I see chips in the near future.

Thanks for stopping by.

Paco

 

[f350ca]

Coming along nicely Paco. Soon be making chips.

Greg

 

[jeff_g1137]

Hi
It a great getting a new machine, and setting it up the way you like it.
It is like a old pair boots, just right, & you now it will fit for a long time.
It is -5 *C outside, but i need to get in the shed. lol
Have a great time on the Lathe, i will be there, all the way.

jeff g

 

[Firestopper]

Thanks Jeff,
All the modifications will make it a joy to work with.

Yikes!,-5ºC Stay warm.
Our high today is 70ºF with a low of 40ºF. Your summer moths are way better than ours

Paco

 

[jeff_g1137]

Hi Paco
70 F is high summer in the UK 80+ & it is to hot. lol

jeff g

 

[Firestopper]

Got the last scale installed and its working as intended. Overall I think the tail stock install looks as good as it works.

The two halves of the sliding bracket.

The match up.

Checking the shim clearance.

The quill clamp was too large for the cold saw to cut the slit, so it was setup on the Ellis band saw. This actually worked out better since the band saw blade width is only .035".

Laid out the TS to mount the scale. It critical that the readhead doesn't contact the end blocks on the scale. I should have full travel range from stop to stop without crashing the readhead. It appears I only have .125" of clearance at both ends of the scale.

The readhead is in place with the correct .020" gap.

Drilled/tapped the scale onto the TS body. Making fine adjustments to get it true. It was less than .0005" in 13" when done. The magnetic scales are way more forgiving than glass scales.

I needed to drill/tap the readhead arm to secure to the quill clamp. The arm was too long to use the vice so an angle block was used to secure the arm vertically. The setup worked fine and I was able to power tap the holes using a two fluted 1/4-20 tap.

A clamp was used at the bottom portion of the angle block via the readhead window. You can see the machinist square to the right of the lower clamp.

I used transfer punch threaded inserts to locate the holes on the quill clamp. I ran the QCTP up against the quill clamp to support the the transfer process.

All finished and working well. It was imperative to use heavy stock to keep everything rigid for a reliable reading.
A nose shot.

Overall side protrusion is 1.375", not bad considering the readhead is dynamic. The large TS helps absorb the beefy bracket.
The two holes are access to the 8-24 x 1" caps screws securing the readhead.

Full quill travel to stop. Just a hair over 6". A cable clamp was added to the rear lower portion of the TS body. The cable was looped under the TS and dropped down the second web opening on the bed. This allows full travel of TS without cable binding/snagging. I plan on adding another clamp/strap over the relief groove on the arm.

Another shot of the extended quill.

An easy loop on the cable when the quill is fully retracted.

"Houston we have numbers"!

A fair amount of design work went into this portion of the DRO install but overall I'm pleased with the results. I don't think a cover/shield is required as the track system is fairly tight.

Thanks for looking.

Turn and Burn!

Paco

 

[extropic]

The TS (and everything else) looks great. Nice work.

 

[f350ca]

Very nice instal Paco.

Greg

 

[Firestopper]

Thanks fellas,
pretty satisfied with the overall performance.
Still need a trigger plate for the proximity stop and pin the taper attachment. Then swap out with the 1440.
Back on shift today so back on Monday.
Have a great weekend guys.

Paco

 

[Firestopper]

Got the taper attachment pinned in place. The taper attachment came with two tapered pins that require a 17/64 pilot hole drilled into the rear of the carriage via two provided holes (bushing) already in the main taper bracket. These 17/64 holes would then require a tapered #6 pin reamer to provide the correct taper for the provided taper pins. The pins would then be hammered in place to prevent any movement resulting in
misalignment. This would make it difficult to remove the taper attachment in the future if for some reason the cross feed lead screw thrust bearings needed attention. I decided to use two 5/16-24 X 1.25" socket cap screws instead of the provided tapered pins.
I drilled into the rear carriage trough the provided pilot holes .375" deep.
The 17/64 drill bit = .265"
The minor pitch diameter of a 5/16-24 screw is .282"
The taper attachment bracket thickness is .875" and required a letter I drill bit (.272") for a 5/15-24 tap. Now I had a stepped hole for the screw pins.
The first .375" (tip) of the socket cap screws where turned down to .263" to act as securing pins into the carriage when threaded into the taper attachment bracket.

The taper attachment bracket pilot holes didn't allow access with a regular drill so I used a custom made chuck extension.

The holes needed to be as straight as possible for this to work as the clearance for the pins where only .002". Working alone made it a bit difficult eyeballing the long extension but in the end the screw pins went in. I did use a dab of anti-seize on the tip and threads.
The right side hole showed the close proximity to the bracket with just enough room for the smaller chuck on the extension.

Here's a shot of one the modified socket cap screw.

These are the tapered pins that came with the taper attachment. The instructions indicated they should be driven flush with the surface of the bracket. Again, I wanted the ability to remove the taper attachment for any unforeseen reasons. The screw pins will index the bracket to the carriage on reinstallation. The four mounting socket cap screw holes are slotted slightly and the cross feed lead screw will bind if not aligned properly.

With the tapper attachment install completed, I added a strain relief strap to the TS readhead cable and added a second cable clamp.
Drill/tapped two 6-32 X 3/8" SS button head screws.

The second cable clamp shares a screw for the bed wipe.

The last item completed was a trigger plate for the proximity sensor and secondary safety micro switch. I wanted to follow the same profile on Mark's design. I used a pice of .375" CR bar cut entirely on the horizontal band saw with some creative clamping. The two screws used where
8-32 x .375 and counter bored for a sub-flush fit.

I was stoked to have the last holes tapped on the machine. A total of 20 holes varying from 6-32, 8-32, 10-24, 1/4-20 and 5/16-24 where required for the modifications and braking a 1/4-20 tap early on (second hole) made it a little stressful but it all worked out.
The profile match.

The last item to address is a magnetic pickup bracket for the tachometer. I don't think I'll need to tap any holes for this so thats a relief

Hopefully swap out the machines on Friday, level and run some test cuts....Finally.
Thanks for stopping by.

To be continued....

Paco