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rotary tables

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steve nunn 129/12/2010 23:38:11
2 forum posts
Hiya,
 
Im after a bit of advice. Ive got a Junior Omnimill and im in the market for a rotary table.
 
The question ive got is, what size?
 
Im pretty sure an 8" rt would fit on the mill without any problems.  But should i be going for the biggest i can fit/ afford. Or should i be going for a 6".
 
Predominantly it is used for making jigs ect for a fly press and other tooling (I mess about with blacksmithing), but would like to delve more into model engineering and dont want get a table that turns out to be too big (if thats possible)
 
Steve
Gray6230/12/2010 00:02:40
1058 forum posts
16 photos
Biggest is not always best. Choose a RT that suits your purposes / requirements.
I have a 6" RT which suits the majority of my needs and occasionally it gets mounted on a purpose made raising block where clearance is insufficient. I also have a 12" RT which gets very occasional use, partly due to its immense weight although it is extremely accurate and an absolute pleasure to use. Both RT's have dividing plates which greatly extends their usefulness, that said, they are both destined to have a conversion to stepper motor control using the divisionmaster kit supplied by MEDW.
John Olsen30/12/2010 02:58:06
1294 forum posts
108 photos
1 articles
I went for an 8 inch one, against the advice of several people, however my mill is one of the larger style of mill drill, next size up would be the turret style, so the large table does not take up too much of the throat space. Also I have a very small (Unimat sized) dividing attachment that comes in very handy for small dividing jobs, like putting some holes around a flange. It is my experience that workshop equipment is very rarely too big, but of course a rotary table does want to be proportioned to the machine it is to be used with.
 
regards
John
Baldric31/12/2010 10:34:26
195 forum posts
32 photos
If you are getting a rotary table that can be used vertically then remember that it means that the item being machined is 3" or 4" of the table, just make sure the mill has enough vertical travel to allow for this.
RJKflyer31/12/2010 11:48:20
49 forum posts
3 photos
One thought I'd encourage you to consider is whether you will use the RT with a lathe chuck mounted - this adds considerable height and can be the deal breaker...
Jon31/12/2010 20:17:36
1001 forum posts
49 photos
To give you some idea i have a Vertex 8" with 5 1/4" TOS 3 jaw chuck, this is over 7" to top of jaws.
Will go on the RF25 types but last 6 1/2 years on the super lux type.
 
Would have to shop around to get an 8" for just over £200 then theres the dividing plates £65 ish. My chucks directly screwed to the RT no backing plate. Since its the 4 slot, there are 6 slot types making it easier to mount chucks.
MT3 through centre but wont retain concentricity if used.
 
Something basic http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL15/728921/1252422/14584660.jpg
 
Considering a 6" with stepper motor etc these can be had at much cheaper price.
steve nunn 101/01/2011 06:32:44
2 forum posts
Thanks for all the advice so far. Yes, i think the RT will definitely be used with a chuck, but the vertical travel on the table shoudnt be a problem, its a pretty big mill really - or i think it is.
 
A bit more info, the table is 27X8",  the table travels 18X7" (approx), with 12" vertical travel on the table (although it looks more, Ill measure it later to make sure its right).
 
Im sure an 8" RT would fit ok, even with an angle plate attached to the RT.  BUt it is pushing the mill (dimensionally) to the limit i guess.
 
I think Ive settled on getting a 6" RT, unless the general consensus is that Ill regret not getting the 8" when the mill will probably handle it.
 
Thansk once a again for all your input, its very much appreciated to get the advice off people who use this type of equipment..
 
Steve
Ian S C01/01/2011 12:22:45
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7468 forum posts
230 photos
My Rexon mill has a maximum clearance of 11" from chuck to bed, and with a 8" chuck from my lathe on the 6" Verttex, there's not a lot of room. I'v collected a fair number of short drills.  A larger diameter plate can be put on the 6" table to cater for larger artical being machined.   Ian S C
John Haine01/01/2011 14:10:15
5563 forum posts
322 photos
I would agree that 6 inch is generally fine.  I would suggest that you get one with 4 slots rather than 3 - then a 4-jaw chuck can be mounted very easily without a backplate.  4-jaw chucks bolted to the mill table are a little known but very useful workholding method for smaller parts, as they can clamp against 2 orthogonal surfaces both of which are perpendicular to the table.  Putting the chuck on an RT gives a further improvement in versatility.

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