New Build: Denford/Sherline MicroLathe

[silver2row]

I am following along here.

Nice build...I have a Sherline also. Micro machinery!

Seth

P.S. I like what you have done with the box build so far. Very determined and organized...not only organized but methodical too. I know it was not just thrown together so far. I will be building a build also and that is the reason I am following this thread. Heads up!

[friolator]

Thanks. Part of the reason I bought this setup and not just the Sherline lathe is because it came in the steel enclosure, which will allow me to operate it in an office space (vs a proper shop). Thankfully the Denford layout is pretty nice, with plenty of room in the back for the electronics (I added a lot more than was there before). So really the only modifications to the enclosure I've made would be front control panel and the holes on the side for HDMI/Ethernet/USB ports. And the monitor mount.

[friolator]

I've got the MPGs working now with the USB-BOB board. I'm hoping to try doing some semi-manual turning with it tomorrow.

[friolator]

One thing I really like about the USB-BOB is that I can do manual and CNC turning with two MPGs. The first part I had to turn was this one - nothing complicated, just boring out a larger hole for the pulley for our Teknic spindle motor:

I couldn't find one of these with a 9/16 bore hole and used my drill press at home so I could rig things up temporarily. This is way better, and was done manually using the Z and X MPGs on the front panel of the machine, via USB-BOB. Now that this part is done, the machine doesn't feel like it's going to rattle itself to pieces, and I can start dialing in higher speeds.

Really liking the added button functionality on the front. I have spindle overrides working, as well as the MPGs and the MPG jog multiplers. Haven't had too much time to get stuff done over the past two weeks but it's coming along nicely!

[cnckeith]

thanks for posting the update, we are shooting for opening up USB-BOB pre orders soon and starting shipments in 4 weeks.

[friolator]

Cool. I have to say this is totally worth it. I love using my (other) manual lathe and this is really the best of both worlds. It's especially handy while doing this conversion because I'm both new to CNC Lathe work, and this particular micro lathe. So it's giving me the ability to use the lathe more or less like I would with the manual one, to get a feel for the limits of the machine (which continues to surprise me given how tiny this thing is - it chews through Delrin, which is what I'll be using it for 90% of the time, and was pretty capable with aluminum too).

This is key before I start diving into the CNC aspects, so I know what the machine can and can't handle, as far as feeds and speeds. Plus sometimes you just need to turn something by feel so having the two MPGs is absolutely necessary for that!

[friolator]

I'm getting a "Spindle Slave Position Error" fault when I try to run my first program generated in intercon. This is a really simple test, turning some 25mm delrin down to 20mm. Everything seems right in the programming and the graph looks the way I want it to. When I run the program, the machine moves away from the part, the spindle comes up to speed, the tool moves towards the part, and before it makes the first cut, it faults.



Here's the error I get in CNC12:

And here's the report from CNC12.

report_5445381C2C43-0104247795_2024-06-05_12-03-48.zip

(1.06 MiB) Downloaded 1 time

I'm pretty positive I have my spindle encoder set up correctly - In CNC12, the RPM of the spindle exactly matches what I am measuring with a digital tachometer. I'm using a Koyo TRD-SHR2500V5D encoder from Automation Direct, and I have the count set at 10k in the Wizard. The encoder is 2500ppr, and from what I read here, I multiply that value by 4 to get the Spindle Encoder Counts value for the wizard.

Any ideas?

[cnckeith]

this is duplicate post on the spindle error.
please post technical support issues with beta software in the beta software forum. thanks!

< resolved> thread is here.
viewtopic.php?f=67&t=10263

[friolator]

Got some white-on-black tape for the label printer today.

PC and Lathe power, as well as the cabinet lights are all directly wired. I decided to keep the cabinet light off USB-BOB, so that I could use it with the machine otherwise powered off. Everything else is run through the USB-BOB though. It's a very cool upgrade!

[cnckeith]

right on! thanks for posting the photos and videos, your project is really coming out nicely!

where did you get the selector knobs?