Hi guys thought some of you may be interested in this setup.
I have to make a number of small gears for some models i make. And cutting 80 teeth on the mill soon gets boring! so ive made this simple, as cheep as it comes setup all in for around £100.
Its produced around 100 gears now and still working great and saves me hours of hand crankin so im pretty please with it
Best if i showpics and explain each one.
This is the milling machine i use, but it could easily be fitted to others im sure.
The rotary indexer is made from the plans on this forum and realy its another subject on its own.
This is the motor gear box i use to power the traverse, its the generic ebay jobber about a tenner. A simple bracket was made from 3mm plate and a brass adaptor fitted onto the gearbox shaft.
This is were it fits to the mill with two small fixing screws. A plastic cap covers the lead screw end and is removed first.
The controller is just a electronic direction controller and an on/off switch. (About £3 online)
The unit simply swaps the direction of the current to reverse the motor when the switch is flipped on/off. The wires are easy to figure with just 8 wires into the unit... 2x motor voltage in, 2x voltage for switch, 2 for the remote switch and two output to the motor.
The switch is fitted to the mill just below the table and two adjustable stops are positiond to triger the switch.
The rotary indexer i made myself and added a remote push button switch connected to the right jog button on the unit. The switch is fitted to a bar that i clamp in a drill vice and just position it so the mill bed just presses the button at the end of its stroke.
A 12v laptop power unit supplies power to the drive.
With a bit of fiddling around with all the positions of switches and stops thats it.
The whole table drive can be made for under £30. Il try add a video of it running soon.
Best regards
Luke.
I have to make a number of small gears for some models i make. And cutting 80 teeth on the mill soon gets boring! so ive made this simple, as cheep as it comes setup all in for around £100.
Its produced around 100 gears now and still working great and saves me hours of hand crankin so im pretty please with it
Best if i showpics and explain each one.
This is the milling machine i use, but it could easily be fitted to others im sure.
The rotary indexer is made from the plans on this forum and realy its another subject on its own.
This is the motor gear box i use to power the traverse, its the generic ebay jobber about a tenner. A simple bracket was made from 3mm plate and a brass adaptor fitted onto the gearbox shaft.
This is were it fits to the mill with two small fixing screws. A plastic cap covers the lead screw end and is removed first.
The controller is just a electronic direction controller and an on/off switch. (About £3 online)
The unit simply swaps the direction of the current to reverse the motor when the switch is flipped on/off. The wires are easy to figure with just 8 wires into the unit... 2x motor voltage in, 2x voltage for switch, 2 for the remote switch and two output to the motor.
The switch is fitted to the mill just below the table and two adjustable stops are positiond to triger the switch.
The rotary indexer i made myself and added a remote push button switch connected to the right jog button on the unit. The switch is fitted to a bar that i clamp in a drill vice and just position it so the mill bed just presses the button at the end of its stroke.
A 12v laptop power unit supplies power to the drive.
With a bit of fiddling around with all the positions of switches and stops thats it.
The whole table drive can be made for under £30. Il try add a video of it running soon.
Best regards
Luke.
