M Series Rotary Attachment Question

[mike klein]

I just recently picked up the rotary attachment for the M series machine. Quite easy to set up and get going I thought. One issue I'm having a problem with and that is lining up items. My wife give me some old water glasses to experiment with last night and it takes for ever to get them lined up so they turn perfect. Is there a trick to this or is that just way it is..

Thanks
Mike

[Rodne Gold]

Its poor design in terms of the cone and flat platform with concentric rings , very difficult to align stuff and indeed grip it well.
We have reworked it and used a light weigh chuck from a lathe on one side and have removeable custom gripping cones/discs/tailstock on the other - You can now align a needle!!! Apart from that , we have made a calibrated tilting device to we can tile the whole assembly up to about 20 degrees from horizontal.
Go to your local engineering tool supply shop , take the rotary there and ask one of the experts what he can recommend to allow you to grip and align stuff better.
Its real easy to add these. Just be aware there are clearance issues , do not go beyond the diameter of the cone's with any add on as you will have a head crash.
One added advantage of the better alignment is that the engraving is a whole lot better and far more accurate , it is the only way that you can do industrial type applications with the rotary like using the laser to slice tubing , index the edges of dials , do accurate graduated markings on lab glass and do stuff that cant be gripped between 2 cemtres (if you use a lathe type chuck on one side , you dont HAVE to use the disc side to clamp and grip.)

[mike klein]

I saw a message in regards to the chuck you are talking about elsewhere on the Creek, maybe that was yours. I've been toying around with it this morning doing some glasses, all the same shape and size of course, and once you get the hang of it, it don't take a few seconds to insert the next one. But like you say, if your trying todo extremely accurate pieces its not going to work the way it is. Oh well, I've only had it a day, so now the thought process comes into play coming up with some modifications. I like that chuck idea and will look into it..


Thanks
Mike

[Ed Lang]

Is there anything more to the electrinics end of this than a stepper motor? Would anyone post the data plate of the stepper motor?

If so, it just might be easy to build your own rotary just the way you want it.

[Mark Winlund]

The post about chucks is below:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=58508

These were fairly easy to mount and low in cost compared to the rotary attachment itself. There is some simple machining involved. With this setup, I can engrave a toothpick easily.

Mark

[mike klein]

I ran across this one on Ebay. Looks like it may work. Any opinions??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=130124444800&rd=1&rd=1

[Jerry Allen]

Here is an incomplete cutting pattern for a Longworth chuck that I was working on. It was ~10" dia. and is reduced herein to ~5" dia.
Seems like you could do lots of stuff as far as mounting and maybe modify to 4 jaws. The front and rear plates for my lathe were to be .5 " thk. and .25" thick Baltic birch. Seems like that would be fine for using on the the rotary also.

[Mike Mackenzie]

We got our chuck from the following.

www.buckchuckusa.com (http://www.buckchuckusa.com) They also make an adpator to be able to mount it to the ULS rotary.

The p/n is vsc50mm it is a 2" chuck and has reversable jaws it works great.

There is a picture of it here

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=44471

[mike klein]

Mike..

You say yours is a 2". Not sure what your original size was on your rotary attachment, but on the M series it is a 4" wheel on there now. Wouldn't a guy want to stay with the same diameter when going with a chuck? Another thing that concerns me is the weight of the metal chuck vs. the rubber wheel which is on there now, which basically is pretty light weight. I called a company today to inquire about their 4" chuck and they told me it weighted about 10 lbs. Maybe the weight is not an issue, I don't know.

[Mike Mackenzie]

Mike,

even though it is 2" the jaws will open to almost 5" the weight was a concern at first however this chuck only weights about 3 lbs. We only use it for certain items. The chuck comes on and off very easy so switching between the cones and chuck take only seconds.

We have been talking with them in regards to making a chuck out of Delrin which would keep the weight down and allow larger diameter chuck.

[Kevin Huffman]

I know you aren't probably using one of the softwares we sale, most people use corel draw.

If you take a look at our rotary attachment setup instructions (click here). (http://www.signwarehouse.com/tech-support/laser/How%20To/Engravelab/E6%20-%20M%20Rotary%20Setup.pdf)

The most important thing is to get your page size right. If your page size isn't right then you will never be able to get anything lined up.
Follow those steps all the way to #13. Then click Layout then Page Setup. You can adapt the instructions to make it match corel, they are really similar.
Then start back at #18.
Follow the rest of the steps to get the image aligned to where you want it on the rotary.

[Jim A. Walters]

This chuck is an independently adjusted 4 jaw that requires you to screw each jaw in separately. It is a bear to center anything.

You want a 3 jaw chuck that has all 3 jaws geared together. You turn one screw, and all the jaws move towards or away from center at one time. This keeps the center point in the center throughout the travel.

I would think an independent jawed chuck would be more difficult to find center than the rubber taper on the unit now.