Pledge: Lathe Milling Machine Combo

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Revision as of 14:51, 8 January 2011 by 84.92.104.108 (talk)
Heavy duty mill lathe combo

This pledge is for a heavy-duty 3-in-1 machine to compliment the existing machines at the hackspace. With the additional room now available, this very capable machine would allow us to undertake much more ambitious projects that the existing mill and lathe - furthermore it's emminently hackable into CNC (man-u-matic - where the machine works as both manual and CNC). The great benefit of this design is once you CNC the mill, you automatically get a CNC lathe!

The item

About this pledge

So why this machine? We already have a lathe

Because it rules. The current mill is quite nice, but has a small working area - the current lathe makes a lot of heat and noise but is rather challenging to use for anything else. With this machine we can do serious cuts in steel, we can machine huge components, it's shear bulk and weight mean it deflects less and can undertake huge projects (the current lathe weighs 18KG, this one weighs 209KG!) Fully CNCed this would be a serious compliment to our machining : reprap nozzle broken? Make a new one from stainless! Reprap part not strong enough? Make it from STEEL!

What can you do with this machine?

Large machines can do small projects, but small machines cannot do large projects. The additional rigidity afforded by the weight of the machine means that it takes smooth and precise cuts, and its large size means we can undertake some quite serious projects, for example:

  • 3" aluminium jog wheel for Arduino project, easy. (LATHE / CNC LATHE)
  • Bandsaw, SegWay? Make your own Pulleys and Wheels, up to 800mm diameter, complete with recesses for bearings (LATHE)
  • Metal gears, telescope gears? Check. (LATHE)
  • Aluminium, brass, steel components for machinery. (MILL, CNC MILL)
  • Complex pattern, Sheet metal cutting/drilling (MILL, CNC MILL)
  • CAM Locks, clamps (LATHE using included 4-jaw chuck)
  • PCB circuit board drilling + PCB board profile cutout (CNC MILL)
  • Signmaking in metal? (MILL/CNC MILL)
  • High-speed prototyping in Foam for lost-foam or plaster casting? (MILL, CNC MILL)
  • Canon? Air Canon? Net gun? Super-high pressure end-boss Nerf canon? (LATHE)
  • Make pneumatics for your robotic project? Check! (LATHE, CNC LATHE)
  • To make the components for CNC conversion of this machine? - you use this machine! (LATHE/MILL)
  • Square-off Wood/Metal to be planar? (MILL + Included FlyCutter)


How much and who's contributing?

The machine costs £1020 including VAT and delivery, the initial plan is for the machine to be manual, and we will convert it (by making the various components on the machine and buying other components over the duration of the year) AbbyKatt is a pretty competent machinist and has done a few CNC conversions already (check his website at http://www.silverkatt.co.uk for some examples). The idea is the machine will always be able to run in Manual Mode, but will have an augmentive CNC capability.

Pledges

Running total: £500

Approximate target: £1020

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