CNC lathe conversion, page 4

Tool mounting

For my use I decided to simply use an Aloris type tool holder and manually switch tools. I may someday try to build a tool turret, and Im also thinking about trying some gang tooling. But for now a simple manual switch is all thats needed.

To mount the tool post I made a cast iron block to replace the height taken by the compound slide on the original machine.

This photo shows the underside of the block with the pocket cut for a hex bolt.

And here is the block mounted with the bolt inplace to receive the Aloris post.

Software and control

My control box is a simple box hacked from a PC cabinet. I used Keling drives for this machine with a breakout board from CNC4PC. I also used a Smoothstepper. I wont say much about the control box, its pretty straight forward.

I use Mach3 for control and I am currently working on a new screen set that combines full manual control with a set of Turn wizards. My wizards approach a job in the same way a manual machinist would. I will be doing a web page on them when they are finished.

Return to my home page