indexing head vs rotary table factory

Rotary tables are mounted horizontally, and most can also be mounted vertically. In both cases only at 90° to the mill table. A Dividing Head is always vertical, but can be tilted through 90°.

Dividing heads are always fitted with "indexing plates" (holed wheels and clock hands), allowing a wide range of angles to be turned. The indexing mechanism can do intermediate angles. Rotary tables can be fitted with indexing plates as an accessory, but usually the number of angles supported is limited compared to a dividing head. (A generalisation. And, because rotary tables do all common angles, the limitation may not matter.)

Rotary tables are more convenient for general work because most jobs are mounted at 90° or 180° relative to the milling table. Possibly more robust than a dividing head for rough work. When close accuracy isn"t needed, jobs can be spun rapidly by the rotary table without cranking the handle - a time saver. When accuracy is needed the handle and worm are engaged. Usually there"s a vernier scale sufficiently accurate for most work. The handle is also relatively fast because most simple angles can be produced with it. For example, easy to crank from 0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 0 to cut a hexagon head. Unfortunately not all angles are "simple"!

Indexing plates are useful for awkward angles. Cutting a 19 toothed gear requires 19 steps of 18.9474°, which is the hard to remember sequence 37.89, 56.84, 75.78, 94.74, 113.68, 132.63° etc. The Index plate and clock hand mechanism remove the need for the operator to track the sequence but they are still a pain to use in my opinion!

Indexing plates are so awkward that driving a Rotary Table with a stepper motor and microcontroller is popular. You simply tell the controller how many divisions are needed, press "Go", and the computer does the rest. Apart from reducing brain strain and automating a tedious task, the computer eliminates most mistakes. Computers don"t get sums wrong, have excellent memories, and are hard to distract! Also, a computer and stepper motor will do a good job of angles too complicated for the Indexing plates.

Generalising again, I suggest most people, most of the time, only need a rotary table. I see Dividing Heads as specialist tools and have never felt the need for one. For the same reason I drive an ordinary small car rather than a Land Rover. The closest I get to off-road driving is a supermarket car park! You might live on a farm...

Unless there"s a specific reason for needing a Dividing Head, I wouldn"t spend money on one. My rotary table is used a lot, in contrast a Dividing Head is only "nice to have".

Dividing heads allow you to divide a circle into equal fractions conveniently. Anything that involves regular action around a circle is a candidate for a dividing head.

A rotary table has no stops so it is not convenient to do large numbers of things at equal intervals because you would have to painstakingly determine the interval. Also, the rotary table does not divide the circle. For example, if you were making 13 equally spaced operations using a rotary table you would have to calculate some wierd angle for each operation and dial it in--a tedious process. For example, here are the 13 angles for a circle division:

Do you want to manually set each of these values? Have fun doing that. Now, imagine doing it for 53 divisions. You will be there all night. Not only that, the error will be a lot more than a dividing head.

It really helped when you explained how rotary tables are key to the manufacturing process of machining tools! The other day, my cousin said he"s interested in starting a business. My cousin mentioned he wants to know more about manufacturing equipment, so I think your article could provide key insight to him! Thank you for the advice on rotary tables and how their automation evolution!

I have used it in the vertical position to cut a 107 tooth gear which isn"t covered by any of the dividing head wheels I"ve got. I set up an excel spreadsheet with the angle required for each tooth which isn"t as easy as it sounds as the rotary table is calibrated in degrees/minutes/seconds rather than decimal degrees so it took a bit of figuring out how to do it.

I always thought that a dividing head was used to divide a 360° circle into a fixed number of positions, where a rotary table can be turned to an infinite number of positions.

They can both do almost the same thing, but each has it"s advantages. If you need accurate positioning to a fixed number of positions and you had the correct dividing plate, if you were cutting a gear for instance, it would be easiest to use the dividing head. If you needed to mill an arc of 42° then you would use the rotary table.

If you have a rotary table with dividing plates then you can use the table to divide 360° into a fixed number of positions, otherwise the dividing is only a accurate as the Mk. I eyeball.

