Printable mini lathe

Hi all. I have seen Sublime's design for a printable mini lathe on thingiverse - [www.thingiverse.com] - and am quite impressed. It looks to me like it could be used for brass hot-ends and similar jobs.

Have any of you built one? If so, any feedback? I'd like to try it, but it's a big enough project and I don't want to get stuck half-way through.

There are 2 or demos of it working on Youtube (e.g. [www.youtube.com] ), but other than that there doesn't seem to be many reports on how the machine functions and how it fares with soft metals.

Daid has converted the CAD models to Openscad files - [www.thingiverse.com] - but there's no feedback on that at all.

Never built one, but they look pretty impressive. Best of luck to you

Thanks Tmives. I think I'll experiment with it anyway - even if progress is slow.

Does anyone have advice on what Slic3r settings to use - e.g., for the chuck? Is it worth printing this with 100% fill density - or is that a waste of filament?

Is this largely guesswork? And if so, would a 40% honeycomb fill be just as good?

At a guess, those parts are all printed as solids. The best bet of course would be to ask sublime directly, or at least post the forum query as "Hey Sublime, what infill do you recommend for the printable mini lathe???", but it's a good question.

It does work and I have made hotends with it.

I did experience a few issues.

1) PLA chuck jaws can not handle the heat generated while cutting metal.
2) I used 5/16" threaded rod instead of 8mm or proper smooth rod with threads cut where needed which introduced play in the drive.
3) My impromptu tail end chuck is not perfectly centered so it does not drill tiny holes properly.

For infill density I do not remember what I printed it at but I would say higher percentage infill and hex infill should be used. For the chuck alone I would print the jaws and gears at 100%. The rest of the chuck could get away with a little lower infill as its shape makes it strong.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

I started printing it last night, hope to finish all the parts in a few days. I am using 0.7 infill in Slic3r, but I really don't have anything to back that up, just a gut feeling. Am also having quality issues with my prints right now, but can reprint any problem parts once I get that figured out.

That statement alone reminds me how much I love 3D printing ><

I'm documenting the lathe printing and eventual build on my blog (see my signature below).

Daniel

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[DMillerRepRap.blogspot.com] -- 3D Printing Blog with Pics, Videos, etc. -- Please view and leave your comments and advice!

@Daniel: good luck with the build (and nice blog).

@Sublime: thanks for your input - and for releasing the design in the first place!

@xiando: Sublime got there first .

I'm low on PLA filament at the moment and am finding it difficult to print in ABS (getting the temperature right, etc.) - but will probably try this once I'm up and running again.

Yeah, it's one of the prints I'm looking forward to tackling when the printer is built and tuned. What a useful thing to print.

Thanks for the tips submline.

I have printed the 4-jaw chuck as a demo piece. Came out very nicely, though had a few issues:
1. Some of the nut trap sizes are a bit off, mostly because I was using metric M8 nuts
2. The main cam inside the chuck needed to be mirrored
3. I had to redesign the chuck pieces to have less angle on the 'bite', as parts wobbled in the chuck too much, and to reduce the size of the nut traps to hold metric nuts
4. Beefed up the chuck plate - first one broke too easily

I also scaled some of the parts in the Z-axis, they just seemed too big, so my chuck has come out a bit shorter and lighter. I think in most cases the 3-jaw chuck is probably a better choice than the 4-jaw in actual use.

The movement and locking action work really well. The main problem is that PLA is so hard, so doesn't grip will - printing the chuck pieces from ABS would help a lot. I think it will grip wood okay. I haven't printed the rest of the lathe, because I ended up going halves on a Sieg C1 mini lathe with a friend!

droftarts Wrote:
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> 1. Some of the nut trap sizes are a bit off,
> mostly because I was using metric M8 nuts

I can see this being true as I use imperial (8mm and 5/16" are very close and I use 5/16 nuts in parts designed for 8mm)

> 2. The main cam inside the chuck needed to be
> mirrored

I remember this and think I fixed it but do not want to say for sure so check it before going to far.

> 3. I had to redesign the chuck pieces to have less
> angle on the 'bite', as parts wobbled in the chuck
> too much, and to reduce the size of the nut traps
> to hold metric nuts

I just loosened the chuck enough that the jaws would fit flat against the item being held and then tightened it. This resulted in the gap being between the jaws and face of the chuck not between them and the work piece. This is not to say they are correct just that I used them a little different.

> 4. Beefed up the chuck plate - first one broke too
> easily
>
> I also scaled some of the parts in the Z-axis,
> they just seemed too big, so my chuck has come out
> a bit shorter and lighter.

I made them deep to ensure the bolts stayed straight and true in all the slots. But if it works shorter than for sure shorten it as it is long.

I think in most cases
> the 3-jaw chuck is probably a better choice than
> the 4-jaw in actual use.

