Data Sheet

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part has helped establish a new era of product design.
2. PRODUCTION—CNC can speed up the process on short
run production parts. It can also take the boredom (and
resulting mistakes) out of making the same part over and
over again.
3. EDUCATION—If you are thinking of becoming a
machinist today, you will need to know how to use CNC.
Learning on an inexpensive machine is an excellent
training experience with no worries about “crashing” a
more expensive, high powered machine.
4. CHALLENGE—Some simply enjoy the challenge of
seeing if they can get a high-tech robot to do what they
command, and a computer controlled machine tool is
simply a special purpose robot.
Longer Tables and Taller Milling Columns Available
Sherline now oers an 18" long mill table that adds 5" of extra
X travel as well as a 15" tall mill column that adds 4" more Z
travel. Matching inch or metric, and manual or CNC leadscrews
are available. These
items can be ordered
as a factory-installed
option on new mills
or can be retrotted to
any existing Sherline
mill. Call for part
numbers.
10,000 RPM Spindle Pulley Set (P/N 4335)
The standard pulley set allows a maximum spindle speed of
about 2800 RPM, although the
bearings are rated for 10,000
RPM. Sherline oers a special
pulley set that gears the 6000
RPM motor up to 10,000 RPM
at the spindle. A second pulley
position oering a maximum
3000 RPM is similar to the high
FIGURE 74—P/N 54182
18" mill table
FIGURE 75—A typical Sherline
industrial slide based on
components from the tool line.
speed ratio of the standard pulleys when you need more torque
but less speed. This high spindle speed is useful for engraving
operations or using very small drills or turning small shafts.
Although torque is somewhat reduced, this is not normally a
problem because you will be removing only small amounts of
metal in those types of operations. We recommend reducing
the preload adjustment on the spindle bearings from .0002"
end play to .0003" to keep from overheating the bearings
when using this accessory. Instructions to do this are provided.
Industrial Applications for Sherline Components
For many years, Sherline spindles, slides and motor units
have been especially popular with designers of custom
tooling for small industrial applications because of the
low cost and the large number of Sherline accessories that
t the spindle. In fact, we use them in our own production
facility for a number of operations. Sherline is now offering
a complete line of components made specically for the
production tooling designer. As you would expect, the size
range is best suited for smaller operations, but if your needs t
within the specications of Sherline components, excellent
design results can be achieved. For more information on
products from Sherline’s Industrial Products Division, see
our website at www.sherlineIPD.com.
DRO Machine Operations
CAUTION!
Read all operating instructions carefully before
attempting any machining operations.
The Digital Readout in the Modern Machine Shop
Digital readouts are popular on full size machine tools because
they make the life of a machinist much simpler. They make
it easier to accurately set or change the table position and
eliminate errors caused by misreading handwheel increments or
losing track of multiple rotations. Now that same convenience
is available on tabletop size machines with the availability of
a DRO (Digital ReadOut) for Sherline lathes and mills. The
compact electronics package and clever backlash compensation
feature were designed by John Wettroth.
On industrial DRO’s, a sensor reads a highly accurate external
scale. On Sherline’s DRO, the sensor reads rotation of the
leadscrew. Because of the accuracy of Sherline’s precision
rolled leadscrew threads and the short travels on a machine
of this size, this system makes it possible to provide a DRO
FIGURE 76—A digital
readout makes life easier
for the machinist.