how to use a rotary table free sample

Years ago, before I learned CNC, I owned a Phase II 8″ horizontal/vertical rotary table that I purchased from Kap Pullen’s Getmachinetools.com store. He has them at a good price, BTW, and he’s a darned nice fellow to deal with as well as being a frequent HSM contributor. Anyway, its a nice little table, but I hadn’t done a whole lot with it for quite a while after purchasing it. As is so often the case, one day, a project landed on my doorstep and I was glad to have it.

Before I could get started, however, I had to make some accessories for it. Basically, I needed some T-Nuts to fit the table, as well as a little fixture that makes it easy to hold a plate up off the table through a hole in the center so you can machine it. The latter, what I call a “plate machining fixture”, was inspired by something similar I saw the Widgitmaster of CNCZone fame using to make Dremel clamps for his mini-router:

The Plate Maching Fixture and 3 Homemade T-Nuts. T-Nuts are easy to make: square a block to the proper dimensions, mill the side reliefs, drill, and tap. These are much smaller than the mill’s Bridgeport standard T-slots, so I made them myself and I’m using 1/4-20 bolts with them. They’re made of mild steel.

I turned the round spigot using the 4-jaw on the lathe. I’m making the fixture out of MIC-6 aluminum plate, which is pre-ground very flat on the sides. This is a 5 inch by 3 inch piece. I’ve clamped it to the rotab using my T-nuts and the regular mill clamps and step blocks. It is sitting on parallels to make sure I don’t cut into the table. You can also see how I’ve clamped the rotary table to the mill table using a big cast iron V-block I have. You can never have to many blocks with precision faces hanging around!

Having a 4-jaw chuck on your rotary table is mighty handy! Because it’s a 4-jaw, you can dial in the workpiece by adjusting the jaws until it is perfectly concentric with the table’s axis of rotation. The best way is to make an adapter plate that attaches to the back of the chuck in the same way that your lathe does so you can exchange lathe tooling with the rotab. Here is an example:

For the example, the chuck is threaded onto the adaptor plate, and then the holes in the adapter plate’s flange are used to bolt down to T-nuts on the table.

In my case, I bought a 4-jaw from Shars brand new, and simply drilled some through-holes in the chuck to mount to the table directly without an adapter plate:

First, you want to make sure your part is properly centered on the table. To do that, I clamp the table down on the mill table (no special place is needed), put my Indicol indicator holder on the mill spindle, and find some round feature on the part to indicate on. For example, on the plate milling fixture above, indicate on the round boss, or on the center hole. Spin the table and bump the part in until spinning the table doesn’t move the indicator.

Second, locate the center of rotation directly under the mill spindle. You can simply use the X and Y table handwheels to do this. Use that Indicol to indicate off of a circular feature you want centered under the spindle. Turn the indicol around on the spindle and adjust the handwheels until the indicator stays put relative to the spindle position. A Blake Coaxial indicator will make this last even simpler.

When you’re rounding partially by cranking a part around on the rotary table, it’s really easy to go a little too far and screw things up. The answer is to drill the end points to make the exact stopping point on the rotab a lot less sensitive:

Centering with a Blake indicator is really fast, but what if you don’t have a Blake, or worse, what if your mill is too small to accomodate one? Here is a nice solution I found on a German site. This fellow has made an ER collect fixture for his rotary table, and has taken care that when installed on the table, the axis of the collet is aligned with the table’s axis. He can then place a dowel or other straight pin in the collet and line up until it will go into a similarly sized collet on the spindle. Nice trick! It’s similar to how Widgitmaster showed me to align a drill chuck on a QCTP to the lathe centerline with a dowel pin held in the lathe chuck.

I"m attaching a copy of the page of the info sheet that came with the table. I hope it"s not too long for the forum. I called Enco late today and they are going to call Pahse II in the morning and get us all together in a conference call, to see if we can work this out. I have uploaded some close up pictures of the table so that those that do not know exactly what we are talking about can see and maybe better understand. The breakdown of the handles sucks, but it is the only thing supplied.

1. Always rotate hand wheel (Ref. No.46) clockwise. This will eliminate any backlash in the worm gear. If handwheel is rotated past desired position, rotate handwheel one full turn counterclockwise and the rotate handwheel clockwise to desired position.

2. The worm shaft (Ref. No.31) can be disengaged from the table (Ref. No 2) so that operator can rotate table by hand. Loosen handle (Ref. No. 25) by turning it counterclockwise, loosen handle (Ref. No 39) and turn vernier collar (Ref. No 40) clockwise until it is snug. Table can now be rotated by hand. To engage

3. Table is locked into position by rotating clamp handles ( Ref.No. 7) clockwise until snug. Turn handles counterclockwise to free table. Turning the handle (Ref. No. 47) after loosening handle (Ref. No. 39) rotates the table.

