Request for CNC lathe enclosure and control panel ideas

Hi people.

We've got a retrofitted 13x40 lathe. Geckos, ballscrews, coolant,
servos, turbocnc etc.

It works great except that:

a) While operating it throws debris (mostly metal cuttings) up to 8 feet
from the lathe. Yes, we are using chip breaking inserts.

b) We need a better way to mount the CNC control panel, ie 17" LCD,
feedwheels and keyboard.

Firstly, we need some sort of total enclosure. I've seen the sliding
door type, but don't like it because it limits the accessibility of the
lathe bed. We use gang and live tooling and need to change setups from
time to time, so we need totally unfettered access. I'm thinking about
something that opens like a car trunk, but I'd like to hear your ideas
on the subject.

Next, we need to mount the LCD, keyboard and feedwheel panel. If we
used a sliding enclosure, we could mount these items to the enclosure
because they would still be accessible when the enclosure was open. If
the enclosure opens like a car truck, the control panel would be 7 feet
in the air and unaccessible.

Furthermore, we use the lathe for one off prototype work and will want
to run it from the feedwheels (and MDI) while in jog mode. This means
the feedwheels need to be close to the saddle so the operator can watch
the tool cutting while operating them. While in this mode we also need
the LCD to be easily readable as it will be used like a DRO.

It is like we need the control panel and LCD mounted in different places
at different times:

a) while jog machining, the LCD should be over and behind the spindle so
that you could look up and see the position. (I know this would be very
bad for the LCD !) The feedwheels should be on the carriage. I don't
know where the keyboard should be, but we need it for MDI commands,
resetting positions, jogging to position, etc. The enclosure will be
open when jog machining.

b) while automatic machining, the LCD, feedwheels and keyboard should be
outside the enclosure, beside the window, maybe in front of the
headstock.

We don't need the control panel on the lathe to be set up for writing G
code as we use a different computer for that, one at a desk. We do do
some light editing at the lathe though.

I've given thought to putting the LCD and keyboard on an adjustable arm,
but I'm worried about having a shaky mount and it being a pain to move
all the time.

Any ideas ?

Thanks.

--
Kim Lux <lux@...>