Clough42 Electronic Leadscrew Implementation
I had a good day in the shed today, massive thanks to my wife who is happy to let me take the dog in there and make loads of noise and mess!
First job of the day was to unpack the rotary table, remove the hand wheel and put on the dividing plates. I’ve never used it before so I was excited and nervous:
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My plan was to divide the dial on the mill and engrave or cut a line for the gradations. That would mean I needed a cutter, no problem, I happen to be an expert and turning centre drills in to HSS cutter stock. So I put it in the drill and ground a sharp point on it with a flat on the front:
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Then I discovered that my rotary table could use my lathe chuck as it fit the centre hole, result. I used the M8x1.0 tap as an arbour:
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I did a dry run to make sure I had it right (make that 3 dry runs) and I was finally ready to cut some lines. I did 7mm for the 0.1mm marks, 5mm for the 0.05mm marks and 3mm for the 0.01mm marks. Halfway round I discovered that the arbor was no completely centred however I was able to compensate by adding a bit more z depth:
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It’s very nerve wracking when you have a bit of time in a part and could ruin it with getting the gradations wrong but I’m really happy to say that for my first time I got it bang on!!!!
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I do want to try and make the line stand out. So I’m thinking of trying to get a black contrast colour in the cuts.
I then cut the rounded ends on the upper part and left a small uncut section on the top that would let me also cut in a corresponding mark to align the dial. This one I want to try and fill with a white colour:
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So that pretty much makes the top section done. Just need to make the rod which I want to do on the lathe with the ELS, so I can get a really snug 1.0mm thread.
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The feel on the dial is really good but I saw another person on YouTube add a ball bearing and spring to remove any slop, so I did that.
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It not only stops any slop but it also puts a tiny bit of resistance on the wheel so I doesn’t move once you’ve set it, very lucky result as the wheel feels amazing now.
The final thing to do on the top was to make a set screw to run in the key way on the rod (once I make it). I made a fixture to allow me to turn it down on the lathe:
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Clough42 Electronic Leadscrew Implementation
Here it is inside the left hand hole. I made it 3.5mm and will hopefully be able to mill out the key way on the mill with a 3mm cutter and step over 0.25mm:
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Then I set about making the base. Uneventful but here it is. I’d like to say the added holes on the front are to let me fixture other things to the stop, but I got the hole spacing wrong, so let’s just say they’re a feature [emoji15]
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Here it is mounted on the lathe. It’s a perfect fit and locks solid. The old bolt is not the correct thread but is there as a demo.
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So I just need some guidance on what I can fill the gradations on the wheel with. After a black contrast if possible. Shoe polish? Wax? Sharpie? Crayon? Nail polish