Update April 2020
I'm mostly retired from woodturning. The information here is provided for inspiration to those who choose to follow a similar path. Some of the information is a bit dated (valid at the time I built my machine) and may not be the best for new projects that you might be starting now. It's also possible that over time some of the links that I originally provided are no longer valid.
Having said that...
Warning -- This is not intended for people looking for a turn-key solution! This is for geeks who want to make something for themselves. These web pages are somewhat technical and intended for people with knowledge of making their own hardware and wiring/circuitry. You will need some computer experience to follow all of this.
A few definitions are in order -- specifically the names of the axes. We will follow traditional CNC lathe nomenclature which defines the X-axis as the radius and the Z-axis is along the axis of rotation. The C-axis is rotation around the Z-axis, so that will be our lathe spindle. In our case, I'll refer to positive X-motion being toward your belt buckle when you are standing in the normal position in front of a lathe (for plain turning). Positive Z-motion is along the axis of the lathe away from the headstock (toward the tailstock). Positive C-rotation is counter-clockwise when looking toward the chuck from the tailstock.
Building the hardware will require some mechanical skill as well as some electrical knowledge. For a few things, it would be convenient to have access to a small milling machine (such as the inexpensive mini-mills sold by Grizzly and others for around $600).
The main hardware components are listed below. This list doesn't cover hardware that is common to traditional mechanical ornamental lathes such as cutting frames and overhead drives. Click on any of the items for a more complete description.
- A regular lathe as a base
- The XZ stage, including the linear bearings, lead screws, shaft couplers, stepper motors, and sensors
- The stepper motors for XZC axes
- Mounting the stepper to the lathe spindle (C-axis)
- Mounting the XZ stage to the bed of the lathe, and mounting a tool post to the XZ stage
- A driver module for the stepper motors, including an emergency stop switch and connections to the XZ stage limit sensors
- A power supply for the stepper motors
- Control knobs and buttons for manual control (so you don't have to use the keyboard/mouse)
The main software components are listed below. The computer is included on this list because it has to mate with the software. Click on any of the items for a more complete description.
- Control Software to drive the stepper motors
- Which will dictate the choice of control computer and operating system
- Software to visualize and design your work and generate g-code (which should be invisible to you -- you don't want to have to look at it or edit it)
- A design computer to run the design/visualization software
Disclaimer -- This tells you about how and why I did things the way I did. There are lots of other ways of accomplishing the same thing. Others may have better ideas (please share them if you do). There are no guarantees implied for anyone who tries to follow in my footsteps!