4; The table is provided with a scale to indicate the angle of rotation. The indicator (Ref.No. 22) can be used to verify the angle of rotation on scale. The indicator can be adjusted by loosening the knob (Ref. No.23) and moving the indicator along the slot. Secure knob after completing adjustment.

5. The center sleeve has been ground to a Morse Taper. Centers with a Morse Taper shank can be mounted to the rotary table for precision centering and measuring operations. (see dimensions in Fig. 1 for MT of ea. table.)

6. The gear ratio of the rotary table is 1: 90 so that 90 rotations of the hand wheel rotate exactly one full rotation. One rotation of the handwheel is equal to 4° rotation of the table. The micro collar is graduated into one minute increments.

The dividing plate accessory ( 241-101) is used to divide one 3600 table rotation into 2-66 and all divisible by 2, 3, and 5 from 67-132 equal divisions, The gear ratio of the rotary table is 1 :90 so 90 rotations of the

handwheel rotate table one full rotation. Therefore for one full rotation of the table, the number of handwheel rotations per divisions "N" times the number of divisions "T" is equal to 90 rotations of the handwheel. So N x

T= 90 or N = 90 ..:.. T. The dividing chart ( page 4) was developed using this relationship, For example if 17 divisions are required, then T=17, so N= 9°/17 =55/17 = 5 1°/34"

To obtain 17 divisions the handwheel is rotated 5 full rotations and 10 holes on the 34 hole circle for each division. The sector is used to make the 10 hole rotation quick and easy.

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A rotary table used in conjunction with a mill allows a machinist to produce virtually any part they can design. Sherline’s rotary table is a precision piece of equipment that has been designed to work with their vertical milling machines, however, it can be used on any mill whenever the small 4-inch size would be an advantage. The only limits are size, not complexity.

The table is 2″ high and 4″ (100mm) in diameter. The main components have been machined from solid bar stock steel, and the complete unit weighs seven pounds. The table has been engraved with a laser, giving sharp and precise lines every 5°, numbered every 15°. These lines are calibrated with the 72-tooth worm gear that is driven by the handwheel. The handwheel is divided into 50 parts, making each line on the handwheel 1/10°. This allows a circle to be divided into 3600 increments without interpolation. Seventy-two revolutions of the handwheel rotate the table one revolution.

The rotary tables can hold more weight when they are not under a continuous load. Click on the Video tab above to see examples of different weights and uses for our rotary tables.

The table T-slots are identical to those used on the Sherline mill and lathe, making the vast line of Sherline tooling available for use with this product. Two hold-down clamps and T-nuts are provided with the table. Also included is an adapter that allows Sherline’s 3- and 4-jaw chucks to be screwed directly to the rotary table. An optional right-angle attachment is available (P/N 3701) to mount the table in the vertical position to further increase its versatility. With the table mounted vertically, an optional adjustable right-angle tailstock (P/N 3702) can be mounted to the mill table. It is used to support and stabilize the other end of long work held in a chuck or otherwise attached to the rotary table.

A rotary table is a precision work positioning device used in metalworking. It enables the operator to drill or cut work at exact intervals around a fixed (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).

The table shown is a manually operated type. Powered tables under the control of CNC machines are now available, and provide a fourth axis to CNC milling machines. Rotary tables are made with a solid base, which has provision for clamping onto another table or fixture. The actual table is a precision-machined disc to which the work piece is clamped (T slots are generally provided for this purpose). This disc can rotate freely, for indexing, or under the control of a worm (handwheel), with the worm wheel portion being made part of the actual table. High precision tables are driven by backlash compensating duplex worms.

The ratio between worm and table is generally 40:1, 72:1 or 90:1 but may be any ratio that can be easily divided exactly into 360°. This is for ease of use when indexing plates are available. A graduated dial and, often, a vernier scale enable the operator to position the table, and thus the work affixed to it with great accuracy.

Rotary tables are most commonly mounted "flat", with the table rotating around a vertical axis, in the same plane as the cutter of a vertical milling machine. An alternate setup is to mount the rotary table on its end (or mount it "flat" on a 90° angle plate), so that it rotates about a horizontal axis. In this configuration a tailstock can also be used, thus holding the workpiece "between centers."

With the table mounted on a secondary table, the workpiece is accurately centered on the rotary table"s axis, which in turn is centered on the cutting tool"s axis. All three axes are thus coaxial. From this point, the secondary table can be offset in either the X or Y direction to set the cutter the desired distance from the workpiece"s center. This allows concentric machining operations on the workpiece. Placing the workpiece eccentrically a set distance from the center permits more complex curves to be cut. As with other setups on a vertical mill, the milling operation can be either drilling a series of concentric, and possibly equidistant holes, or face or end milling either circular or semicircular shapes and contours.