A rotary table is similar to an indexer, but it is designed to hold objects to its surface with t-slot clamps. They are fairly inexpensive (check your MSC catalog), but the suckers can get heavy. An indexer generally uses a collet system to hold the material. It is mostly for drilling hole patterns in round materials, and they can be quite expensive. I have both, and I use my rotary table about 20 times more than my indexer. RE: Difference between rotary table and indexer

Something else to think about if you have a specific use in mind for either. You might be able to pick up a dividing attachment that installs on a rotary table allowing the user to select the number of stops in a revolution of the table. I used to work for a company that made it"s own dividing attachments for their line of rotary tables and they were quite reliable. It depends on your application. RE: Difference between rotary table and indexer

A table top, not necessarily circular in shape, is mounted on a rotating device. The table has fixtures mounted to it so that, as the table rotates, a fixture is presented to a machine of some sort. At the machine, the parts are operated on. Then they index to the next station.

The rotator can be (typically) a cam-operated gizmo with motor to rotate the table a certain number of degrees on each cycle. Sometimes I have seen the rotator device something like a big stepper motor, to achieve a much more flexible positioning.

Indexing tables are a type of rotary table. An indexing table has ability to index to differnt degrees of rotation via mechanical stops (or electro mechanical).

In the CNC world, it"s a matter of terminology were there are rotary tables and rotary indexers controlled by the machine. In a 4-axis CNC machine the 4th axis is the rotary table or indexer. Generally the main difference is that the indexer is programmed to lock into position before machining. Rotary tables are programmed to move simultaneously while the machine cuts. Most indexers can be used like a rotary table and visa versa. Also, small units like those who use 5C collets are sometimes referred to as indexers while larger units are called tables.

In the manual machine world, the operator controls the rotary table and indexer. There are many types of indexing devices like those already mentioned, such as dividing heads that use plates with holes for precise location. Rotary tables allow machining while tuning the table. Some rotary tables have a cross slide table mounted on top for positioning of the work piece.

Nice input, That is exactly what I was getting at. I have used small rotary tables with 5C collets and with chucks. The mount has little to do with it.

When you need to rotate a part when cutting, use a rotary table. Most of these either manual or CNC will have a worm gear drive. An indexing table or head is designed to move an accurate amount and be locked. In the manual world a spindle is positioning by hand or worm gear and a plate and pin are used to stop the rotation in a specific place. In the CNC world several different methods can be used to rotate the spindle and either a shot pin or a toothed coupling is used to lock the rotation. Most indexing devices do not allow for machining when rotating and will handle greater off axis torque from milling or drilling. RE: Difference between rotary table and indexer

A superspacer typically has a three-jaw chuck for holding the work and a spur gear with 48 teeth providing 7.5 degree increments and a spring loaded shot-pin tooth to engage the gear and lock it into rotary position. Also slotted plates can be attached to allow the shot-pin to only engage at specific rotation angles such as every 45 degrees or every 90 degrees.

These days it"s pretty trivial to create a spreadsheet to figure out the required degrees/minutes/seconds for some arbitrary number of divisions n, so it"s not all that big a deal to use a rotary table for dividing. A dividing head is, as others say, probably a bit more convenient both in ease of dividing oddball numbers of divisions and in less mass to get in the way of what you"re machining...but a rotary table will be more flexible. If you want to substitute for a dividing head, be sure to get a horizontal/vertical rotary table, as you"ll want "vertical" mode for dividing (and making gears).

If the rotary table has a Morse #3 center hole (or whatever), in vertical mode you could probably use Morse taper collets for workholding, which might be pretty handy. The only thing is, as hinted above, in vertical mode there may be a lot of rotary table in the way of what you"re trying to machine, if you need to get in close. It"s do-able, but you may to need to be a bit creative in workholding to arrange necessary clearance to get the tool where you need it.

I think as rotary table with index plates and a tailstock might be a bit more versatile than a dividing head. You can use its flat table to clamp projects down on,like a face plate. You can add a chuck. You can still cut gear teeth with the dividing attachment. A universal index head can tilt,but a rotary table can too,if you mount it on a tilting table. Less rigid on a tilting table,but I like using the flat table better than other short comings it might have.

This plate can be used either directly, or through a geared dividing mechanism. In direct indexing the workpiece and plate rotate in a 1-to-1 ratio, and holes are used directly. That is, a plate with 12 holes can divide the workpiece into 2, 3, 4, 6, or 12 equal segments. A dividing head incorporates an internal gear ratio (usually 40:1, 60:1, or 90:1) with the same plates. In doing so, the dividing head enables many more combinations than just direct indexing.

