Rotary table

[Silverbullet]

Here's an example of a horizontal only rotary table/indexer. This one is not mine. Mine doesn't have the indexing option. :

View attachment 317868


I'm not sure if anyone today still makes this type of table. I've never seen one that can be used both horizontally and vertically. I can bolt mine to a 15" angle plate, but it's all but impossible to move around. The indexer weighs around 250 lbs. and the angle plate weighs another 150 lbs.

But it will get the job done - the mill tips over falls from the weight if you listen to us old guys. With an adjustable angle plate imagine the uses. Truthfully its the way i had planned to go.

 

[brino]

Need a vertical rotary table with index capabilities.

I have two pieces of advice....(without trying to spend too much of your money )
1) consider a combination vertical and horizontal rotary table, it really adds possibilities to what you can do in your shop and how easily, and
2) go as big as you can, when you start bolting things down to the table it starts looking much smaller.

Of course, so much depends on what you are building and the size of your machines.
If you are only ever going to do small shafts and things that can fit in a 3-4inch chuck, then perhaps a 5" RT is big enough.
But it you ever want to bolt your milling vise down to it, or a large plate to round the corners, then bigger is better.

example, I used mine to carefully and slowly mill down a faceplate that was too big diameter for my lathe, but had the proper spindle thread.

-brino

EDIT......I was going to come back and add #3) get a matching tailstock, but I see your suggested Grizzly T25937 has both #1) and #3 covered. So I guess it's just down to size.

 

[Tim9]

I’ve read these sort of threads before. And although I agree a 10” table is nice for its size capabilities..... I would never make the mistake of buying a 10” table again. Damned thing is too heavy. Most of the time....I’m just needing to do a minor job connected to a larger project.
I look down at that beast of a 10” rotary table....and find a work around. I wish I would have purchased an 8” table.

 

[brino]

I look down at that beast of a 10” rotary table....and find a work around. I wish I would have purchased an 8” table.

I bet you could find someone willing to swap.
(...especially if you cover shipping )
-brino

 

[Tim9]

Maybe someday when I start to thin my tool collection I put it up for sale. But yes, I agree it’s nice to have that capability of a 10” table.
At the same time, if I were to do it now whith what I know now... I’d get an 8” and make a 10” or 12” plate to attach to the 8” rotary table for those rare times I need the extra table space.

 

[RJSakowski]

My 12" RT is pretty much a permanent fixture on my mill/drill. It hasn't been off for more than a decade. For most work, there is enough room for a vise on top and it is large enough that my 4" machinists vise can be mounted. For those jobs where I need more z height, there is the Tormach.
In contrast, I have a 6" 4th axis RT for the Tormach but it has only been on the machine a few times in the past eight years. It is heavy enough to not want to lift it on and off and it takes up too much table space to leave it on. There is no real reason to use a horizontal RT on a CNC mill and when used in a vertical orientation, it needs to be squared up to the table to be useful which is too much bother. But it is there if/when I ever need it.

 

[RJSakowski]

Before I got my CNC mill, I was thinking about ways to cut curves on a mill. The thought that came to mind was to mount an auxiliary x-y table on the RT.

A RT is great for cutting arcs but the arc has to be centered on the rotational axis of the RT. With an x-y table on the RT the work can be positioned so that each arc was concentric with the RT axis. The calculations can get a bit hairy but with the use of a CAD package and/or an Excel spreadsheet,, it's manageable.

This strategy is essentially how a CNC machine cuts complex curves. Rather than using a G01 straight line move, G02 or G03 moves by arc are used. The difference being that the CAM processor does all the complex math calculations to translate and/or rotate the coordinate system.

Around twenty years ago, I ran through the exercise for an Archimedean spiral (the same curve found in many seashells). At the time, I was looking at having a spiral cut in a piece of plate by wire EDM but the machine could only accept 100 blocks of code. In order to maintain the accuracy of the cut path to .01mm, it took thousands of moves by straight line interpolation. By moving by arc, the number of moves was reduced to 24.

 

[projectnut]

That looks like a nice one, who made it?

I’ve read these sort of threads before. And although I agree a 10” table is nice for its size capabilities..... I would never make the mistake of buying a 10” table again. Damned thing is too heavy. Most of the time....I’m just needing to do a minor job connected to a larger project.
I look down at that beast of a 10” rotary table....and find a work around. I wish I would have purchased an 8” table.

I wouldn't be to quick to get rid of your 10" rotary table. I've had an 8" one for several years. It's light enough to pick up and carry to the mill. but it can't handle all that much weight. The smaller ones use plain bearings (bushings) rather than ball or roller bearings. It's tough to turn a 2" hand wheel to rotate a 150 lb. casting. The weight and the friction of the bushings makes it feel like you could easily twist off the hand wheel, or snap the screw.

Last year I purchased a 12" Index brand rotary table for the larger jobs. It isn't something you're going to carry around in one hand, but it does handle the big stuff much easier, and is far more stable. I move it with either an overhead hoist like this:

Strongway Electric Cable Hoist 750-Lb. Single Line Capacity, 1500-Lb. Double Line Capacity, 38ft./19ft. Lift | Northern Tool

This Strongway Electric Cable Hoist is a rugged, efficient 120V/60 Hz hoist that makes lifting easy. It lifts loads up to 38ft. at speeds...

www.northerntool.com

or a hydraulic table like this:

1000 lb. Capacity Hydraulic Table Cart

Amazing deals on this 1000Lb Hydraulic Table Cart at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com