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+--- Thread: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion (/thread-3645.html)
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1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - SnailPowered - 08-07-2017
Hello all, I haven't been around in...about half a decade...but I am doing something that definitely belongs here and I have plenty of questions that I know others here can probably help me with. That being said, let me tell you about the journey I would like to embark upon that I hope you would like to be a part of.
In 2012 while deployed to Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician I purchased my 1945 Craftsman lathe from a Vietnam Veteran that bought it from a WWII Veteran. Because of that history I am not willing to modify the lathe in any permanent way. It has been lovingly maintained and has made it 72 years in excellent condition so I am not going to do anything to it that will not be able to turned back.
Knowing that enormous caveat to this experiment, I must also say that I am completing the 7th quarter of a 9 quarter Precision Machining Technologies program and have access to a hone, heat treat equipment, a surface grinder and a full CNC shop as well as manual. As long as I can get the parts that will be needed designed and made in the next 7-8 months I should be able to complete this after that with OTC parts.
My aims for this lathe are to basically just automate what the lathe was capable of doing from the factory. I am not looking to turn this machine into something that it isn't, and there are a lot of things that this machine isn't. That said, I think that it is fair to shoot for light depth of cut and .010 IPR with the factory max spindle speed of 2000rpm.
So far I am planning on using a 12mm ball screw going through the factory ACME screw hole for the cross slide and making a bearing support that bolts where the taper attachment would bolt from the factory. This is also going to require making a threaded bearing carrier to replace the micrometer collar and ACME screw bearing support. That should take control of the X axis, although I will also need to make a new tool post mount that replaces the compound.
I am planning on using a 20mm ball screw located in the factory lead screw position. In order to do this I plan on removing the apron from the my lathe and making an attachment to connect the ball screw nut in place of the factory apron.
I am currently leaning toward a Leadshine closed loop hybrid system for motion and I have contacted Jooman on Amazon about ball screws. I think a NEMA 34 3Nm should work for the cross slide with a NEMA 34 4Nm for the Z axis. I pulled those numbers completely from my rear end though. At the moment I am focusing my efforts on stripping the ACME screw from the carriage. After that I will probably move to take the lead screw out so I can get the carriage off and take it all to school so that I can get the measurements for making the adapters. By then I hope to have the ball screws so that I can finalize the designs and get them rendered in SolidWorks, processed through MasterCAM (school's programs) and machined. Turning will probably be done on a Doosan Lynx 220 with milling done on a Doosan DNM 400. That could change as it gets closer as well. We have Haas machines and a Mazak at school as well.
Enough with all the words, here are some pictures because that is really what we are all here for!
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - Mike E. - 08-08-2017
Hello, and welcome back. Nice lathe you have there, looks very familiar !
About 20 years ago I restored a 6" Craftsman made around 1950. They are great little lathes. In retrospect, I feel it was a mistake to sell it, but I had great pleasure bringing it back to life. Before I put it on a permanent stand, I set the lathe up by mounting it and the countershaft on a 12" wide steel channel, with a 4" channel welded on upside down as a tool tray; although heavy, it worked out well and made the lathe a portable self contained unit.
Got to say, I'm looking forward to following your journey with the Craftsman. Here is a photo of the one I had.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - Mayhem - 08-08-2017
Welcome back Eli,
This looks like an interesting project and I eagerly await the progress reports
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - SnailPowered - 08-08-2017
Wow, that is a beautiful lathe and base! I think if mine had the transmission on it I would just use it and be very happy. I have the full stack of change gears, and as I sit here wanting to complain I know that it isn't THAT difficult to change them out, but it is definitely annoying. The lathes that I have seen locally that are similarly sized but have the transmission run between $2500-3500 which is more than I can fork out currently.
I visited an open house for the company that I would like to work for after I finish my program and the gentleman I was talking to said that he had some resources that would help me. I sent him and email to see what he's got. He was strongly encouraging me to use a Mitsubishi controller and electronics, but the more I think about it the more I think that he didn't understand how small my lathe is. After all, we were standing near a Mazak VC-500A 5X milling a turbine blade, an Integrex i-400ST and a couple other mind bogglingly expensive and beautiful machines that they sell and service.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - Mike E. - 08-09-2017
I don't recall what it was called, but the gears on the headstock and in the gearbox of the lathe I restored were made out of a type of pot metal alloy. They all worked fine, but were quite noisy.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - SnailPowered - 08-10-2017
The old gears are Zamak which was really sweet for casting I guess, which is why the gear stacks are so hard to come by to my understanding.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - Mike E. - 08-10-2017
Zamak. Thanks, I'll have to look it up.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - tim9lives - 10-21-2017
Very cool project. Looking forward to following your progress.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - Mayhem - 10-23-2017
Zamak is a zinc based alloy with aluminium, magnesium and copper thrown in. No idea why they used a K and not a C in the name.
RE: 1945 Craftsman 101.07403 CNC Conversion - Highpower - 10-23-2017
According to Wiki...
Quote: The name zamak is an acronym of the German names for the metals of which the alloys are composed: Zink (zinc), Aluminium, Magnesium and Kupfer (copper).[2]
Also interesting to note there are 7 different Zamak alloys, and some known by different names ie. Zamac, Mazak, Kirksite and KS(?)