# Enco round column power feed



## hotrod (Aug 10, 2016)

I like to read other people's modifications for inspiration when I decide I want to modify something . When I decided I wanted a X axis power feed I looked at units ready made and being cheap as dirt I decided to make my own. I knew what I wanted but found no other post with my wants. The difference from all the others I found and what I wanted was I did not like the idea of removing a hand wheel for the power feed. I use the hand wheels on both sides and the vernier scales and wanted to keep them. So I made a unit that mounts on the two bolts for the left side cross shaft support exstending to the rear. It uses a 25 size chain and sprockets to get power to the table side of the hand wheel. There I made a split hub for the sprocket to engage and release the feed. A quarter turn of a socket head bolt. A 12 volt power source, speed controller, power window motor from the scrap pile and a couple of limit switches and I have what I wanted . I did add a bearing to the cross shaft support to aid the steel on Cast iron bearing surface but I don't think that is needed. Just thought others may not losing a hand wheel also and there is a option.


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## GLCarlson (Aug 10, 2016)

The RF30 style round columns have a fine downfeed arrangement that amounts to a worm drive with a friction clutch on the big downfeed wheel shaft. It's fairly straightforward to add a powered drive onto the backside of the worm (a splined shaft to the worm through a magnetic clutch to a gearmotor, more or less). The result is a machine that works as designed manually, has minimal mods (two mounting holes and a hole in the worm housing), and is under electrical control for downfeed rate and start-stop.

HSM published a series in the 90s about improvements to the round column mills. Well worth looking up, most were really good ideas, well designed and implemented.


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## hotrod (Aug 10, 2016)

That sounds like a good way to have the best of manual and power feed. I like the power unit on the back side out of way. That may go on the things to do list !


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## GLCarlson (Aug 11, 2016)

hotrod said:


> That sounds like a good way to have the best of manual and power feed. I like the power unit on the back side out of way. That may go on the things to do list !



pm me for details if that'll help. it's worked fine for 30 years.


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## hotrod (Sep 14, 2016)

Thanks for the offer I will pm you when I figer out how it works. I'm not a tech person with these computers.    I have made use of my power feed as I decided to resurface the ways on my small atlas lathe I have at home. Flat way lathes have a advantage when it's time to restore them as the worn ways can be recut on a mill then scraped to restore smooth accuracy end to end. I did the 12 in atlas at work a year ago and it still performs great. I cut the ways for it on a 105 series enco mill with no power feed and it was tiring.


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## machinedock (Jan 5, 2017)

ya thank you for offering am here for getting knowledge. Thank you so much


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