For example, imagine a plate with 15 equally-spaced holes and a dividing head with a 40:1 gear reduction. In direct indexing, a workpiece could be divided into 3, 5, or 15 equal segments. Using the dividing head, the same workpiece could be divided into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 100, 120, 150, 200, 300, or 600 segments. Essentially, the dividing head acts as if it’s a direct indexer with 600 holes; 15 holes in the actual plate * 40:1 gear ratio. Let’s look at how some of these combinations are possible.

The rotary table indexer is a process in which, after repeated angular displacement during the machine cycle, it comes to a standstill. The rotary indexing table is specially designed to perform repetitive movements around the platform. Basically, these are high-precision work positioning devices that index parts to be machined or machined in multiple operations.

A rotary table indexer, or a rotary indexing table, is an integrated motion system. It usually consists of motors and mechanical power transmission devices along with encoders, sensors, and drivers. The tables use electric motors for cam drives or servo tables. Mechanical cam indexers are relatively cheap and index only for setting angles, but are capable of precise movement.

It is a precision work positioning device used in metalworking that allows the operator to drill or cut at exact intervals around a fixed location (usually horizontal or vertical) axis. Some rotary tables allow the use of index plates for indexing operations, and some can also be fitted with dividing plates that enable regular work positioning at divisions for which indexing plates are not available. A rotary fixture used in this fashion is more appropriately called a dividing head (indexing head).

Important parameters for rotary indexING tables are the required application resolution (or smallest increment to be moved or measured), the required repeatability and accuracy, and other mechanical parameters such as acceptable levels of backlash or hysteresis. Another key parameter is the load including moments, axial, radial, and moment loads. They can affect the type and size of the indexer used in your application.

The rotary indexing table can be used in a wide variety of applications including manufacturing, inspection, and assembly tasks. For example, machines for assembly, processing, and bottling use indexers. They typically take one piece to work areas or move sets of relatively small parts around the station for sequential machining or assembly tasks.

Rotary tables are most often mounted "flat", with the table rotating around a vertical axis, in the same plane as the vertical milling machine. An alternative configuration is to mount the turntable indexer at its end (or mount it "flat" on the plate at a 90 ° angle) so that it pivots about a horizontal axis. A tailstock can also be used in this configuration to hold the workpiece "between centers".

With the table mounted on the auxiliary table, the workpiece is exactly centered on the axis of the rotary table, which in turn is centered on the axis of the cutting tool. So all three axes are coaxial. From now on, the auxiliary table can be moved anywhere X or Y direction to position the cutter at the desired distance from the center of the workpiece. This allows concentric machining operations on the workpiece. Placing the workpiece off-center at a certain distance from the center allows you to cut more complex curves. As with other vertical milling setups, the milling operation can be either drilling a series of concentric and possibly even hole spacing, or face or end milling of circular or semicircular shapes and contours.

With an additional folded table on the turntable, the user can move the center of rotation to any place on the part being cut. This allows the arc to be cut anywhere in the part for cutting round pieces. Additionally, when switching to stepper motor operation with a CNC milling machine and a tailstock, the rotary table indexer allows you to make multiple parts on a milling machine that would otherwise require a lathe.

Rotary tables have many applications, including the manufacturing and inspection of critical components in the aerospace, automation, and science industries. Typical indexing table applications might include:

Virtually any manufacturing operation can be performed on a part held by an indexing table including welding, grinding, drilling, assembly, painting, inspection, testing, and more. In order to maximize operational efficiency, the unit must also be built for the same intended application as the indexing table for them to work in synch. Similarly, the unit that loads the indexing table with parts must also be synchronized. They must have the same capacity and be able to manage to the same dwell time for the system to work.

The indexing plate is a machine tool accessory that holds the workpiece on the chuck or between two pinnacles and rotates, indexing and positioning it. Plate connected with rotary indexing table is in Diameter: 4"/100mm and Thickness: 0.28"/7mm, good for rotary tables in Model HV-3, HV-4, HV-5, HV-6, TS160. Perfect to use with dividing head for milling table.

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