Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Request for CNC lathe enclosure and control panel ideas

Kim Lux wrote:

>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.
>

If you had two wrap-around sliding doors, that ran on tracks parallel to the
bed, and were made so that one would roll over the headstock and the other
over the tailstock, you could roll them both all the way out, leaving
the whole lathe exposed when working on it. These doors would have
a front, top and back, with windows in the front.

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

I like this idea, too. I think a box with the various controls could be
made light
enough that the operator could hold it on his lap, or it could be hung from
pairs of hooks on the enclosure. Maybe put the hooks in several places
so the pendant could be put wherever the operator found it most useful
for that particular operation.

Jon