My jazzed up Lathe Controller - brief view.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

I have some people who are keen to copy my lathe control and as a result I have designed a PCB for the controller which will make it very easy for anybody to make it. I will be ordering PCBs very soon so if anyone is keen to have a go then contact me by email ([e-mail]). Along with the PCB I will make the code available and provide some instructions. However, this is not a money making operation for me and so do not expect too much in the way of support. This is a system that I made for myself but I am happy to share details with anyone on a " this is what it is, take it or leave it" basis.

[@manusholm3536]

i will send you a mail with my detail. im happy to contrebute, if you want to give your effort free ill pay that forwared, but you will have hard cost on making pcb and so on. ill contrebute to that so that it makes it easyer on you.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

@@manusholm3536 I will be ordering the PCBs very soon so if you want to be on the list you need to let me know soon.

[@andrewbishop7066]

Hi Tony would be interested in pcb I presume it would be bare nice project enjoyed the videos

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

@@andrewbishop7066 I am afraid that you are a bit late. The PCBs have been made and there are no spares. Send me an email and I'll get in touch if I get any more made. ([e-mail]).

[@andrewbishop7066]

@@MotoChassisByTonyFoale thanks sent email can i ask did you find it a pain in the neck having a RH ball screw in the cross slid or did you soon get the hang of it before you did the electronics Thanks again Andrew

[@Superimperator]

This is one of the most remarkable projects I've come across, given its diverse knowledge and profound complexity required for such an upgrade. At 22, I aspire to cultivate the wisdom needed to embark on similar endeavors in the future. You are truly inspiring.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

My advice is "just do it". Never assume anything is too difficult. Some people will tell you that "you can't do that at home", ignore them, you can.

[@LoremIpsum1970]

Much nicer controller. Can't wait for more details. 👍

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hello Tony, The new controller is a lot nicer... Good video... Thank you... Take care. Paul,,

[@gregsummerton3618]

Yes, that is much nicer. I can see why you decided on the Mk2 version.

[@tomnwoo]

Love the channel, and your books, many thanks

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

Glad you like them!

[@KravchenkoAudioPerth]

Very interesting Tony!

[@Ryan-dz3jo]

Thanks Tony, nice work.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

Thanks for watching!

[@Oscar750100]

Nicely done. This is something thay i would like to do on my Atlas lathe. Is there any release of the code yet ? Apparently not much activity from the owner .

[@jimiandrix]

Hi tony, i would like to make a similiar conversion to an industrial lathe I cant find any diy videos from you about the electronic setup on such a machine.. would you walk us thru the process ? Much appreciated ! Nice explanations

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

I intended to make a video about that but I just have not had the time. Contact me through my web site.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

See my comment at the top.

[@TonyLeach-airguntech]

Tony, are you going to do a complete guide for this conversion?

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

See my comment at the top.

[@paulmanhart4481]

What are your thoughts on replacing the lead screw on a Southbend heavy 10L with a ball screw? Thanks, Paul

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

Paul, I m not familiar with that lathe but I think it should be OK.

[@marianodiaz461]

Hi Tony , great job, do this controller has provision for internal turning features and internal screw cutting?

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

Mariano, yes it does. I had that right from the beginning.

[@dev-debug]

I had a CNC lathe and sold it. An electronic lead screw is a better option for most people I think. Most of the gcode I ran was generated from simple python scripts anyway. Tapers, rounding etc. Only ever did a couple projects where I needed CAD/CAM for turning. My mill shines with CNC, love it there. What are you using to know splindle rotational position for threading ? I've seen a few designs from more complex reluctor wheels to simple magnet and hall effect sensors. Anyway cool project, the new display should be much easier to use. Thanks.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

For the G code for my mill, I either write it manually or I write specialised software to generate the G code. I don't do CAD.

[@MagnusNemo-xc5nx]

I've been debating ELS vs CNC, or both. Just starting out and reserching lathe options before I even purchase my first machine. Do you still recommend against full CNC? I will need to automate thread cutting on a few projects.

[@cncdavenz]

Hi Tony, I am new to your channel and have only viewed two videos and I am hooked. I have a desktop lathe and I think it will be having some modifications :-). Cheers Dave.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

See my comment at the top.

[@marianodiaz461]

Also when I ordered the button unit I found that there is a perfectly compatible unit with 16 buttons…

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

There are three variants on the LED&KEY units. IIRC two have 8 buttons but the LED lights are positioned differently and as you say there is a 16 key version.

[@AmericanMakerCNC]

Looking forward to the build series! What board are you using for the controller?

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

The board is mine the micro is an ESP32

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

See my comment at the top.

[@Bigwingrider1800]

Second one is much nicer...

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

Just added a number pad and it is nicer still.

[@manusholm3536]

i realy like what you have done. would you share your build info. things like electronic hardware and code to run the lot? i know a little about arduino. im very keen on doing some thing like yoours for my mayford and for my goodway.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

See my comment at the top.

[@eddie1330]

Hi Tony great videos Is that controller available to buy? Eddie Harper South Wales UK

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

see my latest message

[@proservices6067]

Hello Tony Are you still active here on KZbin ? I have try getting in contact with you, even thru your website but no answer. I hope everything is ok for you, would like to do something similar on my lathe too. Could you eventually make the code available to GitHub or somewhere else ? Best regards.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

My email [e-mail]

[@proservices6067]

@@MotoChassisByTonyFoale Hello Tony First things first, Happy New Year !!! Thank you for your reply. I have already sent several emails to that address, since last year, but never got any answer so i was not sure if you are still active around here. Will send again this evening, hopefully we can communicate. My best regards from France.

[@rohanfielder6796]

G'day Tony. Great work here I must say. I've been having trouble trying getting a tft to display data and add a matrix much like what you've done. Did you happen to chance upon a uploadable code for arduino that was mostly complete and you just added things specific to your application or did you write the entire code from sratch? I'd appreciate any information on this as I would dearly love to do this to my lathe also. My memory is pretty bad also. Thankyou Kindly Tony. Cheers, Rohan

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

The display plugs onto an Arduino Mega as a shield (stupid name) and then I used the Arduino TFT library. I wrote the code using the functions of the library. The Mega only handles the display and the input from the buttons, it is way too slow to handle the motor pulse rate that I want/need. The lathe control is done with a ESP32 using the parameters set in the Mega.

[@MotoChassisByTonyFoale]

See my comment at the top.

[@ronwhittaker6317]

add my whole life, murder to keep track of things I have 6 monitors for doing my research for me it a have to case I get why you built it, another wise id never learn a damn thing