CNC Lathe
 | |
| A small CNC training lathe from the early 90s retrofitted to work with LinuxCNC. | |
| Equipment Information | |
|---|---|
| Status | Unknown |
| Manufacturer | Boxford |
| Model | TCL 160 |
| Hackspace Information | |
| Induction Required | No |
| Card RFID Enabled | Not yet |
| Owner | Aidan |
This small CNC lathe is a Boxford TCL160 that has been stripped of its original electronics and now runs from LinuxCNC. Work can be held in an ER40 collet or a 3 jaw chuck.
Induction
For an induction you should ask Aidan either in person, via the mailing list or on Slack/IRC. You must be a Hackspace member and a competent user of a traditional metal lathe.
Gearing
There are four speed settings, changeable by a series of pulleys in the gear cover. To change gear during a program you must use the following series of commands. If you change the gear setting without changing the gear on the controller, or vice versa, then the actual spindle speed will be greatly different to the commanded spindle speed.
Change the gearing to increase the torque available to the motor for operations like grooving, threading and parting.
| Gear | Command | Min. Speed | Max. Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M101 | 320 | 3200 |
| 2 | M102 | 160 | 1600 |
| 3 | M103 | 80 | 800 |
| 4 | M104 | 40 | 400 |
Fusion 360 Configuration
You can find a tools file for importing into the Fusion 360 tool library and a post processor on the Google Drive.
Tools
This lathe doesn't have a automatic tool turret, so tools must be changed manually. For this reason it's important to order operations that allow the minimum changing of tools while still allowing for secure work holding.
The tool holders with numbers engraved on them have had offsets set in the controller and are known to cut accurately. If you are working on something important it is recommended that you buy your own inserts and swap them out when appropriate. If you break a communal insert please buy a new one.
Tool Offsets, or, do not move the tool in the tool holder
The tools have specific offsets set in the software, listed below. If you move the tool in the holder even a little bit then you will need to reset the offsets which is, frankly, a massive pain.
Fore more information on setting the offset for a tool, please ask. Also read the relevant section of the LinuxCNC documentation.
| # | Insert Type | Offsets | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CCGT 09T302 | General turning and facing. | |
| 2xx | External Threading Tools | Where xx is the pitch of the thread insert. General turning and facing, specifically for shaping. | |
| 300 | Parting & grooving, 2 mm width, with a slight radius. Straight cut. | ||
| 301 | Parting. 2 mm width, with a slight radius. Angled cut with the intention to part off with minimal nub on the part. |