Author Topic: Rotary Table Controller  (Read 1295 times)

Offline Bruce W-S

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Rotary Table Controller
« on: February 02, 2019, 05:48:22 AM »
Yes, here is another rotary table controller that I hope will make my life easier. I have over the last few years modified several machines for myself and others to CNC including milling machines and lathes. This project is to overcome the the problem of keeping track of the degrees on my rotary table. I take no credit for the development of the software that drives the Andrino except for modifying the code to make it suitable for a 90:1 reduction. That development goes to others and there is plenty of info on the Forum etc.

At this stage, I haven't bothered to adjust the code for real numbers and therefore improving accuracy. I tend to use whole degrees e.g. 5, 15, 45 etc.

I also use the rotary table on the mill for machining large round items e.g. flywheels that don't fit easily onto my lathe. So I considered introducing additional code to provide this manual function. After working through the various sub routines of code, I soon realised that the task was more difficult than I thought.

After looking on the internet, I found a board that with no changes required except for changing the two control switches to allow them to be mounted on the cover. This little board for $8 solved all of the requirements. So now with the flick of a switch, I can change from digital control that provides division in either degrees or steps, to continuous rotation with adjustable speed from zero  up, forward and reverse including stop.

The new board and associated switches are mounted on the LHS while the change over from digital to analog is via the switch on the lower RHS. The switch changes the control wiring to the stepper driver.

If anyone is interested on how the wiring was done, contact me via a personal message.


Bruce W-S

Attached photo 1  shows the small control board;

Photo two shows the complete controller. Note, one box has the power supply while the other box is the controller.

Photo three is a closeup of the controller showing the various switches etc. I still need to fit a suitable knob for the speed control which is coming.

 

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