3 ms·

That would a lathe. The queen of machines. More specifically a screw-cutting lathe . Could add a link but you will have more fun digging your own rabbit hole.

by tejtm 6y ago

That would a lathe. The queen of machines. More specifically a screw-cutting lathe . Could add a link but you will have more fun digging your own rabbit hole. An as a rule of thumb, if you fall into this hobby, you are allowed one per decade old you are before it it has a hording disorder smell.

kazen44 6y ago
the lathe is basically the one machine required to kickstart the industrial revolution. (and a way to drive it ofcourse). Also, three surfaces that can be ground truely flat is also vital. i can highly recommend the youtube series "machine thinking" if you have interest in this[0], aswell as the book "the perfectionist" [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRnrn5DE58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRnrn5DE58 [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062652559 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062652559
- zrobotics 6y ago
  Although truly flat surfaces can be easily generated (relative to building a screw cutting lathe from scratch). It just takes a lot of time and labor, but lapping two granite plates together would produce a good-enough surface plate; considering the accuracy likely to be achieved with a one-off homemade lathe. Realistically, the absolute hardest part would be the castings. Cast iron is no simple feat, as I'm sure the future posts in this series will show.
  - tejtm 6y ago
    Lapping three surfaces together is the path to flats. Lapping just two together is how we make concave/convex hemispherical pairs for telescope mirrors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatness_(manufacturing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatness_(manufacturing)
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    The Gingery books' path is via cast aluminium.
    - imtringued 6y ago
      Here is a video series of someone building the Gingery Lathe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGZg45dGXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGZg45dGXA
    - skykooler 6y ago
      Aluminum is going to be much harder to manufacture on Mars than iron, at least initially, because it requires so much more energy to process.
  - jojobas 6y ago
    Cast iron is much easier than steel. You won't get to the lathe without cast iron (and what will you lathe anyway?)
    - bluGill 6y ago
      You can make a lathe from other materials. Most people building one in their garage these days use aluminum. Cast iron is better in a lot of ways, but the temperatures of aluminum are much easier to deal with, and today we can get good aluminum alloys to work with. You can also use bronze if you wanted. Granite is probably better than cast iron if you design for it. Concrete has been used commercially.
jojobas 6y ago
Many people don't realize it but you can put a cutting tool into the chuck and use the lathe a (limited) horizontal mill. Shown here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2cgoPpCmPc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2cgoPpCmPc, note that on this video he's making yet another jig for the lathe.

by tejtm 6y ago

kazen44 6y ago

the lathe is basically the one machine required to kickstart the industrial revolution. (and a way to drive it ofcourse). Also, three surfaces that can be ground truely flat is also vital. i can highly recommend the youtube series "machine thinking" if you have interest in this[0], aswell as the book "the perfectionist" [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRnrn5DE58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRnrn5DE58 [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062652559 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062652559

zrobotics 6y ago
Although truly flat surfaces can be easily generated (relative to building a screw cutting lathe from scratch). It just takes a lot of time and labor, but lapping two granite plates together would produce a good-enough surface plate; considering the accuracy likely to be achieved with a one-off homemade lathe. Realistically, the absolute hardest part would be the castings. Cast iron is no simple feat, as I'm sure the future posts in this series will show.
- tejtm 6y ago
  Lapping three surfaces together is the path to flats. Lapping just two together is how we make concave/convex hemispherical pairs for telescope mirrors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatness_(manufacturing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatness_(manufacturing)
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  The Gingery books' path is via cast aluminium.
  - imtringued 6y ago
    Here is a video series of someone building the Gingery Lathe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGZg45dGXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGZg45dGXA
  - skykooler 6y ago
    Aluminum is going to be much harder to manufacture on Mars than iron, at least initially, because it requires so much more energy to process.
- jojobas 6y ago
  Cast iron is much easier than steel. You won't get to the lathe without cast iron (and what will you lathe anyway?)
  - bluGill 6y ago
    You can make a lathe from other materials. Most people building one in their garage these days use aluminum. Cast iron is better in a lot of ways, but the temperatures of aluminum are much easier to deal with, and today we can get good aluminum alloys to work with. You can also use bronze if you wanted. Granite is probably better than cast iron if you design for it. Concrete has been used commercially.

jojobas 6y ago

Many people don't realize it but you can put a cutting tool into the chuck and use the lathe a (limited) horizontal mill. Shown here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2cgoPpCmPc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2cgoPpCmPc, note that on this video he's making yet another jig for the lathe.