Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] WTK Can you mix inch and metric screws with Mach 3 or CAMSOFT

> Hi, I'm still trying to get all the parts together for a lathe
> conversion project and was wanting to know if you can mix turns per
> inch on X and turns per mm on the y.
> Thanks
> Larry

*****************

Hello Larry,

You can usually use any screw pitch you want on any axis. In the
controller software you specify the pitch for each axis in whatever
units the software wants and to as many decimal places as the software
allows.

I know of a manual-to-CNC conversion which required that the Z axis
pitch be determined experimentally because it was nothing convenient in
either metric or imperial. No matter. We just counted as many threads as
we could and measured the total distance across the threads. Then
divided the distance by the number of turns and we had a good
approximation to the pitch. We then assembled and tested the travel over
several inches with a dial guage and scaled the pitch slightly until the
programmed distance traveled matched the measured distance traveled.

Choosing a leadscrew for a numbered handwheel requires that the numbered
handwheel and the leadscrew pitch be compatible if you want to use those
numbers. But for software like TurboCnc and EMC and many others, it does
not matter.

It might be worth naming your controller software in case somebody knows
of a problem with specifying pitch for that controller software.

Tom Hubin
thubin@...