Re: 5-axis Taig Mill

Rab,

I haven't seen your setup. There are more than a few old 5 axis
machines which "stack" the axes from the TABLE, rather than the
spindle.

In other words, mount one rotary table perpendicular the mill table,
and fix a right angle support to it. Mount a second rotary table to
this right angle block. The work is held in/on this 2nd rotary table.
Voila. five axes. Sturdy. Small envelope. Fast.

Hope this helps.

Ballendo

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., "rainnea" <rab@r...> wrote:
> > What resolution do you need on the 5th axis (around pivot)? How
> about
> > mounting the spindle on a 3" or 4" timing belt pulley, and
running
> that
> > from a stepper? That would be somewhat smaller, and quite a bit
> > lighter. Although you wouldn't have the back-gearing (worms don't
> > back-gear) of the worm gear to keep it solid.
>
> -----
> I'm not sure what resolution I really need for the 5th-axis, most
of
> my work is low precision stuff, but repeatability is important.
>
> The timing belt and pully approach is one I've thought about, but
as
> <snip>