Re: Electronic Lead Screw | Poor Man's CNC ? - mini-lathe

>
> I've done machining for several years, but I'm new to CNC. I'm an
> electronics engineer, so an electronic approach to gearing - rather
> than mechanical gears - appeals. This PLL (Phase Lock Loop) method is
> well-known in electronics.
>
> Maybe electronic gearing could be called the "Poor Man's CNC". I'm
> less interested in full programmable CNC right now than I am in
> correcting some deficiencies in the SIEG C6B lathe I just bought. The
> C6B has variable spindle speed, but fixed saddle traverse - so feed
> rate is either 0.1mm/rev or 0.2mm/rev and switching between the two is
> awkward. There is no Quick Change Gear Box, so threading requires
> manual gear substitutions. There is no Power Cross Feed, and there is
> no taper attachment. Seems to me PLL control of the lead screw, as
> described in this article, with the enhancement of microprocessor
> control of speed ratios, could give practically unlimited threading
> and traverse speeds. Power cross feed could also be arranged by this
> method. If Power Cross feed linked to lead screw speed, then this is
> effectively an electronic taper attachment. Several tricks short of
> full CNC could be microprocessor-controlled.
>
> Am I missing something ?
>
> I'm new at this. Could someone give me a head start on the kind of
> stepper (?) motors I should be looking at, encoding wheels, and
> microprocessor/computer control ? Someone who owns a SIEG C6 or
> Grizzly G0516 might also be interested or could supply conversion
> information.
>