I succeeded in making a version of this drum I’ve been imagining for a couple of weeks now. It’s ugly, but should work as a proof of concept and it helped me refine the manufacturing process.
It’s hard to see in the image, but there’s a 1 mm-pitch thread cut into it. My hope is that it will help a string to evenly wind on the drum.
My question about conversational threading is this: If I set up a threading program and run it, then make some changes and run it again, will it stay synchronized with the last run? I want to change the Z start and end locations, and the depth. I would not change the pitch, nor change the work offsets.
It seems to me it should be possible for the machine to keep track, but I don’t know if it actually does. For bonus points, it could also keep track despite a tool change.
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Hmm, interesting question. I suppose I’m curious if this would work on the rapidturn as well. I would almost assume it has to, at least on the rapidturn, since it only has the one spindle orientation flag rather than an encoder. Not sure if the lathes use the same approach or if they have encoders on the spindle.
The 15L has an encoder on the spindle.
As long as you keep the same pitch thread, the same starting distance from the part, and don’t remove the part from the chuck. You should be good.
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You mean the starting distance as specified in the conversational program, not the actual tool position when I start the run, right?
The start position where the tool starts the threading canned cycle. The feed rate is constant. If you start in a different Z the threading tool reaches the part at a different time thus a different position on the part.
Bummer, that would be a nice thing to be able to change. It should be possible, technologically, if PP referenced the thread in machine coordinates. Then I think anything short of a pitch change (and not moving the work) would stay synchronized.
If you move it back or forward from the initial point before the canned cycle line the exact distance of 1 pitch of the thread you are turning it should still be synchronized.
