On 2010-11-27, john wrote:
Ignoramus18541 wrote:
On 2010-11-27, wrote:

id wrote in message
...
On 2010-11-27, Pete wrote:
They both have their uses, and the chuck on the indexer makes it useful
for a lot of stuff. There are a lot of things you might make that don't
need full 4th axis movement, just indexing.

Exactly, unless I want to mill spirals or dildos, I do not really need
a 4th axis.

i

Are you planning 6 axis and an automatic tool changer yet? :-)


I am planning to add one more axis to motorize the knee (it is called
W if I recall correctly, it is along the Z axis). I have a DC motor
with a reductor already, to which I can easily add an encoder. Plus I
want to put an encoder on the spindle. 4th axis is definitely in plans
too. I might even do true "5th axis" as I have a rotary turntable from
an auction.

With two more rotary axes and the W it will be a six axis machine,
plus a spindle encoder. And the good news is that it will not be very
expensive, I have all the pieces, just no time to get to it all at once.

So, the most possible outcome is:

* 4th axis -- Troyke CNC rotary table
* 5th axis -- Ferguson geared rotary table
* "W" axis -- motorized knee
* Encoder on spindle

Of course, many plans do not come to fruition and I do not have time
for this right now. As of now, I have three axes plus the indexer, all
working.

i


If you really want to do it right, set up a readout that combines the W
and Z axis for an absolute position from the part. Fanuc charges
another couple grand for this option.

Should be appx. 20-40 lines of config with EMC. Some setting up of a
variable that is a difference between Z and W, and some settings in
panel.xml to display said difference in the GUI.

i