4 Axis mod ?

[PsyKo]

Hello folks,

I was wondering how hard it would be to create a 4th axis mod, allowing shapeoko to lathe items.
Did any of you ever thought or tried it ?

This would obviously include using a new driver, a 4 axis compatible software, and a decent lathe/spindle alignement.

Thanks,

[rpe]

How about a Watchmakers lathe? I have been thinking on this for awhile now. I'm just waiting on my Batch #4 ShapeOko to get here. ( OH THE AGONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

[levlandau2]

This would be really interesting and a great upgrade. The electronics are the easy part since the Buildlog stepper shield has an A-axis driver (in addition to the other 3 drivers for X,Y,Z). One could run both Y-axis motors from the same y-axis driver, and use the A-axis stepper for the a-axis.

There are some videos on youtube showing examples of this. I was thinking it would be cheap to use a chuck from an old drill to hold the part rotating in the lathe in place. One challenge may be fitting the 4th axis underneath the current spindle, since there is only about 3" of travel in the z-dimension, but maybe this can be resolved by cutting the bottom of the wasteboard.

I think I will try to do this sometime, but I think it is best to try to expand the size of the Shapeoko to 4'X4', since the stock tool runs into a lot of challenges with the small work area.

Definitely interesting concept though. I think we should pursue it!

[Improbable Construct]

I started working on a 4th axis last week.
It is still in the planning stages and I don't expect to have anything solid for at least a few weeks.
So far I am thinking about building a box that the holds the A-axis and then the Shapeoko sits on top of that box.
That will allow a fairly large cylinder diameter.
I still need to work out the motor and chuck setup though.

Anyone else have any ideas?

[dointhangs]

Awesome project IC I think this would be using some other branch of grbl which supports 4 axes? To my understanding thats not supported in version 8e or whatever version is pointed to by wiki?

[Improbable Construct]

I am not using grbl. I am using Mach3 which supports up to 6 axes.
I think the hard part is going to be the CAD/CAM side.

[willo]

I was thinking that I'd build a simple tool spinner for drag knifes. My 4th is on hold until I build a couple more stepper drivers. The board for them came last week, but I have to get some passives and a couple more driver chips. Probably next month. I'm adding a dual driver this time, so I'll have a 5 axis capable system.
However, my breakout board only has pins for 4 axis right now, so I'll have to hack on that a bit too.

(I also use Mach3)

[daveczrn]

For a lathe spindle motor I would use something big. Nema 42 servo motor or something close to that. Trying to spin the chuck is the hard part as these weigh 10 lbs for a small one. Using a servo motor with encoder then also give you the ability for using live tools and being able to make more than just round parts on the lathe. I am planning on building a lathe from scratch myself so this is something I'd like to see what you come up with IC.

[levlandau2]

Can you explain what the difference between a NEMA42 servo and a stepper motor would be?? I thought servo motors were those motors with small range of motion used on RC planes...

[daveczrn]

Nema 42 would be the mounting style. For the difference give a read here. http://www.arrickrobotics.com/motors.html