Re: Lathe Hexapod

[Brian Pitt <bfp-at-earthlink.net>]

On Sunday 25 February 2001 23:49, you wrote:
>  Our planar mechanism has 3 dof:  2  translations and 1 rotation. 
>
ah.. right I forgot the rotation in my earlier post

>  The test model was built to test the feasibility of this idea. 
> The workpiece, in this case a perspex plate, is
> mounted to the moving platform of the test model.  The tool, in this case a
> stationary pen, is mounted to the frame of the
> test model.  The pen must then draw the required toolpath on the perspex
> plate by manipulating the hexapod.
> By mounting the tool on the planar hexapod, I think that it can also work
> for the lathe hexapod idea.  
> 
yes this is exactly it just replace the pen with a sliding headstock and you
have a swiss style hexapod lathe , your 90% there already ;-) 

> Is there any advantage in having 3 dof to
> position and orientate the tool for a CNC lathe?
>
its good for milling flats or pockets on the side of turned parts or for
cross drilling/tapping off center etc...
many times you can make the part complete off the lathe instead of 
turning a blank then sending it to the mill for more work
in a high volume shop that can make or break you

I havent run the math on it yet but 60 Newtons per micron sounds
like enough to cover most small lathe work (I think)

Brian