Rotary Machining Tutorial

[rcnewcomb]

I'm in the process of putting together a Rotary Machining Tutorial. This is a work in progress. I'll try to remember to bump this thread whenever I make major additions. I hope to have it completed by March 2010.

Please PM me on the Vectric forum with corrections or suggestions.

The link to the tutorial is: http://www.222artisans.com/Rotary/RotaryTutorial.HTML

[ron_moorehead]

Wow, nice work. I don't have a Indexer but reading your tutorial makes me want to get one. Thanks for all the hard work.

[scottbot]

That's fantastic Randall. Thank you for doing that. I seriously need to get my indexer set up now.

Scott

[steve4460]

Wow now that what we need . It makes want to finish building my 24"X 8' indexer.
Bot on
www.windwardsigns.com (http://www.windwardsigns.com)

[mikeacg]

Randall,

Thank you for taking the time to do this for all of us. I don't have an indexer yet, either, but I would sure like to get one!

Mike

[dana_swift]

That is an excellent tutorial, I think it will make using an indexer more attractive to a wide audience.

Well done.

D

[greolt]

Excellent work Randall.

This is a great resource.

Greg

[zeykr]

Wow! That's great Randall!

[bob_s]

very nice - sometimes I cannot believe the amount of info that is readily shared here - it is a truly amazing community
Thanks
Bob

[myxpykalix]

I believe that the tutorial mentioned above has been improved since the first time I saw it so i urge everyone to go check it out, he has put a lot of information and effort into creating it and those of you using the program will definitely benefit from it. Good job randall.

[myxpykalix]

Randall,
I'm enjoying reading your updates on the tutorial. I can recall when i first got my indexer the was absolutely NOTHING, NADA, GOOSEEGG, available for the indexer and now there seems to be many different sources for programming and tutorial info from contributors like Randall. Those of you who may have been considering buying or building an indexer, now is the time to do it.

On another note Randall do you think it might be a good idea to include a .sbp or or other type file of the example you show in the tutorial?
It has been my experience when doing other tutorials that even if you follow the details, lots of times you get a different result maybe due to a missed step or other issue.
By having a file that DOES work correctly you can use it to check against the one you try to make and see where you messed up.

I find that this works for me in analyzing where i screwed up (because i always do!).

[rcnewcomb]

I do plan on including sample files. (V-Carve and Aspire) We have some paying jobs right now that need attention. Had to pull off the indexer to do some custom cutting off the end of the table. Give me another 45 days to get things "wrapped" up on the tutorial.

[blackhawk]

Randall - Excellent job on the tutorial. Thanks and please keep the tutorial going.

[rcnewcomb]

I've added additional material including a section on replicating an existing design in Aspire for rotary machining (http://www.222artisans.com/Rotary/RotaryTutorial.HTML#Replicating).

[billp]

Another very nice, and very helpful tutorial...! Thanks for doing this!

[scottcox]

Nice work, Randall. It's getting better and better!

[rcnewcomb]

I'm doing a major rewrite of the tutorial so the web pages will be a mess for the next week or so. Thank you for your patience.

[rcnewcomb]

I have broken up the information a bit. I'd like people to read through a General Overview that I put together that is not software specific -- it just describes concepts and goes through some of the mechanics. Please provide any suggestions for improvement.

->General Overview (http://www.222artisans.com/Rotary/RotaryTutorialGeneral.html)

[rcnewcomb]

I've also updated the examples for a Y mounted indexer. Please review these. When they are satisfactory I'll generate a set for X mounted indexers. Please review at:
http://www.222artisans.com/Rotary/RotaryTutorial.HTML (http://www.222artisans.com/Rotary/RotaryTutorial.HTML)

[myxpykalix]

FYI- just wanted to point out a typo error at the bottom of the page:
General Indexer Overview.

Examples for a Y Mounted Indexer
The following link shows examples for an indexer that is mounted parallel to the Y axis.
Y Axis Examples.

Examples for a X Mounted Indexer
The following link shows examples for an indexer that is mounted parallel to the Y axis.

"that is mounted parallel to the Y axis"-shouldn't this be X axis?

[rcnewcomb]

Fixed

[rcnewcomb]

It looks like things are stable enough that I can start translating some of the Y axis examples into examples that will work with X mounted indexers. I hope to have that done by the end of next week.

[myxpykalix]

yay!!!

[rcnewcomb]

Jack Jarvis wrote a section about supporting thin or long stock in an indexer. I have added that to the General section of the Rotary Tutorial:
http://www.222artisans.com/Rotary/RotaryTutorialGeneral.html

[gwerner]

Way to go Jack! Thats thinking outside of the box, in a twisted (rope) sorta way. Somewhere there is a little girl pushing herself around on just one skate. :)

Randal, your doing a great job with the tutorial.

A couple weeks ago I finished a lithophane by cutting a 6" pvc pipe and made a couple of circle blocks to fit inside the ends of the pipe out of 2x8.
I drilled holes through the sides to attach the blocks, and centered a square block on one end of the round plug as an attachment point, the other end was live centered.

Word to the wise, PVC is not true round on the outside. You have to shave it down and re-zero.

If you would like pics of the jig, I would be happy to post em'

Greg

[myxpykalix]

Greg,
I saw your litho and was going to ask you about that and if you had any pics of it lit up? They actually make a endcap insert (or with threads) that has a square tenon on it that you grip it with your pliers to turn while inserting. Just go down to lowes and rummage thru all the fittings you may find it.

[gwerner]

Here is the photo wrapped and a photo of the litho on a 6" PVC pipe. I lit it up in the dark with a desk lamp. I cut the pipe round with an end mill using the rotary gadget, then I re-zeroed, on the top of the material, and cut the litho with a 1/16" ballnose bit. It took about 3.5 hours. You can see the jig ends in the video.

Here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcfjjJgpAvo

[myxpykalix]

awww... how cute .clearly the child resembles the female side of the family.lol

you should check out cold cathode lighting for this, it looks like a mini flourescent lightbulb and would give uniform light all around this. I had seen a litho done like this of the leaning tower of pizza which was real cool but this makes it more personal. Good job

[rcnewcomb]

Basement flooded :( -- tutorial update delayed

[myxpykalix]

oh man...I feel your pain. I just had a flood in one of my basement apts and had to tear out and replace padding and new carpet along with cutting out 3-4" of sheetrock on the bottoms of walls to replace. Make sure if it was a sewer backup (or even rainwater) you get something to kill mold and mildew.

[myxpykalix]

Is the basement dry yet?? lol

[rcnewcomb]

Is the basement dry yet?? lol
I got caught by the honey-do list. "Well, since we have torn up the basement let's..." I see a $20K remodeling job in the making, but I won't be receiving the $20K.

[myxpykalix]

Now Randall.....what do you do with lemons? You make lemonade! I see this as a perfect opportunity to create some beautiful decorations for the basement. You could start with some nice wainscoting on the walls with some nice door moldings then on your indexer you could make some nice hollow lally column covers......do i need to continue? or better yet how bout i send all these suggestions to the wife? I'm sure between the two of us we can keep you busy for quite a while! If you need any help just let me know..lol