3D printed mini lathe compound leadscrew bearing

[RainbowsParticipant @rainbows]

This has certainly been done before, but probably not with a 3D printer.

Didn't like the original housing for the compound slide leadscrew on my minilathe. Had some wiggle in it as it came and adjusting the two nuts were a pain and having to find an allen key to change the dial is just criminal.

But also to make the new parts I would need a lathe, and to test fit them I would need to take the lathe I was using apart. Also I wanted an excuse to play with my 3D printer

Basic bearing housing to press a 6900 bearing into. The ring makes sure the dial bears not on the housing but onto the inner race of the bearing. Then the ring is a simplified model of a thrust bearing so that the dial doesn't move while the nut is being tightened. Then there is the hand nut which gets tapped for M10 to fit on the existing thread.

 

Total cost was £7 in bearings and some plastic and 3 hours of printing including fudge ups. Except for 2 tapped holes in the upper compound no changes were made to existing lathe parts. Also have 9 6900 bearings leftover now to boot.

Plan to replace all the parts with steel in the fullness of time, but for now it works much nicer than the original.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 22/11/2017 08:50:38

[RainbowsParticipant @rainbows]

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