automation of a lathe

"how to automate an lathe....i want a clear answer"

There can be no clear answer unless the QUESTION IS CLEAR!!!!!

Step 1 would be to replace two hand wheels (travel and depth) with stepper motors. For that you would need a driver. Gecko makes nice stepper motor drivers. The Gecko can then be driven by using data lines of the parallel printer port. For driving the port a program like Mach_3 works well. You will further require a CAD packet.

A better solution is to use servos instead of steppers.

For further automation like auto feeding, auto setup, auto tool change more improvisation would be needed.

You also get steppers already fitted with the driver. All that is the required is a power supply and 2 wires from the port.

You can look at http://www.machsupport.com/ for the program.

I suggest you surf for "stepper motors" and "stepper motor drivers"

Check out this thread! Start reading at about post #10 by Masu!

I do not mean to sound like a wiseacre, but the best way to automate a manual lathe is to leave it alone and purchase a small CNC lathe. That is, in my opinion, a clear answer to an ambiguous question.

Best Regards,

Ing. Robert Forbus

stepper motors instead of hand wheels,encoders for positon sensing,limiting switches,load of circuitry and once your done with that and hooked up to a computer,the right software.

i've tried this already,thats assuming your trying what i think you'r trying.your question is very unclear and it would be impossile to answer in such a short manner even if you were clear.heres some clear advice 'dont waste your time'

or try www.cnczone.com ,these guys were a great help.