@ peter
>>where did you get the stepper driver link<<
Not sure I understand. The stepper motor and its driver came from an epson C1100 printer, they are used to rotate the drum. Most laser printers use similar motors and driver boards. I have made driver boards for other projects using various chips but it was just quicker and easier to use the one that the printer had.
The keyboard was made by printing a pattern on a piece of A4 paper, and covering it with sticky backed clear plastic, as used for college books. The contacts are just sticky backed copper foil (normally stuck around the base of flower pots as a slug deterrent). They detect your finger by measuring a change of capacitance so no moving parts or contacts to worry about. This function is built into the chip I used, a pic16f1936, basically cos I had some lying around.
You can see this at the link I posted earlier.
http://s917.photobucket.com/albums/ad19/picclock/Cheapo%20Electronic%20Leadscrew/@ johnny
I don't see the point of using it for thread cutting since most lathes come with leadscrew and gears for exactly that purpose. At present there is no linkage between the speed of the lathe and the traverse speed. The gear box multiplies the torque of the motor, and also improves the resolution of the steps. These steppers are commonly used in photocopiers/laser printers.
If I can find any further pictures I'll post them on photobucket.
It's seems very useful as once set you get time off for a tea break
.
Best Regards
picclock
picclock