QC toolpost for Atlas 618

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SteveM
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by SteveM »

I picked up a nice, older Enco 4-way toolpost.

It can turn to any position, but it has detents every 30 degrees.

I haven't used it yet, but I can see where, in a production-ish job where it would come in handy, as long as I don't need more than four tools.

Steve
whateg0
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by whateg0 »

Harold_V wrote: Wed Jun 12, 2019 3:57 pm
whateg0 wrote: Wed Jun 12, 2019 1:52 pm but it demonstrated to me that the QCTP was not always the best option available.
Yep! In an ideal world, a person might find that having more than one type can be advantageous, which is really true when machines are operated for gain. Hobby use? May be no big deal.

Indexing time can be a real deal killer when cuts are of short duration and indexing is ongoing. The quick change really falls flat in that situation.

H
2 minutes to make a part with QCTP vs. less than 30 seconds with the turret. Unfortunately, the job presented other problems that could not be overcome without some creativity. 3000 parts to make and I learned just how much plastic can move when being machined.

Dave
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Harold_V
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by Harold_V »

whateg0 wrote: Mon Jun 17, 2019 9:01 am 2 minutes to make a part with QCTP vs. less than 30 seconds with the turret.
That's impressive!
Unfortunately, the job presented other problems that could not be overcome without some creativity. 3000 parts to make and I learned just how much plastic can move when being machined.
Oh, yeah! In fact, the only time I ever had to rough, semi-finish, then finish, was with plastic (Delrin). The finished product had to be dead straight, otherwise it wouldn't function. I was shocked to see how much the material moved when roughed. The final pass left the items in the desired condition.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
spro
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by spro »

" the final pass left the items in the desired condition" . No question, that. There are many turret designs even within our scope. I'll say something about the Enco turret which came with my "new" lathe. It was sturdy and had the incremental positions but was too high. I had to mill the base part where it fit the compound "T" slot. Milled and filed only the outside of the male part because I still needed enough length into the compound for a firm support. I found that the slots in the turret were not flat. They were leaning down a few degrees. What is that? So I trued that up. Still there were shims at each station for the many HSS tools I had. They required hand grinding to fit, be sharp and orient according to the applied pressure.
It goes without saying that a turret with four tools, one being a small boring bar, has some interference with the tail stock and cross slide dial.
All this stuff has to worked out beforehand.
spro
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by spro »

In closing, I should mention the turret which came with my 9A. It is four station also but each station has a "rocker" in the middle. Four bolts per station but the tool was adjusted more quickly ( and removed, ground) shimmed but sometimes you get lucky.
SteveM
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by SteveM »

Would a 2-1/2" 4-way toolpost work for this lathe or would that be too big?

Steve
spro
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by spro »

I think it a tad large. The triangular designs are really cool.
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Rex
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by Rex »

Don't buy the A2Z. I have one on my LMS minilathe. The block and toolholders are aluminum I was parting off a piece of 3/6" brass the other day and it rode over and twisted the toolholder!

Those steel wedge-type QCTP sets in AX0 get good reviews. LMS and Bang-good sell them, and they are all over ebay - about $100/set IIRC. I'll buy one to replace that A2Z POS.
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PhooBar
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Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by PhooBar »

TimTheGrim wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:44 am Banggood has this...

https://m.banggood.com/Mini-Quick-Chang ... mds=search
Thanks for posting that, Tim.
Just what I've been looking for on my 618.
I'd never heard of Banggood.
Captain of the 1984 Olympic Dumpster Diving Team.
TimTheGrim
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Location: El Paso, TX

Re: QC toolpost for Atlas 618

Post by TimTheGrim »

You’re welcome.

I’ve had good luck with the assortment of tooling I bought from Banggood. Shipping can be slow at times but I’ve never had any damage.

AliExpress is another source of Chinese stuff but takes a little more wading through to find the right deal.
Illigitimi non Carborundum
'96 Birmingham mill, Enco 13x40 GH and Craftsman 6x18 lathes, Reid 2C surface grinder. Duro Bandsaw and lots of tooling from 30+ years in the machining trades and 15+ years in refinery units. Now retired
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