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Re: ELS project
#RELS
The punishment will continue until morale improves. ;) Bill in OKC <----- packrats even MORE information... On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 6:55:04 PM CDT, Fast Eddie <epinnell@...> wrote: On Wed, Aug 14, 2019 at 04:39 PM, Bruce J wrote: Something I ran across today that would have a bearing on this things:A "bearing" on things...oh, I get it now...<groan> |
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Re: Sign in my shop
Seen it, liked it, have used it on occasion. It was in the high school machine shop when I was a teen. On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 5:49:11 PM CDT, Fast Eddie <epinnell@...> wrote: The guy on the second shift got to messing around with the parameters on a feeder one time trying to troubleshoot a problem. He changed one of them and then went home for the evening. I spent the better part of the getting the thing working and couldn't figure out how it got changed in the first place until he showed up the next day. I printed this out and left it on the workbench for him the following day. He thought it was German and tried to translate it using one of those translation apps on his phone. Too funny...I thought everyone had seen this one before... |
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Re: Sign in my shop
The guy on the second shift got to messing around with the parameters on a feeder one time trying to troubleshoot a problem. He changed one of them and then went home for the evening. I spent the better part of the getting the thing working and couldn't figure out how it got changed in the first place until he showed up the next day.
I printed this out and left it on the workbench for him the following day. He thought it was German and tried to translate it using one of those translation apps on his phone. Too funny...I thought everyone had seen this one before... |
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ELS and Rigidity
#RELS
Hello, All,
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We seem to be talking a lot about ELS, so I thought I would mention something about rigidity.? John has found that the better the lathe rigidity, the better the ELS performance.? I know, you are going to say, "Hey, that's true with manual machining!? It's not a special requirement of? ELS or CNC!"? This is true, but apparently it's even more important with automated operation.? This is because most of us quickly learn the quirks of our machines, and can compensate for weaknesses quickly.? I have heard various stories of professional machinists in the primarily manual days who would know that to take off an extra .0005 inches, they would have to press on their tailstock just so, or hold onto this lever during part of the operation.? If I see an uneven cut, I can immediately check to be sure my carriage is sufficiently rigid and adjust if before I continue.? Unfortunately, the dumb computers that run automated systems don't know anything about that, and so can't compensate this way.
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There are several modifications worth making for both automated and manual operation.? These are also quite important with a gear reduction unit, as you probably implemented the GR unit to make heavier cuts, which puts more load on the lathe carriage system.
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1. Replace the carriage gib strips with an improved system?
2. Replace the compound with a riser plate
3. Improve the cross-slide gib adjustment system
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There are other mods that, IMHO, are worth making, such as changing to tapered roller bearings, but I think they have been discussed ad infinitum, so let's focus on these three.
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I have made all three of these mods, and I can say that they do make a big difference to rigidity.? (I abhor people taking credit for someone else's work, so I have to point out that items 1 and 3 were John's design.? Item 2 I designed myself, as I recall.)? I've attached photos of these changes below, and will discuss them in more detail in future posts.? The carriage gib strip replacement was the most complex, and the most different from the numerous other fixes commonly available online.
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A few words about the carriage gib strip replacement, which I refer to as a "tensioner".? First, a modification is made to the carriage that allows the gib strips to be adjusted from above.? The existing holes are tapped through, and several new ones added.? Set screws (grub screws, if you are from the UK) are added with a nut attached permanently to the far end.? I silver soldered mine, but any technique that fastens them permanently is fine.? These are threaded in from below with the nuts down and the hex cutout up, and now you can adjust from above.? It seems that locking nuts are not needed here, but Loctite or fishing line in the hole can give some additional anti-vibration protection if you find it's needed.? This change alone allows the existing gib strips to be adjusted with much less difficulty than the originals.
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The tensioners themselves differ from the usual solutions because they contact four areas of the way undersides; i.e., they are not continuous.? The problem with the continuous strips that come with the lathe is that the underside of the ways is not perfectly flat.? Even if they were, the ways wear because the carriage spends most of its time near the chuck.? The tensioners have a half countersink on the end opposite where they contact the way underside.? A set/grub screw with a conical tip fits this countersink and is used to do the rough adjustment of the front or back two tensioners.? The final adjustment is made by the set/grub screws with the nut pulling up the ends of the tensioners where they contact the way underside.? Hopefully this description will supplement the photos.
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Regards, Charlie New Jersey, USA |
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Thanks guys.
What i will do is 3D print.a mounting bracket and a motor shoe. Real Bull only.check fit. Also clean up my MC 8 files Mastercam, then convert to DXF and see where we go form there. I have just CNC mill machined another motor mount bracket from billet, it?s needed for a guy in the UK, please see photos. Just need to profile perimeter to a fixed shape (see engraved profile lines ) CNC done, that allows the bracket to snug into the bed frame of the lathe. Charlie has sent previous photos of the final assembly. Gears supplied by LMS. I will check in later with postal replies if you need further assistance. What is also up for discussion is the retrofit of the standard Sieg or Weiss mills to CNC. But we need to save this for another set of posts, Richard Edwards UK has done a super job of retrofitting his Sieg mill, taken out all the Z axis feed nonsence and has a stepper motor to drive a Z axis screw. ? Please post questions to Richard, he will be most helpful. He is a member of this group. But in advance,? please search DDCS V3.1 motion controllers.and search DigitalDream. For the cost of a good night out with the family, these controllers are magic.and well within budget. They also have an on board full time CNC engineer Mr Yt Liu? and ex rocket science engineer, (truly) and also contact via Facebook, also they own there private Forum for motion control owners. I hope to discuss the CNC conversions as we move forward with this new group. I do not want to throw to much at you all at once as regards digital machining as it will not stick. As we say here "poco poco" or translates? to little by little. Robert Furmanek? the Sieg GR expert has completely gone off the radar. Last I heard he moved from the Northern States to Florida.? He did have a "Roberts blog" with all the GR info appertaining to Sieg lathes.? Possibly search the web.?? If anybody can track him down, please forward my regards and ask him to send me a PM message. Regards. -- John |
Bill in OKC too
John Lindo