Denford Lathe
| Denford Lathe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manufacturer | Denford |
| Obtained | 2014 |
| Location | CNC Area |
| Team | Tools |
| Induction Required | No |
| Tools: all pages • list • Power Tools • Broken tools {{}} | |
Intro
A benchtop Denford Novaturn CNC lathe
The Novaturn lathe has been in the space for some time and has had very little use to date. It is NOT a scary, hard to use machine and is avaialble for use by any member without induction.
Obviously take care when using, if you are unsure of anything ASK SOMEONE; a good place to ask is the google group or #CNC Slack channel.
If you have never used a Lathe or CNC machine at all before the learning curve can be a little steep but should be manageable.
How-To
There are a number of good 'howto' videos on youtube Including three by Chris Cain :-) showing how to design a part and cut it specifically on out lathe. See lower in the section for the links to the videos.
There is also some generic videos on using a denford lathe. See Part1 and Part 2
The lathe used is the same as ours except that we have a 8 position automatic tool changer.
The novaturn software has a simulation mode' that lets you program a part an run it on the computer only to check all is well before you actually cut it out for real. This gives an easy confidence boost.
The current default tool setup and offsets are good for the 4 'outside' tools Rough cut, Finishing, Parting and Threading. But the previous person may have changed or moved things so ALWAYS check tool offsets and work offsets before running a job.
Instruction Manual
Other reference: Novaturn Manual is available HERE
Chris Cain's Spinning Top
24/12/2016 Tested the lathe today, it is 100% functional.
There is a post processor available below for Fusion 360 which is a great 3d design tool that is free for private/educational use There are lots of how to work Fusion 360 vids on Youtube, the NYC CNC ones are all good.
My Post Processor for The denford Lathe in Fusion 360. All seems to work fine for external turning/grooving should be 100% functional but threading and internal cutting only tested on the sim. If you downloaded the previous version you need to switch, the last one had a problem in that it did not execute tool changes correctly on the lathe even though they worked in the sim.
Youtube Videos on how to use the lathe are available:
- Designing the top in fusion 360 and testing on the sim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1-Z0pW2ES0
- Setting up the lathe, tool offsets etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A6WGTqPZko&t=66s
- Making the top https://youtu.be/wTwbws0wuVc
The minitop
The minitop
Post any successes/problems on the google groups, let me know if this is useful and I may be persuaded to do vids on the Bridgeport and Myford lathes although at present both of these do need an actual induction due to there ability to eat fingers of unwary hackers.