Hallo friends
I am bussy to do the 3:1 gear conversion, I have send the files for laser cutting and all that jazz, then am I starting to plan the rotary addition to my Mechmate but I have the first question, If I have the 3:1 reduction ratio on the Y and Z axis can I have direct drive on the X for the indexer, the spur gear that I am planning to use for the indexer is Boston YA140 cast Iron DP20 PA20 or do I need to have a reduction system for the indexer drive?

Regards

Hi Koning,

From the name of your spur gear Boston YA140 I would think it is a 140 tooth gear.
I would run this directly on the 24 / 28 tooth pineon that you should have on the stepper...no further reduction.
Mine works VERY well with a 120 tooth connected to my 20 tooth pineon.
Good luck en LEKKER SPEEL een van die dae op die indexer.

More Kobus
Thank you for the reply, yes 140 tooth gear, I will start this weekend to gather the needed material, I will buy a complete lathe for this 300us$, the gear is in the mail, hope to be finish by end of August,

I have fitted the lathe yesterday, it is a Pioneer Veriable Speed Swivel head lathe,got it for 300usd. The idea is to use it as normal lathe and when i will use it as a cnc lathe just remove the belt.
Some shopping arrived but still waiting for the large spur gear to be used on the lathe

Very nice lathe! I am sometimes sorry that I left out the room for indexer.

Nice nice nice... can you move the HEADSTOCK and lock it in a different position just like the tailstock ?

I think it can ... look at the second and third picture, in second its near mounting bolts and in third one its more to the middle. But its maybe an optical delusion.

Seems like a nice feature, if I ever look for a wood lathe, what would be an advantage of moving headstock?

Not much, the swivel action is of more importance when turning bigger bowls etc.
All I can think is that one could move the complete workpiece to the centre of you MM and not feel like working in a corner....:D

I have a lathe with an adjustable head. It rotates and can be moved across the bead like the tail stock. This way you can put the head all the way at the end and rotate it for bowl work.

This past two days must have been my most productive days in a long time, I have mounted the 3:1 reduction drives based on Dmitriy`s drawings, the cut quality 101 % improvement. Thank you Dmitriy for posting the CAD files, this was easy to use.
I used the Z motor plate from the direct drive to mount the stepper for the Rotary axis, 24 tooth pinion on the stepper to a 140 tooth gear. I only managed to calibrate the rotary axis, but did not cut anything yet… thank you Kobus for the advise on calibration.

Remember to close the stepper bearing to keep dust out....maybe a bit late now as I see some dust in the motor.
Attachment 12694

Kobus thank you for the TIP, i did not knowthat it need to be closed, thought it was normal.
What methods do you use to 'lock' the Y-car in position over the Indexer, I think I will tie it down with straps

When I started, I got the gantry in position and drilled a hole and kept it together with a bolt and nut.
When I rebuild my control box (added another driver ) I ride the gantry to the centre of the indexer and the X-stepper keep it in position.