3d printer - Leapfrog creatr conversion

[Btje]

I have the creatr HS and am thinking of modding it to to have an improved printer of my CR10. I saw you post. Nice work. I have a question, why didn't you put the rails upside down?

[BillTodd]

 Hi Btje, welcome to the forum 

Good question :-)

My immediate response is that the motors would then be poking up above the rail extrusions, if mounted on the rail itself (IYSWIM) . But really it was  just how it looked best to me in the cad model. 

It might have been a bit more difficult to mount the motors if the Y axis extrusion had been flush with the top . I don't think it would have caused any other difficulties.

If you do start a conversion , I'd love to see it, so do post a blog somewhere 

[BillTodd]

Distraction 2:

microwave oven transformer based spot welder  -
works better than expected :-)   - happily welds 2x 2mm dexion angles, 15mm ball to steel and , most surprisingly , a steel ball to an aluminium plate

[BillTodd]

Distraction 3:

One day I will get back to this project.....

Unknown 164  http://www.lathes.co.uk/unknown164/  a rusty shop made lathe with a intriguing vice , acquired and cleaned.

[awemawson]

That’s looking a whole lot more wholesome Bill 

[BillTodd]

Thanks.

It's a real enigma, it is well made but not well finished. Everything that needs to be good is good, but it's like they didn't have the time to add the finishing touches.

The tail stock lock clamp for instance: it is a neat design clamping rather than squeezing a casting, but i had the draw file and polish it to make it look nice.

The little vice's anvil is beautifully carved from the main body,  But they didn't remove the shaper marks before hardening.

If it weren't for the allen screws I would think this is 'war finish '  - the cross slide appears to be a hardinge cataract pre 1920 (or perhaps a copy).

I have a few bits to make for it like new clamp bolts for the topslide and a new cross-slide handle. 

And  I have been wondering about a mechanical variable speed drive as well

[vtsteam]

Wow two nice projects! I hadn't seen the spot welder earlier. I have a Harbor Freight type that looks so similar, but obviously not built from scratch, and probably not as high quality for it.

The lathe is really intriguing. I really like the pleasing base shapes of the tailstock and headstock, which re-finishing has brought out. I wonder what the waisted section of the leadscrew is for? I guess it's a carriage release, but is there a reason for the thread continuation after the break?

The vise/anvil is totally unique and gives it great character, but I'd really hesitate to hammer or bend metal on a lathe ways. On the other hand, it's a wonderful unexpected gadget, and really sets this lathe apart so as a complete homemade object it's very cool. 

[BillTodd]

The waist on the leadscrew was for belt clearance, the previous owner had it mounted on an old sewing machine treadle base . 

Unfortunately I don't know much about the lathe's history. I know the previous owner got it from Davall's (who made flight data recorders ) when he left the firm . He had several patents in his name related to wire handling mechanisms , but I don't think he had anything to do with the lathe's initial construction.I thought it might be an apprentice project, but it seems to have had too much use to be a long term project (and again one would expect apprentices to finish parts).  So, perhaps best guess would be a special project for in-house work when availablity of small lathes was tight.

[BillTodd]

I've just found this old pathe news clip fro 1951/2

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/making-coronation-clocks/query/coronations

The clocks are being made at Davall's  there is the briefest look at some of the machinery , but no lathe ,   only the hint that the handle shape of the machine could be similar to the lathe's

[vtsteam]

I wonder if in an old Model Engineer there is some reference to adding a vise to a lathe -- possibly by a correspondent via the Postbag. If there is, it could be the builder.

I bought two homemade small model marine high speed twin steam engines close to 20 years ago, at a model engineering show in nearby Windsor Vermont, supposedly built in Baltimore. Aluminum castings, sleeved. When reading through some old Model Engineers, lo and behold I came across a reference and photos of the original builder and his engines of the same type, and yes, in Baltimore.

[BillTodd]

Worth a look, I suppose,  but if it was made for factory/development use , the story would be unlikely to make it to a magazine .

 

[BillTodd]

Well, I have started, or is that restarted, the liliipad lillipad project, with the intention of getting it done before the anniversary.  I can't believe it was January when I started this thing, nor how much warmer the weather must have been last year.

Updates will follow...

Unless I get distracted...

[BillTodd]

Oh , this bloody thing is doomed.  Minutes after posting the above, I started to cough, nose blocked and head started throbbing.

We have a bird flu alert in the area but I have seen no dead birds... Found a dead fly, so maybe it is flyflu....

[awemawson]

Yep - all our 'free range' chicken are incarcerated in a poly-tunnel due to bird flu - non locally but it's a UK wide order to poultry keepers.

Get well soon Bill, but I very much doubt that YOU have bird flu unless you have some hobbies you've not told us about 

[BillTodd]

Oh I don't know Andrew, I have an almost irresistible urge to perch on the tv aerial...

[BillTodd]

I have mgfade some progress...
I've built the main control board with a  pi pico and relays to switch the main 24v and 240vac heater power, monitor the power button, mains fail and printer shutdown . A bank of supercaps will store enough energy to park the axes and write position to the SD card.

The pico will monitor the gcode data passing from the front panel lcd to the octopus printer board and extract gcodes for bed temperature setting .

More to follow when my brain recovers a bit.