I only made the 4-jaw because I was asked to. I personally used the three jaw

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Sublime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
...
>
> I did experience a few issues.
>
> 1) PLA chuck jaws can not handle the heat

Shapeways print stainless steel - do you think s/s jaws would loose the heat
as a heat sink with a fan on them ?

Scrachbuilder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sublime Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> ...
> >
> > I did experience a few issues.
> >
> > 1) PLA chuck jaws can not handle the heat
>
> Shapeways print stainless steel - do you think s/s
> jaws would loose the heat
> as a heat sink with a fan on them ?

I think you want them a little softer for grip since the chuck is not like a metal lathe chuck. It can only grip as hard as you can tighten is by hand.

Also stainless takes a lot of energy to heat up but once it is warm it does not like to give up its heat very quickly so they could just stay hot and melt the chuck itself.

I don't think the expense would be justified, the lathe does work and will make parts but it is still a plastic lathe and has its limits.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

one of the reasons im building a prusa mendel i2 is to print the mini lathe, so, any improvements/suggestions/comments are really welcome!!!!

You can buy proper metal chucks for less than £10 which would be a lot cheaper than metal printing. Worth investigating if you need a lathe rather than a pure repeat project. I thInk some take an M14 thread whIch could easIly be Implemented wIth a blot and prInted pulley
Pete

Does anybody know where I can find the instructions for assembling this lathe? I'd like to try building it.

Thanks,
Jon

Tekwizard Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anybody know where I can find the
> instructions for assembling this lathe? I'd like
> to try building it.
>
> Thanks,
> Jon


There are none actually. If you want to build it feel free to ask questions and I will try and answer them.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

That's a good idea, with only a few metal parts this late could be a reliable tool. Even our printers aren't all plastic. If the chuck and the gears were in metal that would probably do it. I'm gonna have to build it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2012 01:09AM by thecrazy.

This is one of the coolest maker projects I've seen.

Thanks, I've started printing out the parts and I'm about half done. Do you have any pictures of the assembled lathe? I've seen some videos, but they don't have very clear views of how it all goes together. I'll try and just figure it out once I have the parts printed, but a top and side view would help alot

Your best bet would be to download the assembly stl from my repo or the scad file from Daid's repo that way you can see it from all angles in 3d.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2012 06:08PM by Sublime.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

I can find your repo (is that repowatcher?) and the only link for the lathe takes me to Github, where the stl's for the lathe are. But I've already got these from there and I can't see any that say "assembly". Am I missing something? I also can't find Diad at repowatcher...

Thanks,
Jon

He means Daid, not Diad.

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Detlef

Excalibur Hotend

reprapclean32.png

reprapzone.blogspot.de

Daid version: [www.thingiverse.com]

Sublime repo: [github.com]

have fun!

Your right my assembly STL seems to be missing and my harddrive died the other day so I have nothing extra, just what is in my github Repo. Here is the link to Daid's version [www.thingiverse.com]

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Ok thanks to nic0laz I have the assembly STL from Daid's version for you. _assemble.scad.stl.tar.gz

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Thanks for all of your patience and help. I'm still on the steep learning curve of the design software, and have problems figuring some of it out.
I can open the file (_assemble.scad.stl), in openscad, but the first part of the code is all red and in the lower right window I get this:

Parsing design (AST generation)...
Parser error in line 1: syntax error

ERROR: Compilation failed!


I also can't find any files for a tool holder, I get 404 error at Thingyverse.

No need to open it in openscad. Just use any STL viewer or Modelling program that imports STL files. If you do not have one you could try Meshlab, Netfabb, Blender (enable in preferences), Sketchup (with an optional plugin).

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

I didn't realize that. Thanks for your help, I'll start downloading them and do it that way.

I don't suppose you know what I can do about the tool holder, do you? I get a 404 error at Thingyverse on the one there and a search there just brought up tool holders for things like screw drives and plyers. If I knew how do design my own parts I'd draw something, but I'm still too new at this and haven't reached that point.

Jon

Good question. The one I had is lost until I recover my drive and although I have backups of the lathe I don't have the Blend file or the STL files for the tool holder. Maybe someone that downloaded it in the past will have a copy of it in the mean time. Also the only tool holder I designed was to hold a raw 1/4" cobalt steel bit and may not be what you have available.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

Actually, for now I'm hoping to take the few inches of tool steel I have left from building my Mendal and grinding them into bits. They're the round smooth rods, of course, but they'd work if I could attach them. I'm not sure how the tool holder attaches to the x carriage anyway. I'm thinking that it will start to be obvious as the lathe is assembled. I'm down to printing the last few pieces now, except for the chuck, and then I'll start putting it together. If I have too, I'll fabricate something the old fashion way - by hand.

Thanks by the way for sharing this lathe, it will work great for the lathe work that I need, which are those little parts that I currently have to cut round with a file or something...I know it's light duty, but I'm on a budget and this is better than trying to double duty my drill press.