Tools/metallathe/induction
Harrison M300 Metal Lathe Inductions and Workshops
Some of the tools at the Hackspace are potentially hazardous to use, for these tools members are required to have an induction before they can use them. Inductions provide the most basic information on how to safely and effectively use the simpler functions of the tools, we appreciate that some members may have professional experience on some of these tools and in this case please tell your induction provider and the induction may be very reduced and just cover any risks or procedures specific to rLab. Some tools have multiple levels of induction in order to cover more advanced uses of that tool without making the basic induction take too long, higher induction levels will introduce some of the more advanced features of the tools but as with all inductions are only intended to provide basic information on the capabilities of the tools and how to use them safely. Some members of rLab may be willing to offer more detailed tuition beyond basic induction level or offer guided practice sessions in exchange for beer money or assistance on their own projects.
For all tools you are only required to take level-1 induction before use, after that you may perform any task that you feel confident you can do safely, higher levels of induction may be useful to you in performing more advanced operations but are not required before doing tasks covered in them so long as you're confident of your ability to handle those tasks without risk to yourself, others, or the tool.
PLEASE NOTE : All induction providers are volunteers who are providing inductions to the best of their ability but are NOT qualified instructors. Inductions are provided on a best-effort basis but you and you alone are responsible for your safety while using the tools and for satisfying yourself that you can operate the tools safely. There are professional training courses available from various providers in Reading and the surrounding area if you feel they are appropriate for the level of work you intend to undertake. Reading these notes is NOT a substitute for an in-person induction.
Note for wiki editors : Please do not edit induction pages unless you are one of of the people that gives that induction
Level-1 induction
This is the most basic induction and provides only the absolute essentials. With the new card-based access control system coming soon then we may have a lot of people who suddenly need induction despite being already familiar with lathe work. That means this induction needs to be short enough we can do it quickly and in bulk cause we don't want people getting pissed off and skipping it or trying to bypass the control system. This plan for induction is fairly stable now and all trainers should be working from this plan, suggestions for improvements are still welcomed though!
Topic | Detailed contents | Rationale | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proper Clothing |
|
Obvious Safety issues, don't want to get pulled in! | ||||
PPE |
|
Basic safety information | ||||
Nomenclature | The proper names for all the various parts of the Lathe | Got to have common language to communicate effectively | ||||
Start-up/Shutdown |
|
Stopping and starting! Turning off when unattended in case someone brushes power lever | ||||
Oil System | Location of the 3 sight glasses, what they should show, who to contact if they don't, using automatic one-shot oiler | Don't want people running the machine when dry | ||||
Materials Selection | Which materials can the Lathe operate on, types of metals and their properties, plastics that can be turned and modifications needed to do so, materials that cannot be used on the lathe.
|
People need to be able to choose the right material for their project, other materials to be covered in Level 2+ Inductions | ||||
Mounting the tools |
|
Cover only the basic steel roughing tool, leave the rest for level 2 inductions | ||||
Tailstock mounting | Fitting the drill or the live centre, aligning the tang, keeping the tapers clean and dry, ejecting the tool | Need to know this to set tool height | ||||
Setting tool height |
|
We'll get a lot of broken tools if this isn't done right | ||||
Mounting Workpeices |
|
Holding the work securely but only on a basic level for induction. | ||||
The 3 slides |
|
How to move the tool around! | ||||
The Lamp |
|
Getting a clear view, and not being fooled by strobe effect | ||||
Selecting suitable speeds | Using the chart above the Lathe. It's OK to start out going slower than the chart suggests to give yourself more time to react as you learn and work up to the full speeds listed | Just the chart, calculations and modifications for various operations are for level 2 inductions | ||||
Make sure feeds are off |
|
Don't cover using the powerfeeds for induction level 1 since that will require also covering how to select suitable feedrates or we risk someone just using whatever the machine is currently set for with possibly harmful results. | ||||
Facing off |
|
Covering the very basics of Facing off | ||||
Parallel Turning |
|
Basics of Parallel turning | ||||
Drilling |
|
Using a drill safely and to the target depth | ||||
Parting off |
|
Ideally people should be able to do this to use the lathe properly but induction level-1 shouldn't cover grooving or use of carbide | ||||
Cleaning |
|
Keeping the Lathe clean! |
Level 2 Induction
This one is to cover people who intend to seriously use the lathe in an upcoming project but who don't need to handle complex or detailed work so quite a bit of what was previously level-1 induction will now appear here. Level-2 induction requires people have completed level-1 induction first and will take upwards of 2 hours.
