Micro CNC Lathe Automatic Tool Changer!

This is the tool changer I came up with when I actually sat down and designed the whole thing before I started machining parts. It's not perfect, but it's certainly on the right track! Like and subscribe if you want to see more of the micro lathe build and other projects!
Instagram: hlaps1990

[@harezy]

This project really needs more attention. LOVE IT. I have been designing a DIY CNC lathe, cast epoxy granite. The rest you decide. This is a mini machine 1000mm long max. One bed design for most applications including Y axis and full mill turn.

[@ScaleDreamsStudio]

Very Cool! I would love to have something like this for my Sherline Lathe.

[@lukaradakovic5463]

the videos are coming along nicely! cant wait for the induction heater! dont forget all the specs, power supply and all! :)

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks Luka! I'll definitely include a bill of materials and wiring diagram and stuff!

[@MadHatter123456]

That's a truly ingenious design approach. I'm currently building my own micro-lathe (manual for the time being, but upgrade-able to CNC if I should feel like it some time) and I took quite some inspiration by watching your videos. Keep it up, always happy whenever you upload something new!

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks a lot! It's really awesome to hear that kind of encouragement!

[@Stukennedy1]

Really liking your vid's mate, keep up the great work, very inspirational. MOAR VIDZ PLZ

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks! moar vidz on the way! KTHXBAI

[@russtuff]

This looks amazing.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks! I love your channel!

[@SmallShopConcepts]

love the videos!! keep them coming, did you do any for the lathe build besides the spindle you'll be posting, or perhaps a build thread?

[@scorn86]

Hey man your channel is awesome. For the space under the turret use a round piece of felt to keep chips out.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Hi Conrad! Thanks, and thanks for the tip! I actually got some felt to keep chips off the Z guides. It cuts really well on a laser cutter, but because it's wool it smells like burnt hair for a few days :P

[@JaakkoF]

Really nice machining work there, love it :) On the turret wedge design I would have made the wedge to be on the other side of the tool as it is usually in commercial machines to give it all the rigidity it can get, but at this scale your design should work :)

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Yeah I couldn't shrink a frontal wedge down enough :P I would have had to use like #00 fasteners lol!

[@MF175mp]

You can actually preload the double row angular contact bearing by adding a taper and sleeve that is tightenable by a fine thread to the shaft or making the shaft about 0,03mm tight by the way, otherwise it's moving to unwanted directions from there.

[@PhaseConverterampV]

Don’t worry how it looks, it’s a proof of concept. Make it work, then make it pretty. The one potential issue I see is the turret does not lock solidly after it indexes, causing chatter in certain machining geometry. My frame of reference is my hydraulic turret on my cnc lathe. The curvic coupler positively locks the turret, whereby eliminating any degrees of freedom movement. The pawl and ratchet system looks like it will index properly, just maybe not as accurately as you would like for precision centre cutting tools. I’m sure you will figure it out, you are talented. Check out the curvic couplers tho.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks! I'll be sure to check out curvic couplers. I have seen Hirth couplings, but they're just outside of my manufacturing capability (for now :P). You're right about the backlash. To its credit it's actually very slight, but it's definitely still there and can sound pretty rough when entering a cut!

[@hyperhektor7733]

4:49 i found out that heating aliminium before/while bending helps to prevent that problem something below the melting point ofcourse like 300-500 degr Celsius 7:29 the second option is to use inner guide rods where the spring can only actin in one direction. cheap and easy.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Interesting... ill have to try that!

[@adri32able]

Amigo, Maravilhoso projeto, desponivilize para nós. obrigado!

[@JanBinnendijk]

on the second turret, for the drills and boring bars.. make 1 or 2 holes ø8mm, that will enable you to use Proxxon Collets, i've made some for my lathe as well.. M8x075, Drill the inside to 4.8, and taper to accept a collet.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

I'll have to look into those, I'm certainly still not happy with my drill setup, so this might be a good solution.

[@JanBinnendijk]

I achieved good results with those Proxxon collets and nuts.. i made my drill holders excentric, so i could put them exactly on center.. , really needed that function, because i was drilling 0.75 mm holes in 1.6mm brass rod.. (if i can drill it, it is not wire, it is rod :D ), I had to make threaded inserts for a titanium watchcase..

[@tobyw9573]

Try a dark background to make the black housing show up, the camera is setting the exposure for the light background.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Good thinking! Im going to reply to the rest of your comments too, i just need to block off some time!

[@CalvinoBear]

Holy shit this is so great. Thank you for making these videos. I want to do things just like this, I've been brewing ideas of making my own cnc lathe/mill turn machine for a while and haven't ever really been in the right place to do it. Going to be working at a small shop with some huge Okuma mill turns this summer along with access to a great workshop elsewhere with a Tormach, waterjet, and some sweet manual mills/lathes. What sort of tools do you use to make these parts? Obviously you work somewhere with a pretty sweet CNC setup, looks like 5 axis. Are you an engineer or a machinist? Or both? Inquiring minds need to know. Again this is great shit. I have been looking for similar things on KZbin for quite a while now and your videos are absolutely the most informative on the subject, most I've seen just show running footage of the finish machines.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks Calvin! Believe it or not, this entire lathe was made using a waterjet, a knee mill, a small manual lathe and a Tormach PCNC1100 -- sounds like you're going to be pretty well equipped to out-do me! In terms of a job, I'm a test engineer, but I've been machining as a hobby for a long time. Thanks for subscribing! I'm interested in small machines too, and I've found one or two where people make cool machines but only do like 2 videos! I have lots more updates coming on the lathe, let me know if there's anything you'd like more details on! Greg

[@JanBinnendijk]

By the way.. i like your "direct drive setup" on the turrets.. if.. you ever have a collision.. the pawl is most likely damaged if you have bad luck, but that's replaced witing 5 minutes (including fumbling), My Emco has a worm gear turret.. i damaged the wormwheel once with a collision.. because of the force that even a tiny 0.5 Nm motor exerts on it.. a 2Nm Direct drive motor will just stall.. no problem..

