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Experimenting with a lathe way cover.

opensourcefan

opensourcefan

OSF
It's a retractable window shade for a vehicle. $7 bucks at C Tire. I cut in down to size stuck it on there. Functions well, don't think the material will hold up but that will be easy to replace with something more solid and robust. I am in the planning stages of 3d printing a wiper to get the chips off before it retracts. I have a quick release bracket mounted to the follow rest bolt points.

Just playing, don't be too critical. :eek:
2022-06-24 14.44.46.jpg
 
Good idea. Maybe you can replace the material with something more durable when the original one fails. Really nice that it retracts but you might have to have it retracting over the top so swarf doesn't get retracted up in the roll?
 
Ya, thought about flipping it but didn't want it to get any closer to the chuck. The holes in that fabric will make excellent swarf grab handles, it'll be a problem for sure I'm thinking.

Replacing with a very thin sheet of plastic would be best I think.
 
Luv the concept.
I think you may be better to use canvas or maybe leather to replace the fabric, something that doesn't melt. I use a piece of BBQ cover material to cover the ways and the hot stuff melts right into the material.
How much travel do you have before the fabric tightens up?
 
Perry said:
I'd hate to see a piece of swarf catch on that and pull it into the chuck. Things can get busy , real fast. Be careful.
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Totally agree, that's why something smooth will be used. Actually I can guarantee that will happen, on a good day I get strands wrapping all over.

Was also thinking of adding something to keep it down just past the chuck.

Or going back to nothing... idunno. It just gets so grimey under there.
 
Other then the melting part, where will all the swarf go? If you say upgrade to steel mesh that can handle the heat, you still have to deal with having to remove a lot of swarf next to chuck.

On my lathe the metal just falls in the holes made in the lathe bed to a catch basin at the bottom so I can have like 10lbs plus of cut metal before I need to worry.
 
I think swarf accumulation is a problem waiting for an invention. Kudos to you @opensourcefan for giving it a try.

I tend to let the swarf pile up until I can't stand it anymore or until I change stock material. I collect swarf in big garbage cans separated by metal type, and do a final cleanup with a shop vac before switching to another metal.

Ya, I live with it but I hate it. Love to find a better solution. Again, kudos to you @opensourcefan for trying.
 
opensourcefan said:
It's a retractable window shade for a vehicle. $7 bucks at C Tire. I cut in down to size stuck it on there. Functions well, don't think the material will hold up but that will be easy to replace with something more solid and robust. I am in the planning stages of 3d printing a wiper to get the chips off before it retracts. I have a quick release bracket mounted to the follow rest bolt points.

Just playing, don't be too critical. :eek:
Click to expand...

I've been toying with something like this for some time myself. Milling machines often have swarf protectors why not a lathe? How would you DIY a way cover for a mill and could the same thing be done with a lathe? Seems to me fine grit from machining CI or from grinding with a tool post grinder is a serious problem. I'm always imagining this stuff getting between the bed and the carriage and ruining my lathe. Better to prevent it from getting on the ways in the first place than to keep cleaning it off or letting it get under the carriage. I hope you come up with something really good!
 
Tom Kitta said:
Other then the melting part, where will all the swarf go? If you say upgrade to steel mesh that can handle the heat, you still have to deal with having to remove a lot of swarf next to chuck.

On my lathe the metal just falls in the holes made in the lathe bed to a catch basin at the bottom so I can have like 10lbs plus of cut metal before I need to worry.
Click to expand...
You know what, you're right. I want way covers, to cover my ways, why am I covering everything in the process, why not just cover the ways... I have an idea and it involves 3d printing, yippee. I'll be back. [Terminator emoji here]
 
opensourcefan said:
You know what, you're right. I want way covers, to cover my ways, why am I covering everything in the process, why not just cover the ways... I have an idea and it involves 3d printing, yippee. I'll be back. [Terminator emoji here]
Click to expand...
Why did I immediately think of a large tape measure. Metal, flexible, wide enough to cover the top of the way vee, cheap, indestructible, zero clearance required.


Off to the shop to fiddle…

4FEEBA13-AC72-4F70-BC2D-A80B3F9C8B84.jpeg
 
whydontu said:
Why did I immediately think of a large tape measure. Metal, flexible, wide enough to cover the top of the way vee, cheap, indestructible, zero clearance required.


Off to the shop to fiddle…

View attachment 24687
Click to expand...
I'm lost....... (Insert big pout lip here).

But I sort like the big tape measure...... Four of them - one for each way?
 
On a lathe it tends to fall through or on the opposite side of the carriage moving direction so it is not an issue. As to grinding it is don at low speeds and most cover their bed with a cloth to collect it. Changing chucks I was taught lay a small section of plywood on the bed to prevent a ding if the chuck slips from your fingers during the change. Finally most drive components are out front, protected, easily inspected and cleaned.

Mills on the other hand generally have motion screws that are semi protected and not accessible for cleaning and inspect. Ways tend to collect scarf and and during motion (mills in comparison move a lot more) tend to jamb scarf underneath the slides, up until recently I did not use covers on my mill because it was easier to clean constantly when it was a manual mill, now that its CNC I use bellows type covers (McMaster-Carr) between at the column and slide side, formed metal covers everwhere else. I still need to inspect and clean underneath regularly (daily during use), with the bellows cover having to be cleaned every 1 or 2 parts depending on the operation due to scarf build up.

3 months of machining resulted in about 28lbs of Aluminium scarf, yes I machine a lot.

Even true modern CNC machines need help in keeping scarf under control with human intervention.
 
I was thinking about a retractable cover for the mill. Would have to be some special material that wouldn't wrap swarf into the roller.
 
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