We’ve already CNC’d our 8x a while back and have been putting it to decent use. Even after we upgraded the X-axis leadscrew with a 5/8-8 TPI with brass leadnut (not split), we wanted better resolution and backlash control (there’s not a lot of space underneath the cross slide as you can imagine).
So, we retrieved the eBay ballscrew purchase from the parts drawer and commenced the upgrade. It’s a Kuroda C3 class ballscrew with little detectable backlash. Well, it has to be better than what we already had…
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A fellow 7x enthusiast, Marty, has allowed us to host his website, formerly located at http://www.kahale-martinapmachine.net, here on our website.
Please do take a look at his articles!
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Our stock 8×12 minilathe belt was fraying around the edges and was getting close to shredding apart. Instead of taking further chances on its useful life without a replacement, we looked at the various catalogs for a suitable replacement v-belt. The closest imperial belt (since MSCDirect didn’t have metric belts) was a 3L size with a 290 length. Once we installed it, we found it to be rather tight. We went ahead and posted a message on the minilathe Yahoo! group:
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The Homann Designs’ DigiSpeed-XL and CandCNC Mini-I/O boards have finally been hooked up together and tested under Mach3 using PWM. Pretty cool so far!
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It’s up and running!
The CNC 8×12/14 Lathe project has been completed in its prototype stage. It maintains manual function as well as CNC without changing anything. There are a few things left to work out before we offer the plans (and then the kits).
We’re still getting familiar with Mach3 Turn (it’s been quite buggy in many respects unlike Mach3 Mill). It also took some getting used to using the thread wizard that came packaged with it.
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We’re nearing the home stretch on the 8x mini-lathe CNC conversion. In our previous articles, we showed the prototyping of the Z-axis and later tested it by hooking up a cordless drill to power the carriage.
We still need to make the motor spacers for the Z-axis, but that shouldn’t be too much of a task after this laborious X-axis motor plate. One of the reasons this plate took so long to make was because we decided to finally make a fixture plate. We also decided to get a bit fancy with the detail of the plate. There’s certainly little to no need for cut outs – weight savings isn’t important here.
After drawing up a quick 3D model of the plate and spacers using Autodesk Inventor (we also used Pro-Engineer and Solidwords for fun), we exported each STEP drawing into Mastercam and ran through numerous layouts and related toolpaths for drilling, contouring, and pocketing. This is where the fixture plate becomes invaluable. With a 4” wide plate and working within the constraints of the X2 mini-mill work envelope, we had to constantly re-index the workpiece to make specific operations.
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On Day 1 of this build we showed the basic layout of the Z-axis ballscrew location and turning of the ballscrew using ground HSS bits over carbide inserts. Day 2 actually took two days itself but will be combined into one.
Most of the time was spent using sneaker-net to transfer G programs from the laptop to the host rackmounted cnc controller (that is until we hooked up a crossover cable between the two machines so that the programs could be sent via NetBEUI and eliminate moving the compact flash card back and forth). There was also considerable time involved setting up the workpiece in the mill since using the cnc mini-mill had its work envelope limitations appear on a piece as large as the bed-end motor bracket – sized at just around 4” wide and 8” long. As you can see, the workpiece had to be remounted many times over to get certain cuts made. This in turn required re-generating toolpaths many times over – a very time consuming process overall.
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When ordering accessories such as the backsplash / splash guard for the 8×12 mini-lathe from Harbor Freight, you’ll need to be specific since there’s no SKU for that item.
Once you receive it along with your new lathe, you may notice that the lathe has neither any tapped holes for the splash guard nor does the splash guard have suitable mounting holes for the headstock end of it. But let’s enjoy the excitement of seeing your two new boxes brought to your car via forklift at your local freight distribution center (old picture):
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Finally, we’ve resumed posting some pictures of progress we’re making on the CNC 8×12 mini-lathe.
We had mocked up some placements of the cross-feed ballscrew a while back. Today, we’ll work on the Z-axis. First things first, we’ll get started on the 5/8” x 5 TPI ballscrew. All that’s needed is to turn down the rough lengthed bearing journal, thread, and shaft coupling length.
The basic concept is to mount a plate on the back end of the bed where the “Induction Hardened Bedways” label is attached.
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This list is not an exhaustive one nor does it imply that we’ll be working on these modifications to this lathe. Funny, some might wonder why even perform these in the first place given that the next step “up” is the 9“x20” (sometimes dimensioned as the 9“x19”) lathe from Harbor Freight 45861, Gtizzly G4000, Jet BD-920N or other variants and has some of the features and benefits of the 8x.
Price has a lot to do with this. At just $100 over the price of the 7×10/12 mini-lathes during non-sale times (on sale, the 8x can be had for $439!), it’s way heftier of a machine. Remember that in machinery, mass counts! The 8x even weighs in over the 9x. Imagine that! But wait, there’s more…
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