Member postings for ChrisB

At work we often use grade 5 titanium for aircraft parts. Mostly drilling and cutting operations and some turning.

Drilling can be done with hss bits, but be careful...do not creep to the final size using small increments. Drill a pilot hole to clear the next drill's point and then go to final size using coolant. I find that if I use small incremental steps to drill, the drill tip edges will overheat and go blunt immediately. Use a new sharp drill !

As for turning, the sharper the tip the better, I have machined Ti with TNMG inserts tho, which don't have the sharpest geometry with good results.

Cutting it with a band saw is the way to go, tried with grinder and thin cut off discs, eats up the discs in seconds, overheats and gets harder.

As for fire hazard, I have never seen a titanium fire in 20years. Just control the ammount of thin swarf and keep the workarea clear and you'll be safe.

True and also with the collet chuck, working close to the chuck I have to extend most of the topslide.

And the issue with saddle travel would have been easy to fix at production level, the apron gearbox casting is already shaped quarter round to clear the feed shaft, they just needed to add 1/8" more to clear the clutch.

I had no intention of removing the apron, so I turned down the clutch just enough to get some clearance.

You just got me my next project Jason!

Some time back I got myself a lathe collet chuck, prepared a piece of steel for the backplate...bolted the blank backplate to the spindle and proceeded with the machining. Little did I know that the tool post would not reach the spindle! I managed, but it was one of those simple jobs turning into a nightmare.

Spent the morning fiddling with the lathe, and result! I was wrong about the WM280 tailstock reach

How come Jason! Mine won't go any further as the saddle will contact the feed shaft clutch.

This the closest the tailstock will ever come to the chuck on a WM280 lathe. Adding a dro to the right of the cross slide will only make it worse. You could mount the dro to the left, but that will expose the scales to oil, swarf and possibly impact damage.

Mounting under the cross slide as Jason suggested will avoid all those issues and tailstock reach will be unchanged.

Had a look at the compound slide this morning and I can confirm what Jason says, that's the best place to install the read head. As to do the installation internally in the compound, it is impossible with off the shelf read heads.

That's why it's better to have the DRO installed under the crosslide if possible, but that depends on what type of read out you have, my guess is it will only work out with magnetic type due to their small size.

Hi Jason, that's my DRO build thread. Didn't bother with the compound as I don't really use it that much, and to be honest I was even contemplating removing it altogether and replacing it with a solid tool post. True that the saddle traverse is a bit coarse, but using the DRO I manage to control my cuts without any major issues.

As for installing a dro to the compound on a WM280 internally, that would be very difficult, next to impossible I would say. First of all only magnetic types may fit and you have to have a very small read head. I built my own to very small dimensions and managed to fit one inside the crosslide, but the compound is even more restricted in space.

If I recall correctly I had seen an episode of Extreme engineering about the construction of a US carrier where the hull was dressed with sledgehammers.

At work (aircraft MRO) we use chromic acid to protect aluminium alloys, it gives a golden colour to the metal and the process is the base for corrosion protection. Anodizing on it's own is not sufficient. The process is normally followed with etchprimer and top coat. The only areas which are exposed are made from clad aluminium alloy.

For steel parts we send them to the playing shop for cadmium plating which also gives the metal a golden matt colour. We used to repair damaged areas with brush type plating, but the material is now banned.

That would be a good option Jason. That will give me two modes of operation, either in manual control with automatic feed as the lathe came originally, and ELS control via the leadscrew.

Reading through the manual, there is an input for "X" and "Z" axes backlash, so the ELS will compensate for this during radius turning.

Hadn't thought of the gearbox and feed shaft, probably could work if left on the A selector Jason, but not being directly driven backlash would be a problem for threading I think. As for manual control, reading through the manual, it can be manually controlled and the handles should stay.

My lathe is a WM280v. I think the product is aimed at hobby machines which might be bigger or smaller than mine without a gearbox.

