X, Y, Z On A Lathe

British Steel said:
Other kind of atomic! They use a Caesium vapour and pump it with the atoms' ionisation energy/frequency, which is re-emitted when it returns to neutral - it's incredibly stable and a single frequency which is then counted down to once-a-second.
The Best Clocks in use are accurate to about a second in 158 million years, the next generation are getting difficult to measure, as they're in the one second in the lifetime-of-the-universe bracket...
I just distribute the time from 'em, accurate to a ten-millionth of a second everywhere it reaches, the easy bit.

Dave H. (the other one)
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Dave, that is absolutely fascinating! And here I thought that working to .0001'' was accurate (or precise?).
Mike
 
benmychree said:
I think life was wonderful as a machinist before all this XYZ crap was invented; I'm talking the early 1960s, when we had longnitudinal, cross feed, and little else; on mills, we had table feed, infeed and vertical feed; call me an old fart; guilty!
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Know what you mean. But from one old fart to another I've been known to talk XYZ language when I get frisky.
 
JohnBDownunder said:
Oh Dear, Just to confuse things even more perhaps.
Being one who messed about in boats I referred to the "Y" axis on my mill as the "Port n Starboard" the "X" as "Fore n Aft". The "Z" was just "Up n Down". Still do at times. :confused:
It depends on what terms you are used to I guess. But, when talking to other swarf nuts it is best to learn the conventions and I am still trying. :chagrin:
John B

ps. Just had a look at the Turning&LatheBasics.PDF now me ed aches. :faint:
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John, don't give up mate. When all else fails you can always ask your grandkids to explain it for you.
When we buy a new car, we never take the road until the 'kids' have programmed all those bells and whistles.
I don't talk to cars (yet) but the yunguns sure do.
 
It is difficult to remember the axis letter convention. So I cheated with this on my lathe :guilty: I may not even follow the rules but it is how I want it.

I use X for the cross feed, Y for apron feed and Z for the compound rest feed. The x-axis is set for diameter change. The DRO is almost a must for me since we normally do metrics and the manual dials on this lathe are inch graduated.

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Tozguy said:
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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Just put a sketch in the front of your logbook explaining the conventions used therein and then consistently use them. Consistency is the only reason for having such standards.
 
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Great! I think I just forgot everything I learned so far. Only one thing left to do now... :drink:
 
Tozguy said:
Dave, that is absolutely fascinating! And here I thought that working to .0001'' was accurate (or precise?).
Mike
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Actually, time's the thing we can measure most accurately, partly because since the 60's / 70's it has been defined by reference to the atomic clocks - Earth's rotation is a bit noisy... So, it was the first "quantum standard" in metrology, as it uses quantum mechanics (the transition in Caesium atoms can ONLY take place at that energy (and so frequency)), so it'll be the same anywhere else in the universe! The other fundamental standards are being redefined with reference to quantum standards, e.g. the Metre is a certain number of wavelengths of a certain light radiation derived in the same way, from a quantum standard transition that the aliens can reproduce as long as they can a) count, and b) find the same element somewhere in their solar system - the Amp is being redefined as a number of electrons passing per second - and some of our eggheads have built pumps that pump individual electrons and count them in and out to make the standards - the old definition of the Amp, f'rinstance involved infinitely-long wires precisely a Metre apart carrying an Amp and measuring the force (pretty minuscule) per metre between them...

Sorry, I'll shut up now :)

Dave H. (the other one - a bit of a geek)
 
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