Re: Digest Number 110

Watch case rose turning is the holy grail of engine turning, and the reason
that rose engines, crude though they are, go for about 4 times what
straight line engines do. I have no desire to engrave watch cases or
faberge style eggs, and one dimension is more or less ok by me. In
thinking about this over the past few days since I posted my message, I
think that I should start ahead with the CNC conversion of my knee mill.
If I have a control with the capibility to expand to 5 axis, I could adapt
the spindle rotatation as Ian describes when I figure out the software
demands of the job.

Are there any suggestions for jobbing out the instalation of ball screws in
a milling machine? I'm in cnetral NJ.

David M. Munro

>From: "Ian W. Wright" <Ian@...>
>
>HI,
>
>I am also interested in the potential for engine turning and envisage
>using the full 4-dimensions to engrave the outside of watch cases etc. I
>can't remember which programme it was but I distinctly remember seeing
>one a while ago (before I got serious about CNC) which had a function
>for cutting out material where it had stepper control on the spindle
>such that you could put a knife in it and it would move the direction of
>the knife blade to follow the cut - in other words, partial rotation
>with its direction so that the cutting edge always follows the motion
>direction. Replace the knife with a graver, perhaps even setting the
>x-axis at a slight angle to get a true 'diamond-cut' effect and viola, a
>real engraving machine. The alternative for good work would be, of
>course, to use the CNC to engrave a shallow cut and then to finish it by
>hand using this as a guide.
>
>Ian
>
>Andrew Werby wrote:
>>
>> From: Andrew Werby <drewid@...>
>>
>> [This is an interesting idea, making a CNC version of the old
>> engine-turning machines, or converting an existing CNC mill to handle this
>> function. I envision a walking foot that would be fitted into the spindle
>> collet, which would have a hand-modulated lever which could be used to
>> compensate for slight waviness of the work surface, or to introduce some
>> variation into the cut. It could be made to hold an interchangable graver,
>> and the operator would be able to make subtle adjustments on the fly, the
>> same as the antique machines.]
>
>Best wishes
>
>Ian
>
>--
>
>Ian W. Wright LBHI
>Sheffield Branch Chairman of the British Horological Institute.
>Bandmaster and Euphonium player of the Hathersage Brass Band. UK.
>See our homepage at:- http://www.iw63.freeserve.co.uk or
>http://www.iw63.demon.co.uk/ or
>http://www.GeoCities.com/Hollywood/6067/index.html
>
>'Music is the filling of regular time intervals with harmonious
>oscillations.'
>
>
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