Rotary Cones vs Rotary Chuck!

[Sean Coyne]

Hey all,

I currently use a rotary attachment for a trotec speedy 300. It came with a positive and negative cone setup to hold the round object in place. Example: ( --> Round object >-- ) I feel that the round object has a tendency to shuffle around while being rotated until is has a chance to settle to an even position it likes. I over come this wobble effect by really taking my time to center the round object when initially placing it in the rotary... This is too much work!

We have a large order of bracelets (+10,000) coming down the pipe and I seriously believe a chuck system would be a much smoother option for me. Problem is Trotec doesn't have a chuck attachment for its rotary. I have spoken with 2 reps and a "higher up" from Trotec and they are working on it. In the meantime they suggested trying to make my own chuck attachment. I have browsed the web and found a few that might work but I have some concerns. Such as the weight, size, functionality and ease of attaching it.

Has anyone built, designed, toyed with, thought about, had a twinkle in there eye about changing out the cones on the trotec rotary to something else? Was it successful?

Any help would be very appreciated as I have been thinking about this for a long time and have come up with nothing concrete.

Thanks!

[Dan Hintz]

There was a discussion a couple of months back about this... I believe I suggested a small- to medium-sized, 4-jaw metal lathe chuck with soft jaws.

That said, it doesn't sound like you actually need a chuck, just a way to quickly center without second-guessing. Take a rod of appropriate size and attach a reverse cone on the ends that mate with the cones on the rotary. the very nature of the mating cones should center the rod automatically. Plastic should be adequate.

[Dan Hammerstron]

Had to make 100 wooden pucks for coy cup playoffs, they wanted a diamond pattern on the edge, so I used the rotary from the cnc which has a 100mm chuck, I had to change the setting on the driver, it worked very well.

[Greg Holt]

I haven't seen a Trotec rotary attachment, but rotaries generally are pretty simple in concept and engineering.

A suitable chuck for your purpose could easily be adapted. If you don't have the means to do it yourself, a engineering shop would handle it easily.

However I can not imagine doing 10,000 of anything by manually mounting them in a chuck one by one.

How about some sort of mandrel that can be loaded with ten or more bracelets. Perhaps two of them so you can load one while the other is engraving?

Greolt

[Keith Outten]

Sean,

I did some research awhile back looking for a means to engrave pens on my Trotec Rotary. The threads on both the headstock and tailstock are metric which limits your options when searching for off the shelf chucks or adapters.

My problem was similar to yours in that I had an issue with concentricity so I decided the best course of action was to turn between centers. Here is my solution, it probably won't suit your needs but it might give you some ideas.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?211343-Trotec-Rotary-Attachment-Mod-for-Pen-Engraving&highlight=trotec+rotaty

[Don Corbeil]

and hopefully you will soon have your updated review regarding the trotec rotary! no pressure tho... ;)



There was a discussion a couple of months back about this... I believe I suggested a small- to medium-sized, 4-jaw metal lathe chuck with soft jaws.

That said, it doesn't sound like you actually need a chuck, just a way to quickly center without second-guessing. Take a rod of appropriate size and attach a reverse cone on the ends that mate with the cones on the rotary. the very nature of the mating cones should center the rod automatically. Plastic should be adequate.

[Keith Outten]

Don,

I had forgotten about the review but I have used the pen engraving setup a couple times and it works great. As soon as I engrave a couple more pens I will share what I have learned.
.

[Tony Lenkic]

My local supplier (ULS distributor) sent me an email of their new rotary for small object. List price is $300.00 CND.
Those interested may visit his web site and check it out if it can be adopted for other machines.

http://www.cesco.ca/LaserEngravers/index.php?Category=7&Series=24&PageTitle=Accessories

[Sean Coyne]

How about some sort of mandrel that can be loaded with ten or more bracelets. Perhaps two of them so you can load one while the other is engraving?

Greolt

Greg, I completely agree. I want to use a system like a mandrel but I need to be 100% sure that everything will line up properly. I believe a chuck is the way to do this.


Sean,

I did some research awhile back looking for a means to engrave pens on my Trotec Rotary. The threads on both the headstock and tailstock are metric which limits your options when searching for off the shelf chucks or adapters.

My problem was similar to yours in that I had an issue with concentricity so I decided the best course of action was to turn between centers. Here is my solution, it probably won't suit your needs but it might give you some ideas.



Kieth, very useful info. Im glad im not the only one out there.


My local supplier (ULS distributor) sent me an email of their new rotary for small object. List price is $300.00 CND.
Those interested may visit his web site and check it out if it can be adopted for other machines.



Are rotaries swap-able among different manufacturers?

Ill also look into a machine shop. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Gary Hair]

I went to Amazon and typed "3-jaw chuck" into the search box and came up with hundreds of chucks that are a fraction of the cost of the part you linked and would likely work as well, or better, for most machines. There will be some type of adapter needed but if you spent $100 on the chuck and $50 on the adapter you'd still be money ahead.


My local supplier (ULS distributor) sent me an email of their new rotary for small object. List price is $300.00 CND.
Those interested may visit his web site and check it out if it can be adopted for other machines.

http://www.cesco.ca/LaserEngravers/index.php?Category=7&Series=24&PageTitle=Accessories

[john passek]

I got an emal from ? that advertised a new chuck style rotary for the ULS that was different than the one Tony linked to (seemed a little more robust).
I didn't keep the email because I don't have a ULS but I will see if I can dig up the ad and will post it here.

[Mike Null]

See this thread and the Newing Hall chuck. I believe it could be fitted to the Trotec device. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?207463-Rotary-tool-attachment-for-laser-engraver

[Keith Outten]

To the best of my knowledge rotary engravers are specific to each manufacturer and sometimes to a particular model machine. I would not expect the plugs to be a standard and the way the software interfaces with the Trotec rotary is definitely different than others I have seen.

If you look at the pictures in the thread I linked to above there is a good one of the Trotec spindle threads, they are unique and I expect a custom made adapter will be the only way you could get a small standard chuck to work. They are much like a lathe spindle where the chuck has to land against the face on the spindle before they become concentric. It would be great if Trotec would have some adapters made so we could order them from their company since the cost would be less if a large number of adapters were ordered. Here in my area most machine shops have a $500 minimum on every job because they lose money on small walk-in jobs. It probably costs $250 just to do the paperwork these days.
.

[Kev Williams]

Whatever shaft on the Trotec is turning the cone, can be made to turn a chuck. You just need a chuck, and a little ingenuity to make it fit the shaft...

Below is a pic of my LS900 cylinder attachment, has a nifty chuck. But notice what I'm holding with it? ;)

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