[@TabletopMachineShop]

fumbling can take me over an hour though :P. It's kind of nice having no torque in the turret and instead relying on the pawl... i don't imagine it will be able to damage itself. I think even the spindle will stall before being able to damage the turret.

[@JanBinnendijk]

i thought about it, and.. instead of a direct drive, you could also make some sort of "gear" drive even..with an internal gear on the inside, and a sprocket on the motor (on Bridgeport CNC's there's like an oval 2 tooth gear)

[@michaelbrocato7535]

Damn man you nailed it . Any chance u could share those blue prints that you used to machine these with ??

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Hi Michael, Thanks! The plans are up on my Patreon if you want to try it yourself!

[@termlimit]

Hope you are well. Any updates on this project? Do you have a CAD file you would be willing to share?

[@willywgb]

Great Video, really like your builds. Does your rotary tool changer (RTC) have any method to adjust for wear on the ratchet or pall? If these parts wear will your tools not end up below the spindle center line? How do you adjust an RTC? Do you machine the housing to be low and than shim up to be on center? Thanks,

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Hi Bill, I dont have any method of wear adjustment, but youre right, i could shim the whole thing up if i needed to. The spindle is also eccentric to the housing, so i can rotate the spindle cartridge to raise or lower the centerline

[@willywgb]

I forgot about the eccentric you built into your Spindle Cartridge. That's actually a very neat idea and makes adjusting your Spindle height so easy. So there would be no need for shimming the RTC. Excellent. Have a nice day. Willy

[@kevin_delaney]

For the tool changer, I like it, I think it's a little scary if you're not using collets or set screws for the stationary tools that bore...you should probably redesign for removable collets and make a larger turret and have removable holders that sit on a dovetail or something to locate it precisely. Look at what Haas does with their ST10 Lathe.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Good points; I am using set screws, but it's not like theyre going to bite into a drill and hold it in place. I was thinking of making a 3-lobed ER11 turret at some point. A bigger turret is a possibility as well.

[@kevin_delaney]

hlaps1990 I'm going to design my own soon after the ST10 Haas Lathe I used in school, it had a very good system for locating and was designed pretty well in my opinion. Take a look at this: grabcad.com/library/turret-haas-24-sta-1

[@DPTech_workroom]

👍

[@jordantekelenburg]

Can we get the plans ?

[@9782ravi]

How to setup with mach 3

[@zdenochupac3344]

hi have you 3d model to share on grabcad or thinkverse? thanks

[@chriskristopherson9594]

What kind of CNC mill was used to mill the aluminum turret? I know you mentioned it being one from work.

[@TabletopMachineShop]

It's a Tormach PCNC1100

[@chriskristopherson9594]

hlaps1990 Thanks for the reply. I thought the finish looked pretty rough to be a industrial size VMC.

[@rickstard73]

Awsome video, just wondering if you put the plans on patreon, I have never used patreon, but will try it. Keep up the great work...

[@TabletopMachineShop]

I don't have the lathe plans on Patreon yet -- it's going to be a fairly monumental task to get the drawings done, but I am toying with the idea of releasing to tool turret plans early. Is that what you were talking about?

[@rickstard73]

I imagine it would be a huge task, you give a lot to.the community, I have been putting off building an automatic tool turret, but you make it look so easy, thank you!

[@patakiattila8970]

Hi dear, do you sell plans for this tool changer? It is awsome!!!

[@TabletopMachineShop]

I might post the plans on my Patreon for a small donation!

[@patakiattila8970]

That is great! Very cool design!

[@jackdalton1232]

Dit you also have the drawing of this turret

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Yessir, it's all up on my Patreon

[@FretMover]

Great project. Nice jokes :D and an insane approach to make your own cnc lathe with a turret, err two turrets!!! Subscribed? Yep! Liked? Need more thumbs! Keep going! Brg

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Thanks! I think i'm slowly getting more comfortable talking on camera (not quite there yet though!) Thanks a lot for the support and encouragement!

[@somebodyelse6673]

No need to be uncomfortable, you're a good speaker. You stay on point, say things that need to be said, don't say things that don't need to be said, and don't have to break the "um" or "okay?" habit. :-) I'm looking forward to more, keep 'em coming!

[@kissandjerr886]

which program is guided сnc?

[@TabletopMachineShop]

The Tormach machines use PathPilot, which is like a custom version of LinuxCNC. The programs were made on SolidWorks with HSMExpress

[@OfficialNetDevil]

Would you please sell these as a kit on eBay?

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Maybe some day... do you mean like all of the parts for you to put together, or rough machined parts that you can finish machining?

[@OfficialNetDevil]

Tabletop Machine Shop personally I’d like everything finished 100% and I just gotta put it together.

[@eduardogarcia-zh7wv]

share the diagrams or plans of parts

[@TabletopMachineShop]

Ive got all of the drawings and CAD up on my patreon!