I like how you use the rails to mount the chuck. How do you lock them in place once they are positioned?
I used 4020 to create rails. I then used M5 track nuts to lock the chuck and tailstock in place. I milled the raised piece out of MDF, so that it fits perfectly between the 4020 and provides a mechanism to keep the chuck and tailstock co-linear with the Y axis. This mechanism used only 20mm of my Z for the mounting system.
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Adam,
Thanks for the reference for HTC, I like everything I see on their site and will divert my tool spending there, being from Colorado I like to support locals as well.
Thanks again
Pat
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Nice! Also from colorado and nice to find another local i can trade with. Never heard of these guys before.
I probed X and Z once with an 6mm aluminum rod I inserted into the chuck.
I used the Masso probing cycle with the rod as my ‘probing block’, then calculated the X and Z with the offset of the cutter and rod radius.
I wrote down the machine Position of the X on the chuck and have it in my G59 too. I will only ever probe again for the X if I have to move my rotary.
Same with the Z, I now have the offset from the machine bed to Z0.
I eyeballed the Y so the spindle does not collide with the chuck.
Then I used the cutter to position the tail stock.
I find the tool setter extremely comfortable for changing bits.
This is indexed 4 axis machining, my first ever project on the rotary on some scrap wood. It is very important to get the XY and Z correct to at least 0.1 mm, otherwise it will crew up the project.
I used a 6.35mm Endmill for roughing and a 1mm tapered ball nose to finish.
The next issue I’ve found is that I’ve setup my rotary along my y axis. I went to use Lightburn to laser engrave a tumbler and it defaults to using the x axis as the axis that’s normal to your defined rotation axis, in my case the A axis. I’ve found nothing useful in trying to figure out how to essentially flip my x and y axis. Any suggestions with that would be helpful.
I would post that question in the lightburn forum
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I haven’t done this yet, but I may want to, so I looked it up. Here’s the link I found. Looks like it’s just a radio button.
If you meant 4 sided machining, I would be interested to know hat CAM software you are using, I am making a lot of chess pieces and the Knight doesn’t work so well using Vectric, or I guess true 4 axis machining.
Thanks, Pat
Aspire/VCarve can only do 3-axis wrapped rotary machining. Try DeskProto for indexed 4-axis jobs. It’s inexpensive and has many different machining options, so you’ll be able to machine the undercuts that you can’t get to when when cutting only above the center of rotation.
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Thank you, I will check it out.
Pat
Do they have a PP for Masso?
Pat
There’s a Masso PP. I’ve used it for a bunch of indexed rotary jobs (4 through 8-sided) and it’s pretty useful.
Thanks, I am going to give it a try,
Pat
I was using Deskproto for that project, it was Dan’s recommendation. It took me a few hours to figure out the software, but I think it has a lot more options than VCarve regarding CAM. There is no CAD options, but that does not bother me at all, I have Rhino. That post processor modification possibility really convinced me. The hobbyist version is very affordable, although I will have to pay for the pro version eventually.
VCarve cannot handle complex rotary projects.
I’ll say that DeskProto has more machining options than RhinoCAM Pro, at 5% of its price. Also calculates toolpaths faster and doesn’t constantly crash…
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I downloaded the free version with trial versions on all the rest, struggling a little with getting the model to fit the material but it doesn’t look to complex at this point
Thanks, Pat
Yeah. There’s a bit of a learning curve. Defining tapered bits manually can be a bit tricky, too. Definitely use the rotation axis as your zero point. That way, you don’t have to be very precise with your stock size. Also, you can get more toolpath options if you create them then edit them…opens up more options for some reason, like only cutting along the x-axis.
One thing I’ve found is that you’ll want to be mindful of bit lengths if you’re using square stock with toolpaths that have the corners pointing up, rather than the flats. I’ve had to take a chisel to the corners of my stock, while it was being milled, to avoid collet nut collisions with the unmilled portions on toolpaths that were cutting below the rotation axis. Really need to build a table that’ll let be mount the rotary with the rotation axis at spoilboard level…
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Yeah that’s how I set mine up too, but you only have the option to select your rotary axis. You can select Y, Z, or A for rotary. That part is fine. I select A and it operates my chuck perfectly. The problem is that the linear movement only outputs to the x axis. But the way my chuck is aligned, and from the looks of it, many of your setups as well, is along the y axis, so you’d need to output a YA gcode, but lightburn only outputs XA gcode.