Topic | Detailed contents | Rationale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Use of cutting fluids and other lubricants |
|
Proper cooling extends tool life, allows deeper faster cuts and helps keep machine clean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Materials selection |
More advanced materials and how to work with them, all materials allowed at level-1 plus
|
Next step up on materials | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Advanced work-holding using 3-jaw |
|
Not covering gripping large/thin-walled/long things that will require steadys until intermediate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Switching between 3-jaw and collet chucks and when to use each |
|
These 2 cover everything that's needed for beginner training | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using the collet chuck |
|
Just general use like the 3-jaw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using the Tailstock |
|
Expands the range of objects that can be worked | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 3 tool types |
|
Need to know the proper tool for each job | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tool Inspection |
|
Bad tools will give bad results! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Changing carbide inserts |
|
At this level we can expect people to change an insert, but not to grind their own tooling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tool shapes for various operations |
|
At this level people should be shown how to do a wider range of operations and the tools they require. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Differences between roughing and finishing |
|
Covering the 2 basic types of cut and when to use them | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using the slide locks |
|
Accurate surfacing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Selecting Feeds and Depth-of-Cut |
These tables are under development and will be expanded in time, till then, use your best judgement For the carbide insert tooling
|
Cutting efficiently without breaking tools! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using the power feeds |
|
Using the powerfeeds for larger cuts is almost essential but proper settings must be chosen to avoid breaking tools | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taper Turning on top-slide |
|
Putting tapers on work | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Using taps and Dies |
|
Tapping and threading are pretty common operations but with the brittleness of the tools there's quite a few gotchas people need to be warned about, so it's neither level-1 nor level-3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boring |
|
The need to produce holes of odd or very large sizes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Breaking corners |
|
Important safety and aesthetic technique | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parting off |
|
Parting neatly is needed for work at this level | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turning using indicator dials |
|
Basic use of the dials will have been covered in level-1 induction but a deeper understanding will be needed here for boring and flood cooling. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Polishing using emery cloth/paper and files |
|
People are going to do this, so we might as well make it as safe as possible | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General oiling |
|
The more people helping with this the better | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Refilling apron oil | Checking the sight glass for level, where the fill and drain plugs are, using the proper grade of oil (ISO 68) and when to fill it up. | With the one-shot in use this will need to be done often |
Level 3 Induction
Requires Level 2 induction to be completed first as there's a lot of material to cover on this one so don't want to be going over basics again. People don't have to do the entire level 3 course, individual topics can be done as needed. The content of this course isn't finalised yet so we're not ready to run it as a full course but if you're specifically interested in one topic then contact a induction provides who offers level 3 to arrange a short session on that topic. The 2 main modules are estimated to take 3-6 hours each and can be broken up over several days if needed
Level 3 A
(All stuff we can do right now)
- Internal and external threadcutting with insert tools including multi-start and worm gears
- Blind turning on the indicator dials
- Grooving Internal and External
- Grinding tools/Profile turning
- Decoding carbide insert type codes
- Knurling (calculating diameters for an even knurl)
- discontinuous turning
- Altering the change-gears and speed limits (540)
- very large workpeices, faceplates and speed limits
- Using the dial indicator to maintain position on complex cuts
- Calculating feeds&speeds for other materials not on the standard table
- Cutting standard module worm gears
- Pressure-plate turning of plastics
Level 3 B
(Some stuff we lack parts for yet)
- Advanced materials - Titanium/Magnesium alloys/HSS
- Advanced tooling that exists but we don't have, Cubic Boron Nitride, Diamond
- Tailstock offset turning
- Offset work mounting
- Workholding using all chuck types and recovering concentricity
- Mounting the large toolpost and setting it up
- non-round work
- using fixed and travelling steadies
- turning between centres
- Cleaning and oiling the lathe including oiling points
- Changing oil for the lathe
Level 4 induction
We welcome suggestions for what should be covered in an advanced course if we're able to run one
Maintenance
Doesn't cover actually using the lathe at all, covers all the maintenance jobs that lathe might need apart from stuff that requires specialist tooling we don't have or factory assistance
Topic | Detailed contents |
---|---|
"Maintenance in progress" sign | Putting the sign on the lathe if you need to leave mid-maintenance |
Cleaning | General clean-down, all the surfaces that must be done including hidden ones and inside the change-gear case. Use of solvent to clean and possibly at some point if we get some then use of touch-up paint. |
Checking tightness | Checking the tightness of the various exposed bolts and fasteners including the changegear mountings |
Surface oiling | Wiping down all surfaces with a thin skim of ISO-68 oil after cleaning, oiling the leadscrews |
Checking oil tanks and draining/refilling | Location of the sight-glasses, fill point and drain points for all 3 oil tanks, which grade of oil goes in which and how much. Main tank takes 1L of ISO68, screwcutting gearbox takes 0.5L of ISO220, Apron takes 0.3L of ISO68. Disposal of used oil ( How do we handle this? ) |
Oiling points | Applying oil using the small red can to all the oiling points listed in the manual, including the ones under the changegear case |
Oiling the changegears | Opening the case, oiling them, do not bypass safety to run the gears while oiling |
Checking and adjusting play in mainslide | Measuring the play with the dial-indicator at the 3 relevant positions, how to unlock and adjust the grip clamps, how little they need to be rotated, rechecking with dial gauge, what proper adjustment feels like |
Checking and adjusting play in cross-slide | Proper points for checking the play, how to release and adjust the wear strips |
Checking and adjusting Backlash in cross-slide | How to measure the backlash, and how to release and adjust |
Checking and adjusting play in topslide | Measuring the play, which grubs screws adjust the wear strips |
Checking play in spindle | Check only, adjustment is a back-to-factory job! |
Cleaning and re-lubing the chucks | How to disassemble and clean the 3 and 4 jaw chucks and which parts must and must not be lubricated |
Keyless drill chuck | Disassemble and clean the keyless Chuck, which parts to oil and which parts must be kept dry |
Flood cooling system | How to check the fluid, clean and change if needed |
Update Wiki | Make entry indicating you've performed maintenance, update status if there's a change |
Workshops
spinning top Making a small metal spinning top, counts as induction, takes 2-4 hours depending on skill and prior training, £5 for materials More detail coming soon
Project Picture Training Levels Included Duration Cost Metal Spinning Top Induction 2-4 hours £5