Tool box

Myford 7s are small by most standards :-)

Certainly there have been many robots made without ever seeing a machine tool. I would consider a mill and lathe to be a very worthwhile investment from the point of view of getting a workshop that you can use for everything. If the objective is to build a robot, then getting the precision bits made by someone else is your best bet. As for gears- its one of those difficult answers- the stiffer and more accuratelly the gear box is, the better the performance youll get. I would recommend getting a couple of gearbox plates machined up- it should be too expensive as its a fiarly simple operation on a mill. It really is worth doing it properly.

A pillar drill is definitely very useful. I bought one of the £40 ones from B&Q and was surprised by how sturdy it was (and that its still working over a year later). I cant use it now and Im finding it a struggle to work without it. They probably can be made to work as a milling machine but youd have to take it slowly as theyre not meant to handle radial (?) loads, and the cost of an XY table might be quite high compared to the cost of a dedicated milling machine.

If you dont have one then I would recommend getting a multitool such as a Leatherman. Some of the cheaper imitations are good, too. Theyre very convenient especially when you get to an event.

Eddy: thanks. Ill try to find somewhere and budget accordingly.

Jim: is a pillar drill different from a bench drill? (Spot the newbie.) Definitely about the taking it slowly, but the XY table was what I was thinking of as a pseudo-mill. Ill look into it.

I have a cheap multitool (possibly I should consider investing in one where the pliers dont slip over each other), plus some scary Swiss army knives, which are surprisingly useful between them. Ill have to peer closely at the pits in Debenham and try to get a feel for what equipment is in use at the time. I know theres a welding area at most events - I presume a real workshop is out of the question, so any drilling has to happen hand-held?

Cheers for the feedback,

--
Fluppet

As far as Im aware a bench drill, pillar drill and drill press are all the same thing, although a bench drill will be small enough to fit on a bench, while a pillar drill might be free standing. Mines a bench top model.

:-) Cheers. I know what I mean, I just dont know what its called.

(Mind you, if the garden centres invent grass hook because they cant work out what a sickle is, I can see myself not being the only blank face around B&Q.)

--
Fluppet
(Must go home from work)

One thing that I find absolutely essential is a cordless drill, mine is only 9.6v but it is a life-saver. If you can get a higher voltage then that will do the drilling better but the screwdriving worse, horses for courses really, just dont pay extra for a hammer action one for robot building, totally pointless.

Andrew,

Most modern further education colleges (at least those where they do GNVQs and stuff) will do practical courses like welding and plumbing and what have you. Whether theyll be short courses or full two year jobs (thatd be fun - maybe nexy year) I dont know.

My own course is an Introduction to welding 20 hours over 10 weeks course at a local agricultural college. If you have one of these local then it might be another good bet. Its given me the chance to use gas, stick, MIG and TIG welding, as well as brazing, and its got all the machine tools you could ever feel like shaking a stick (electrode?) at. I just wish I wasnt on my final week next week.

As to the size of lathes - Chronos (several links above) stock a small benchtop lathe with a distance between centres (workpiece length) of about 30cm - fine for pulleys and single wheel axles etc. I think its called the unimat and it would be significantly better than nothing. It also has a milling head that you can attach to increase the versatility.

Id love a Myford Super 7 but its (a) HUGE by my standards (I only have a small shed) and (b) HEAVY and (c) WAY too expensive for me - even for a bashed second hand jobby. Machine mart do brand new engineers lathes for about £600. Might be worth a look if you have the money to spend.

Oh and when you buy the welder - dont buy one of those shields that auto-darkens when you strike the arc UNLESS its a decent one (probably £100+ - they use ESAB at the college - about £150) - advice straight from the welding tutor. Youre risking your eyes otherwise. I use a hand held shield (permanently dark) for both arc and MIG and thats safer than a cheapo auto helmet.

-- Kev

Andrew, email me. Address on profile !

Ed
http://www.teamstorm.comhttp://www.teamstorm.com

buying cheap lathes isnt a good idea. The lathe might be £600, but you will still need to buy eveything else for it which can be expensive (a chuck for the clarke one is about £100).

We bought a 2nd lathe last spring, i think its was about £200, but we got everything we could ever need with it. Myfords, although popular, arent the best, and can be very expensive. Keep a look out in your local paper and Ad Mag for 2nd hand lathes/mills/welders.

Alan: Thank you. £200 I could stretch to (in a month or two) especially for the kind of thing Kev mentions; £600 is a bit more of a problem.

Kev - thank you, Ill do some investigating!

Joseph: thanks, Ill starting looking at them as more than a source of gearmotors. :-)

Ed: Have done!

Thanks all.

--
Fluppet