New Shop Tool!

[PFarm]

A new shop tool arrived today! Yes, another rabbit hole,  take a guess what it is?

 

[mvdveer]

A lathe for aluminium?

[PFarm]

Yup, you bet, it's a 650W 8x14 mini lathe

 

[NikosSprocket]

Which brand?

[PFarm]

4 minutes ago, NikosSprocket said:

Which brand?

It is a Vevor mini lathe. I've done my research and know what I'm getting into. It's going to need some work to get it where I'm satisfied with it. I'm not building engines so not expecting high accuracy. Like Milo, you can mod it to get better results, but it will never be an industrial machine.

[Penatr8tor]

Well, the price is definitely affordable.

One thing about lathes is that even if you have considerable backlash in the crossfeed, tailstock, etc... you can still get around it and turn some accurate parts if you pay attention and make sure you're dialing in a direction where cutting doesn't force the tool to the opposite side of the backlash. Hope that makes sense.

[NikosSprocket]

12 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

Well, the price is definitely affordable.

One thing about lathes is that even if you have considerable backlash in the crossfeed, tailstock, etc... you can still get around it and turn some accurate parts if you pay attention and make sure you're dialing in a direction where cutting doesn't force the tool to the opposite side of the backlash. Hope that makes sense.

That's good to know.

Some time ago I looked at Grizzly lathe and the Vevor has better spec. and price too!

[PFarm]

Well, the lathe isn't even out of the box yet, and I've spent the last couple of nights researching how to convert it to CNC. Yes, I'm one of those members on here who can't leave well enough alone. 

Found this on Thingaverse RABBIT HOLE.   It uses printed parts for the mod, but I'd be looking at milling some of those parts in aluminum. Need to complete the Milo teardown first before even taking the lathe out of the box. 

[Penatr8tor]

2 hours ago, PFarm said:

Found this on Thingaverse RABBIT HOLE.   It uses printed parts for the mod, but I'd be looking at milling some of those parts in aluminum. Need to complete the Milo teardown first before even taking the lathe out of the box. 

Pretty cool rabbit hole.

Not to deepen the hole more but... The Milo would be the tool one would need to convert the 3D printed to CNC aluminum parts. 

[PFarm]

1 hour ago, Penatr8tor said:

Not to deepen the hole more but... The Milo would be the tool one would need to convert the 3D printed to CNC aluminum parts. 

I love the way you think! That is the plan I wanted to take the backlash (leadscrew) out of the mill before tackling replacing printed parts. Ballscrew conversion is progressing nicely. @Penatr8tor  Highly recommend you do the resin/granite pour while you have all the extrusion apart, already notice the additional weight of the four pieces, base, X axis, Y axis and especially the Z column. This will help with resonance, keeping down the chatter since the extrusion is no longer hollow.

[Penatr8tor]

2 minutes ago, PFarm said:

Ballscrew conversion is progressing nicely.

Interesting... That was my 1st thought when I saw the Milo... Why not ball screws? I definitely want that on my Milo.

[PFarm]

8 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

Interesting... That was my 1st thought when I saw the Milo... Why not ball screws? I definitely want that on my Milo.

So here's the thing with the ballscrews on Milo, since the mill akele heel is the Z column regarding rigidity and weight, Jake used a TR8-8 leadscrew, which has an 8 mm lead; a fast-moving axis and high rpm spindle compensates for the lack of rigidity. One revolution of the stepper motor moves the leadscrew 8mm. A direct replacement without doing any mods other than printing a ballscrew nut adapter and bearing plates, and is inexpensive, is a 0802 ballscrew. This only has a 2mm lead, which means you need to spin the stepper faster, but spinning the stepper faster, you reach a point where it will stall. Hans's ballscrew conversion uses a 1210 ballscrew but requires some machining of the ballscrew nut so it will fit inside the C-beam is also more expensive since to get the best resolution, you need a ground ballscrew over a rolled one. This also involves additional mods. But yes well worth doing.

[PFarm]

@Penatr8tor Since you can't mill the ballscrew yet, take a look at the V1.6 leadscrew nut. It uses a Belleville washer to apply pressure against the brass leadscrew nuts. This is a better setup than the original nuts. A floating bearing is also used to tame the leadscrew whip.

v16-beta-1-cad.step.zip Milo v1.6 BOM.pdf

[NikosSprocket]

I may have to unsubscribe from the forum as I cannot afford (space-wise) another .... rabbit-hole! 

[PFarm]

Going through the photo again, I just noticed that there is no compound! So you'd be unable to machine tapers. Not acceptable 

[atrushing]

8 hours ago, PFarm said:

I just noticed that there is no compound! So you'd be unable to machine tapers.

The CNC upgrade takes care of that! o.O

[PFarm]

19 minutes ago, atrushing said:

The CNC upgrade takes care of that! o.O

Thanks for the reply, you're right, software would look after that.

[PFarm]

Decided to take the lathe out of the box in case something was damaged. Got to say it was very well packaged. First impressions of this little lathe it not like the horror stories I've done in my research. It is very well put together, with just some minor adjustments to the saddle gibs (a little too tight). Maybe it's because Vevor purchases their lathe from a better supplier, but it requires very little cleaning/tweaking.

 

 

 

[PFarm]

I'm still going to disassemble and clean it, looking for any burs that need to be addressed. Re-adjust everything, lubricate and apply grease to the gears; they are bone dry. I've got some centering bits, drill chuck and a live center on order.

[PFarm]

Well, it's apart!

Debur all the sharp edges, lord knows they were plenty. Found this STL online for the make an apron gear cover. Apron Gear Cover. I'll print it as soon as I get the printer up and running again. Orbiter O2 toolhead update has gone sideways.

[PFarm]

Got the lathe back together and adjusted, printer is down at the moment, so I need to print the cover when it's back up. Order M6 dog point set screw and brass lock nuts for the saddle gibs.

Install this chip tray 

Install the tool holders and initial 5-minute break in speed at 400 rpm.

 

 

 

[PFarm]

Drill chuck, live center, and center drills came in.

[PFarm]

New tools arrived today.

 

[PFarm]

Some test cuts with the new carbide inserts, I got some inserts ordered for aluminum and a better finish.

[NewGradRN]

Very nice,