To create large-diameter holes, via milling in a circular toolpath, on small milling machines that don"t have the power to drive large twist drills (>0.500"/>13 mm)

with the addition of a compound table on top of the rotary table, the user can move the center of rotation to anywhere on the part being cut. This enables an arc to be cut at any place on the part.

Additionally, if converted to stepper motor operation, with a CNC milling machine and a tailstock, a rotary table allows many parts to be made on a mill that otherwise would require a lathe.

Rotary tables have many applications, including being used in the manufacture and inspection process of important elements in aerospace, automation and scientific industries. The use of rotary tables stretches as far as the film and animation industry, being used to obtain accuracy and precision in filming and photography.

Among the many indexer manufacturers, what sets Pascal’s indexing table apart is undoubtedly its brakeless design, compact size, and durability. It has an ample amount of ports lending itself well to automation.

Pascal’s MDF index table operates with a 90° index 0.5 sec. Its unique rolling gear transmission is maintenance free and can operate with high index speed and accuracy for a long time unlike traditional worm gear. Traditional worm gear undergoes abrasive wear that can lead to backlash causing machining failure and degrading index accuracy.

Pascal’s high-performance rotary unions are integrated to enable clamp sensing and actuation but also provides a footprint 20% smaller than its competitors. Ideal for indexing large workpieces in compact machining centers, you will also achieve increased production capacity. As one example, our rotary indexing table can allow a machining center to increase their production capacity from 16 robodrill units to 24 units in the same amount of space.

The MDF index table has a total of 20 ports, lending itself well to automation. 18 of those ports can be used for hydraulic and air, while 2 are for coolant. A double acting cylinder with sensing can be used instead of a single cylinder, and its rotary joint accommodates a 7MPa pressure circuit.

Pascal is confident in the quality and reliability of our rotary indexers so much so that we use them in our own factories. That is also why these indexers are utilized in the factories of major automakers around the world.

PI’s direct-drive rotary tables with frictionless, brushless, closed-loop torque motors provide the best combination of high accuracy, high velocity, and maximum service life. PI provides closed-loop direct drive rotary tables with both mechanical bearings and air bearings. Stage models with large apertures and low profile are available. The stage design is optimized for high speed, stiffness, and high load capacity. If completely friction-free and maintenance free motion with virtually unlimited lifetime is required, air bearing rotation tables are recommended. These ultra-precision, high-speed rotary tables provide vibration-free motion with extremely high accuracy and negligible runout, wobble and eccentricity errors. The lack of lubricants makes these also clean room compatible and ideal for any high-performance metrology application in optics, photonics, and semiconductor manufacturing, test and metrology related projects.

In contrast to worm gear driven rotary stages or belt-drive rotation stages, torque-motor direct drive stages eliminate play in gears, couplings or flex in drive belts, providing motion with zero backlash and excellent constancy of velocity, while achieving higher speed than worm-gear drives.

PI’s precision direct-drive, positioning tables can be used in high performance factory automation, research, semiconductor, and laser processing applications. Due to the use of brushless high-torque, motors with direct metrology position feedback, backlash is completely eliminated, and reliability is greatly improved.

With modern direct-metrology rotary encoders, sensor resolution down to 1/100th of a microrad is available on select models with large rotary table platforms, using the high interpolation factors

Based on the high encoder resolution and powerful servo controllers, the direct-drive rotary tables also provide excellent velocity control, which is required in automation applications including high-speed laser processing, indexing, and semiconductor wafer inspection.

Most Direct Drive Rotation stages can be mounted horizontally and vertically, and with combinations all 3 rotary degrees of freedom (3DOF, pitch, yaw, and roll) can be addressed.

Our product range includes single and multiple axes, tilt/rotating tables, and indexing and high-speed spindles. Additionally, we offer customized solution tables for customer requests or OEM projects.

Customer satisfaction is our highest priority. Due to a high degree of vertical integration, our customers have one point-of-contact and the guarantee that all components are manufactured and assembled to your specifications.

Even for EDM machines that have been in use for decades, we will work with you to determine the ideal rotary indexing table and/or rotating/indexing spindle solution.

Our state-of-the-art rotary indexing tables and customizable reference and clamping systems provide endless application possibilities and highly efficient solutions.

Customer satisfaction is our top priority. You specify the task and together we’ll find the optimal solution for your production challenges and products.

6.1. North America Automated Rotary and Indexing Table Market Size (US$ Mn) and Volume (Million Units) Analysis & Forecast, by Configuration, 2017‒2031

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