Rotary table - automation

[rabler]

Picked up this old Van Norman 12" rotary table fairly cheap ($50 IIRC) a few months ago. It was missing the dial/crank when I got it. Plan on adding a small clearpath servo and controller to allow simple automation, arc cuts, hole patterns, etc. I've seen similar project by both youtubers Oxtools and Stephen Gotteswinter. Arguably not very sophisticated and dubious merit but I wanted a simple project to play with servo control, possibly as a prelude to a DIY cnc plasma cutter. It'll be a reversible modification so no big deal if its just a learning exercise. First step is to take it apart, clean it up, check it for play, and paint it. This weighs over a 100 lbs so it is a workout to get it in/out of the parts cleaner.
.

 

[markba633csi]

That's a great deal! They usually go for much more

 

[rabler]

That's a great deal! They usually go for much more

Yeah, one of the guys on the Amish construction crew that built my shop brought it by when they were doing the work. I invited them into the old shop to sit while eating lunch. It was February, so they appreciated having a heated place to eat their homemade lunch, and saw some of the machine tools. They brought it by and said make us an offer, it's scrap otherwise.
I have an 8" and a 16", so I wasn't pressed to offer too much, but I certainly am a tool collector.

 

[markba633csi]

Since I built this homemade indexer I've been wanting to find a rotary table to add a stepper to and use the same Arduino box:

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Since I built this homemade indexer I've been wanting to find a rotary table to add a stepper to and use the same Arduino box:

I built one too based on Chuck Fellows design and used his arduino code. I've got a rotary table and a spindexer though so dont use it much. I prefer more holding power so I've always wanted a large rotary table version, but around here even the ugliest most abused large rotary table is in the hundreds of dollars.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Picked up this old Van Norman 12" rotary table fairly cheap ($50 IIRC) a few months ago. It was missing the dial/crank when I got it. Plan on adding a small clearpath servo and controller to allow simple automation, arc cuts, hole patterns, etc. I've seen similar project by both youtubers Oxtools and Stephen Gotteswinter. Arguably not very sophisticated and dubious merit but I wanted a simple project to play with servo control, possibly as a prelude to a DIY cnc plasma cutter. It'll be a reversible modification so no big deal if its just a learning exercise. First step is to take it apart, clean it up, check it for play, and paint it. This weighs over a 100 lbs so it is a workout to get it in/out of the parts cleaner.
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That's an excellent score you have there.

IIRC Home Model Engine Machinist's site has a long thread entitled something like arduino rotary table for dummies.. I'd give it a read as well as any other resources you may have.

You're very likely to find links to the entire hardware and software requirements leaving you little to do of any real difficulty. I look forward to seeing what you do, because I'm planning my own as soon as I find a viable 12" table to use for the project

 

[rabler]

Since I built this homemade indexer I've been wanting to find a rotary table to add a stepper to and use the same Arduino box:

Nice build. I'm likely to go the other way, get this working then build a homemade indexer. Probably going to use the Arduino development environment and try using the RPI Pico chip as I have a few of them and have been looking for something to use them for.

 

[extropic]

Randal,

What cleaner are you using there (plastic jug)?

 

[rabler]

Randal,

What cleaner are you using there (plastic jug)?

Citristrip, it's a paint stripper. I have Master fluid solutions 2430 in my parts washer, and use a bucket heater to bring it up to about 120 F.

 

[rabler]

That's an excellent score you have there.

IIRC Home Model Engine Machinist's site has a long thread entitled something like arduino rotary table for dummies.. I'd give it a read as well as any other resources you may have.

You're very likely to find links to the entire hardware and software requirements leaving you little to do of any real difficulty. I look forward to seeing what you do, because I'm planning my own as soon as I find a viable 12" table to use for the project

Thanks for the pointers. In a past lifetime I did a fair amount of encoding in embedded asm and C, so I'm inclined to knock the rust off my skills and develop it from scratch. I rather enjoy a bit of clean slate approach for this kind of thing.