Retaining full manual handwheel control
Originally Posted by
JackSmith
Ideally, I want to retain full manual handwheel control of the mill even after the CNC conversion.
Jack
First comment Please remove the handles! Keep the handwheels if you must, but take off the handles. They are DANGEROUS and will damage you [bash you or break bits off you] or get caught in your clothing!
Secondly, if you are going down the ballscrew route with their much lowered friction, beware that in manual machining [i.e. not CNC], there is a very great chance of backfeeding. Backfeeding is where the cutting forces cause the axes to move unintentionally and unexpectedly.
Needless to say, backfeeding is unlikely to improve whatever you were machining!
You will need to clamp all non-moving axes, and remember to unclamp the axes when returning to normal CNC operations.
All in all best not to have handwheels, except for casual [non machining] machine movements.
This backfeeding doesn't / shouldn't happen during normal CNC use because the steppers should hold the axes steady. That is assuming each stepper is powerful enough for its respective axis!
Any argument about science that cannot be backed with peer-reviewed science, isn't worth a bucket of cold spit!