Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

How would you tackle it.

I finally got around to putting a motor on one of my rotary chucks and
hooking it to a controller. I think I could write the code by hand to
cut the helix with a small end mill, and use a combination of hand
coding and CAM coding to do everthing else except tap the clamp and
set screw holes on one of the mini mills. Then do my tapping with the
little tapping head on the bench drill. I do think it would be fairly
slow.

Is there a better way. I know. They aren't that expensive. Just buy
one when I need it right? LOL. Two problems with that.

1. I did buy a few of them a while back in what I thought was going
to be the most useful size. I have used all of them on one project or
another now. Every single one has been modified or I had to make an
adaptor.

2. If I buy them to fit my current application I have to stop what I
am working on and work on something else.

I was thinking if I could premake a dozen of them at a time in a
couple standard "blanks" I could quickly bore each end to fit my
current application when I need one. Maybe prebore them to to one of
the smaller standard bores like .250 or 6mm, and leave the very end of
the clamps connected until I bore them to the size I need. Then just
cut off the end.

Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
How would you tackle it.

I finally got around to putting a motor on one of my rotary chucks and
hooking it to a controller. I think I could write the code by hand to
cut the helix with a small end mill, and use a combination of hand
coding and CAM coding to do everthing else except tap the clamp and
set screw holes on one of the mini mills. Then do my tapping with the
little tapping head on the bench drill. I do think it would be fairly
slow.

Is there a better way. I know. They aren't that expensive. Just buy
one when I need it right? LOL. Two problems with that.

1. I did buy a few of them a while back in what I thought was going
to be the most useful size. I have used all of them on one project or
another now. Every single one has been modified or I had to make an
adaptor.

2. If I buy them to fit my current application I have to stop what I
am working on and work on something else.

I was thinking if I could premake a dozen of them at a time in a
couple standard "blanks" I could quickly bore each end to fit my
current application when I need one. Maybe prebore them to to one of
the smaller standard bores like .250 or 6mm, and leave the very end of
the clamps connected until I bore them to the size I need. Then just
cut off the end.




I bought a few 8mm x 8mm units a few months back, only $10 each. Its a lot
of work for $10.

Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

"Dennis" wrote in message
. au...

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
How would you tackle it.

I finally got around to putting a motor on one of my rotary chucks and
hooking it to a controller. I think I could write the code by hand to
cut the helix with a small end mill, and use a combination of hand
coding and CAM coding to do everthing else except tap the clamp and
set screw holes on one of the mini mills. Then do my tapping with the
little tapping head on the bench drill. I do think it would be fairly
slow.

Is there a better way. I know. They aren't that expensive. Just buy
one when I need it right? LOL. Two problems with that.

1. I did buy a few of them a while back in what I thought was going
to be the most useful size. I have used all of them on one project or
another now. Every single one has been modified or I had to make an
adaptor.

2. If I buy them to fit my current application I have to stop what I
am working on and work on something else.

I was thinking if I could premake a dozen of them at a time in a
couple standard "blanks" I could quickly bore each end to fit my
current application when I need one. Maybe prebore them to to one of
the smaller standard bores like .250 or 6mm, and leave the very end of
the clamps connected until I bore them to the size I need. Then just
cut off the end.




I bought a few 8mm x 8mm units a few months back, only $10 each. Its a lot
of work for $10.

Well, there is that.... The only place I am finding them that cheap is from
importers, and a little cheaper if I buy import direct in bigger quantities
through Chinese brokering sites like AliExpress.

Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message ...
"Dennis" wrote in message
. au...

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
How would you tackle it.

I finally got around to putting a motor on one of my rotary chucks and
hooking it to a controller. I think I could write the code by hand to
cut the helix with a small end mill, and use a combination of hand
coding and CAM coding to do everthing else except tap the clamp and
set screw holes on one of the mini mills. Then do my tapping with the
little tapping head on the bench drill. I do think it would be fairly
slow.

Is there a better way. I know. They aren't that expensive. Just buy
one when I need it right? LOL. Two problems with that.

1. I did buy a few of them a while back in what I thought was going
to be the most useful size. I have used all of them on one project or
another now. Every single one has been modified or I had to make an
adaptor.

2. If I buy them to fit my current application I have to stop what I
am working on and work on something else.

I was thinking if I could premake a dozen of them at a time in a
couple standard "blanks" I could quickly bore each end to fit my
current application when I need one. Maybe prebore them to to one of
the smaller standard bores like .250 or 6mm, and leave the very end of
the clamps connected until I bore them to the size I need. Then just
cut off the end.




I bought a few 8mm x 8mm units a few months back, only $10 each. Its a lot
of work for $10.

Well, there is that.... The only place I am finding them that cheap is from
importers, and a little cheaper if I buy import direct in bigger quantities
through Chinese brokering sites like AliExpress.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x8mm-CNC-Mo...em4ab437 9cbe

Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

PrecisionmachinisT wrote:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x8mm-CNC-Mo...em4ab437 9cbe

How would that be made? End mill? The cut that creates the helix looks
to be about 1mm wide.

Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message ...
PrecisionmachinisT wrote:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x8mm-CNC-Mo...em4ab437 9cbe

How would that be made? End mill? The cut that creates the helix looks
to be about 1mm wide.

Wire EDM, pretty sure....

Making Your Own Helical Couplers
 

"PrecisionmachinisT" wrote in message news:qrudnYq27LKldpDNnZ2dnUVZ_h6dnZ2d@scnresearch. com...

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message ...
PrecisionmachinisT wrote:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x8mm-CNC-Mo...em4ab437 9cbe

How would that be made? End mill? The cut that creates the helix looks
to be about 1mm wide.

Wire EDM, pretty sure....

Nope...

--I just now pulled one off of a spare motor / encoder and had a closer look...

Imagine a slotting saw, mounted on a lathe compound kind of like a toolpost grinder, tilt the compound off-axis the proper amount so suit your helix, and then feed it in to depth with the compound slide.....

Finally, feed it longitudinally on a per-rev basis with the carriage feed, just as though you were threading....

Now, since this all wouldn't work worth a darned on a manual lathe because of backlash and so forth, do it on a 5 axis cnc mill or swiss turning center instead and make several thousand instead.