X, Y, Z On A Lathe

Tozguy said:
To my mind the compound rotates on an axis but what to call it? Bet the CNC guys that write 5 axis programs could tell us.
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I'm going with definition no. 5 for axis as it applies to a lathe or mill.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/axis
5: a main line of direction, motion, growth, or extension.

A compound has no main line of direction, etc.,, therefore, no single axis to be numbered, lettered or named. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;)

Tom
 
I just make it up as I go along. My mill has X, Y, Z, K(nee), and R(otary) on the DRO :grin: Keeps me from getting confused, I don't care about the rest of the world! ;)
 
Almost proves the old saying that there are as many realities as there are persons on the planet.
Tony knows of at least 7 axises so maybe we should name one the T axis after him.
Atunguyd, I simply cannot live with only 2 axises. My compound would tremble at the thought and it shakes enough already.
Tom, you are right about the compound not having a linear axis and that is why we should lend it one.
Dave, are you one of the guys that solved the enigma?
Time for my nap, Mike
 
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I always called my vertical axis when milling in the lathe my Z axis. I know this flies in the face of the definitions but to do otherwise means any lathe sold without a milling attachment only has an X and a Z axis, but no Y axis. Unless you call tool height the Y axis but being as it doesn't move while machining, I don't see that as an axis any more than putting parallels under a part in a mill vice is a new axis.
 
epanzella said:
I always called my vertical axis when milling in the lathe my Z axis.
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As soon as you rig your lathe as a mill it becomes a mill and you can use milling conventions.
I know this flies in the face of the definitions but to do otherwise means any lathe sold without a milling attachment only has an X and a Z axis, but no Y axis.
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Sure. What's wrong with that?
 
When working on Fadals, the CNC axes were as such:

X-to and away from the operator.
Y-right and left of the operator.
Z-up and down of the spindle.

A-always a rotary table, always mounted parallel to Y and perpendicular to X and Z, the rotation being similar to that on a lathe and controlling what surface was engaged with the cutting tool on the Z.
B-mount the A-axis rotary table on a mechanically tilting angle plate, with a range from 0° to 90°. Here is where you really start to see very complex parts from one piece of metal stock.
C-take the B-axis and mount it on a rotary table. A lack of imagination is the only limitation.

We had one part we ran on a 5-axis (XYZ AB) Fadal that was a 17-hour operation, an impeller from aluminum billet. Something like 24 scimitar-shaped blades, tapered from hub to blade tip, tapered from leading edge to trailing edge, wtih a compound curve on both the leading and trailing edges of each blade.

I've no idea what the company charged for those parts but they were never left unattended, even though we had only 1st and 2nd shifts.
 
Not uncommon for shops who do 5+ axis work for $200/hr around here. Pretty cool to watch the first few times.

After we got our programmers back from school, they showed a project they did at the school. (I won't name the software...it's pointless here) I thought it was cool, even though it was very simple. I just had not thought any machine had the capability to do it until I put the pieces together. They made themselves a nice hexagonal pen. I saw the video of it, or I may have not believed it at first. It involved live tooling with a 6 inserted face mill, and with the chuck spinning around 1k, the encoders for both the spindle and the like tooling were synched up so that as the insert swept by the pen, it produced a flat surfacing cut. I know they could have simply indexed the spindle and milled the flats, but they did all the cutting with both the spindle and the live head rotating, but timed perfectly. Besides, the live spindle was on an axis parallel to the spindle, so the only possible tool motion was purely circular. I never could get them to make me one on the machine we had on the floor, but it was capable. There's probably a video on youtube showing something similar. It could have been triangular, square or any other regular polygon I suppose.
 
Tozguy's original questions was with respect to using a mill attachement on a lathe. Per his supplied photograph, my own lathe/mill attachement and any other that I have seen (though I'm sure there are exceptions) - the compound is not used. The discussion about what axis the compound is, though interesting - isn't relevant to the OP's question.

The OP has repurposed the compound as the y-axis slide (as Terry has already pointed out).
 
In reality, in the hobby environment, it matters little what you call them, as long as you get the parts made that you want. On a manual machine, the operator determines what part of the machine moves to make a particular cut, and it doesn't even need a name.
 
My original objective was to identify and adopt conventional terminology when making notes about my machining exercises on a lathe. I keep a log book of the stuff done, what worked, what didn't, and why (when possible). Helps me digest and learn from it. Just thought that referring to the x,y, or z axis would be a new level of sophistication for me :)
Thanks everybody for the input.
 
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