Using LinuxCNC as an electronic leadscrew/electronic compound?

More
08 Apr 2021 03:01 #205304 by k4kfh
I have a Taig micro lathe, and I want to add an electronic leadscrew for threading. I figured while I'm at it, I'd also like to add a stepper to the other axis, and set it up where I can dial in an angle and use a jog wheel for cutting tapers, like an "electronic compound." (The compounds on the Taig/Sherline machines are annoying to work with, and sacrifice swing on an already-small machine).

I'm reasonably confident I could do this from-scratch with a Teensy or something similar, but I'm wondering if I could also get those features with LinuxCNC, and then also have the option of full CNC. My main priority is keeping the machine usable in manual mode, because that's where I do 90% of my work, but if I'm going to put steppers on both axes, it would be really nice to have CNC as an option too.

Is this plausible? And if so, how complicated is it to set up something like this? I am pretty familiar with Linux and electronics, just no experience with LinuxCNC (very very little experience with CNC in general for that matter).

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
09 Apr 2021 07:39 #205402 by rodw
If you disabled the stepper drivers using the poorly named enable signal, tied to estop, that would allow you to freewheel the motors when estopped.
Some people use a mesa card with two MPGs on the saddle to allow you to control the lathe as if its a manual machine.

Have a look at what RotarySMP has done with his mini lathe for inspiration.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
09 Apr 2021 09:16 #205409 by anfänger
There was also a gui for that I just forgot where it was.
I also will use two hand wheels to use mine as a manual lathe. I was also thinking about making a was to set a „compound angle“ when in manual mode. But got talked out of it. andypugh has some nice cycles ready to use. So there is no real need for that.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
09 Apr 2021 10:55 #205421 by andypugh

Is this plausible? And if so, how complicated is it to set up something like this? I am pretty familiar with Linux and electronics, just no experience with LinuxCNC (very very little experience with CNC in general for that matter).


I think it is do-able, but I wonder what advantage it would have over "real" CNC.

Here is an example of how I do most of the things I make, using some pre-configured macros.
The following user(s) said Thank You: anfänger

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.143 seconds
Powered by Kunena Forum