OK, I just emailed my contact at Teknic. The MC series motors don't take step/direction, which is why I asked. I'm not positive if they can be controlled with a 0-10V signal either or if it's only through computer control. Hopefully what we have will do and I won't need to buy anything else.
Regarding the encoder:
yes 1:1 with the spindle itself
The default setup has the spindle geared up from the motor via a belt. I don't know the ratio. Are you saying the encoder just needs to be on the spindle shaft and doesn't care how much the motor was geared up, or that the gear on the motor needs to match the one on the spindle so it's 1:1?
threading and rigid tapping requires a 1:1 ratio with the encoder and the material in the spindle. no ratios. most just belt an encoder at a 1:1 pulley with timing belt. take a look thru Suntravel' s lathe build thread it will probably answer a lot of questions for you. https://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic. ... 458#p61458
Thanks. I've seen that thread. I think it confirms this for me but just to verify:
As long as the encoder is attached to the spindle shaft in some way, it doesn't matter that the motor has a smaller gear than the spindle shaft it's attached to, correct? All that matters is that the encoder is measuring the speed the spindle is spinning at?
The encoder has to be at a one to one ratio. It's measuring position. You cannot have a smaller pulley on the spindle or vice verse. They have to be the same diameter. That's what one-to-one ratio means
I know what 1:1 means. But I don't think you're understanding my question.
The motor is separate from the spindle. It's connected via a belt. The toothed wheel for the belt on the motor shaft is a smaller diameter than the toothed wheel on the spindle shaft. It's gearing up from the motor to the spindle shaft.
My question is whether this is relevant or not. If all that matters is that the encoder is directly measuring the speed of the spindle shaft, and that smaller wheel on the motor that drives the spindle shaft is irrelevant, then my question is answered.
The chuck definitely needs a little love, the ways are a tad rusty, but everything I can move by hand seems to move smoothly so far. I think there's an old wasp nest inside, next to the parallel port. Hopefully long dead and they don't wake up in the office.
Ok, now that I have this mostly taken apart I'm seeing that most of the internal wiring insulation is starting to feel gummy. I won't be re-using any of the wiring it seems, which is a little bit of a bummer but probably best to go all new anyway.
I need to figure out the spindle motor situation. It looks like I have a couple points on which I can mount the motor to the spindle, so that's good. I'll probably replace the old belts with new toothed belts and wheels. And I want to replace the spindle. Looks like a fair bit of work ahead of me, but with the back panel cleaned out I can at least lay out where the boards, drivers and power supplies are going to go, and start drilling some holes for those.