Yes the link is for the controller correct, but they have kits with motors to drive both axes **LINK**

The website is both in english and german (it's translated by default on my pc tho) and I do believe they have support as I have asked them some questions, particularly if the system is adaptable to an imperial leadscrew lathe, which I'm told it is. He also said currently the system works in metric but they are working to include inches, so I guess it is still in development,

Been trying to find a way round the fiddly process of changing gears back and forth for threading and turning for quite a while. I had made up my mind I wanted an ELS for my lathe and Clough42 and his very well explained tutorial on youtube seemed the way to go. I also read through the ELS project thread on the forum which was very helpful.

Then I came across this german site which have a complete kit for different sized lathes, and after reading through their system's functions it would seem it's one step short of turning your lathe into a CNC.

Apart from the thread cutting functions, it will do tapers (that is I can do away with the compound and replace with a solid tool post), ball turning, DRO function and more. It is expensive tho at around 1K, but with the tools it replaces would probably break even... There are also less expensive less fancy versions as well. I'm tempted!

What are your thoughts, anyone came across it before?

**LINK**

I don't think I ever came across mechanical preparation before bonding on the repair manuals. Probably because the aluminium sheet is clad, and abrading it will effect it's corrosion resistance. Wiping with MEK or acetone is always recommended. Acetone is more readily available tho. Of course one could try different ways as mentioned above and get good results.

I bonded a test bracket to the lathe bed to sample it's strength before the DRO install, I had to knock it off with a hammer to get it off. I hate drilling into machinery and apart from that, I find that bonding allows for better more precise positioning.

Use scotch weld 2216, it will bond aluminium without any issues. It's also good for areas where vibrations are involved as it is slightly flexible, it is also unaffected by fuel (kerosene) We use it at work on aircraft composite to aluminium repairs, and in fuel tanks etc. I have used it to fix DRO brackets to my lathe and mill instead of drilling, it's as good as bolted. No major preparation required, just wipe the surfaces clean with acetone and you're done.

What would you say about these new robot vacuum cleaners? Equipped with wifi and lidar, it scans every corner of your apartment, creates a map and uploads it to your mobile...

Door intercomms with remote opeining is today also controlled via mobile app. I had an old video intercom which started acting up, checked the outdoor camera unit maybe there was something loose. I was surprised and shocked to learn that shorting a couple of wires released the door latch!

Probably none, but then how many products are actually manufactured in the UK, built with UK tools and machines and by British people? I really doubt there's any piece of electronics, tooling or clothing in the planet which is not made entirely or partly in China.

Thanks for your answer Ketan. Regarding Groupage hubs and freight forwarders, I have used their services for lots of orders from different UK traders (including Arc), EU and US traders without incident. Of course I bear the responsibility for the shipment from the hub to my country. I've had a lathe and a milling machine delivered this way.

Unfortunately the extra costs in taxes and paperwork will turn away overseas customers. I have stocked on what I needed from Arc last week, I really hope some sort of trade deal is made for the sake of both the exporter and importer.

That's correct Dave, UK traders will be at a disadvantage when compared to Chinese traders. I do not know how they manage to deliver at such low postage rates, but then I suppose not all countries post and customs work the same, over here for example, for imports from the US and non EU countries (excluding China) I am required to produce the invoice and proof of payment. Only when I pay the customs duty and taxes will the order be released. For Chinese orders this is inexistent.

I have one question for Ketan, if I were to have an order delivered to a UK address (such as a groupage hub as I mentioned before) would that be considered as a local purchase and consequently charged VAT?

Unfortunately this is the dark side of Brexit for EU customers. I get most of what I need from the UK and avoid paying hefty shipping costs through groupage hubs. Their shipping rates are generally much lower, the downside in my case being an extra week waiting time for delivery, but I can live with that.

However the groupage route will now see me getting double taxed on vat, add customs and fees and it will not be worth while. That said, I order lots of stuff from china with different couriers and don't recall ever being charged for customs or vat. They do charge for USA orders tho. Maybe it depends on the value of the orders?

Chris