Devin Ward

9 May 2014

Examined stand grinder for serviceability, location in shop made this difficult. Will require assistance moving it.
Lathe: removed existing attempt at hydraulic motor mount.
More lathe cleanup. Set up compound rest, discovered it was in dire need of maintenance.
Performed teardown of lathe carriage, cross slide, and compound rest. Thoroughly cleaned, degreased, dressed, re-lubed, reassembled the compound; cross slide almost completely cleaned, will continue tomorrow.
The scope of the damage to these components is greater than I initially thought (much damage was concealed by dirt, paint, other parts of the machine).

Underside of compound has a large divot/crack (unable to determine how/from what).
Compound swivel is pitted and corroded.
Compound lead screw threads are worn unevenly (not too badly).
Cross slide shim/set screws are a mess. Looks like someone broke off a set screw and tried to drill a new hole. One set screw hole has a large divot broken out on the inside.
Cross slide lead screw bearing has been replaced with a homemade part (made of aluminum).
Myriad scratches, nicks, divots, etc. on bearing surfaces, shims, and screws.

None of these problems appears to be serious enough to impede getting the lathe running again, but they will have a negative effect on precision operations.
3-jaw chuck jaws are stiff in areas as they are closed/opened. I suspect the scroll mechanism is dirty or clogged, chuck will likely require a full teardown as well.

Run on kitchen waste
Using two 55-gal plastic barrels, large-diameter pipe, small diameter pipe, valves and assorted connectors (most of this is already on-site)
Should provide some data and test platform for larger-scale systems and alternate feedstocks

Preliminary sketches of mounting system for a hydraulic drive system on large lathe in workshop.
On Marcin's suggestion, searched storage sheds for lathe parts. Found 2 tool posts for lathe, 2 tool holders (1 right-hand, 1 straight), 4-jaw chuck.

Scheduled design conference call for 7pm with my contact who is going to work on z-axis controller.

He thinks the easiest course of action is to reconfigure Lasersaur controller to add back support for z-axis (Lasersaur ignores z-axis).
Marcin seems to think a second, independent z-axis controller is the best way to go, since we don't want to interfere with using the Lasaur app.

Sent my rough SolidWorks mock-up of induction furnace design to electrical engineering friend who wants to run COMSOL simulations to help refine design specifications.
Investigated implementing a load balancer to improve our internet infrastructure on-site.

Discussed CNC Torch Table project with personal contact who has agreed to assist us with the electronics and programming of an independent Z-axis controller system.
Researched gas purification techniques for possible use in small-scale biogas reactor.

Researched, compiled list of existing open source CNC machine projects, uploaded here: CNC Torch-Router Table 2 - Controller module - Industry Standards.
Recruited two personal contacts to participate in upcoming design sprint.
Continued familiarization with Lasersaur manual.