Rotary Index Tables are high precision positioning tools used in special cases of milling and metalworking. Their basic function is to offer the machinist the ability to work based on fixed intervals around a horizontal or vertical axis.
By turning a lever connected to a worm-screw that is positioned under the rotary table, users can turn it clockwise or counter-clockwise in full turns. The worm-screw drives some axles that are fixed in intervals under the table, so the table is turned with great accuracy. The ratio between the worm-screw and the axles determines the maximum indexing resolution, and so the applications that each RIT is suitable for.
Unique Milling Techniques
There is a very wide scope of possible uses for rotary index tables, and their various settings and configurations can deliver unique milling techniques that are only limited by the machinist's imagination. One of the most notable uses for the rotary index tables is as an alternative to an actual lathe machine. This can be done by using a chuck to hold the object, a tailstock to set the center of the milling process and an electric motor installed on the table's worm-screw.
Many also workshops use RITs for the milling of bolt head indented features of various shapes (octagonal, hexagonal etc). Operators calculate the intervals that are needed for the processing of these features and set the table accordingly.
Cutting & Drilling Uses
Rotary Index Tables are also regularly used for the cutting of straight lines at any angle, arcs and circular shapes. The arcs, being a demanding milling process, can be achieved by adding a compound table so that the center of the table's rotation can be displaced, thus resulting in a progressively off-centric machining.
It is often the case that a machinist is called to drill a large diameter hole that the driller can't handle due to its insufficient power. This is another case where indexing tables can help by helping the operator drill multiple smaller holes around the set center of the larger hole. This boring process results in a hole that is equally accurate in terms of dimension and inner finishing as an one-drill hole.
Maybe the most demanding cutting process that index tables can help with is the realization of helixes. These three dimensional shapes are especially demanding as they require movement along at least three axis which is almost never possible by lathes alone. RITs come as a supplementary solution to this process, moving the workpiece rotational (two axis) while the cutting tool moves along the third axis thus creating the helix.
Maybe the most common use of the rotary index tables though is the drilling of equidistant holes on a circular flange. Using the tool for this purpose is an easy and straight forward activity that is only requires the calculation of the intervals based on the number of holes and their center to center distance. By re-positioning the flange in off-centric holes, one can further drill each hole into a larger one.
By turning a lever connected to a worm-screw that is positioned under the rotary table, users can turn it clockwise or counter-clockwise in full turns. The worm-screw drives some axles that are fixed in intervals under the table, so the table is turned with great accuracy. The ratio between the worm-screw and the axles determines the maximum indexing resolution, and so the applications that each RIT is suitable for.
Unique Milling Techniques
There is a very wide scope of possible uses for rotary index tables, and their various settings and configurations can deliver unique milling techniques that are only limited by the machinist's imagination. One of the most notable uses for the rotary index tables is as an alternative to an actual lathe machine. This can be done by using a chuck to hold the object, a tailstock to set the center of the milling process and an electric motor installed on the table's worm-screw.
Many also workshops use RITs for the milling of bolt head indented features of various shapes (octagonal, hexagonal etc). Operators calculate the intervals that are needed for the processing of these features and set the table accordingly.
Cutting & Drilling Uses
Rotary Index Tables are also regularly used for the cutting of straight lines at any angle, arcs and circular shapes. The arcs, being a demanding milling process, can be achieved by adding a compound table so that the center of the table's rotation can be displaced, thus resulting in a progressively off-centric machining.
It is often the case that a machinist is called to drill a large diameter hole that the driller can't handle due to its insufficient power. This is another case where indexing tables can help by helping the operator drill multiple smaller holes around the set center of the larger hole. This boring process results in a hole that is equally accurate in terms of dimension and inner finishing as an one-drill hole.
Maybe the most demanding cutting process that index tables can help with is the realization of helixes. These three dimensional shapes are especially demanding as they require movement along at least three axis which is almost never possible by lathes alone. RITs come as a supplementary solution to this process, moving the workpiece rotational (two axis) while the cutting tool moves along the third axis thus creating the helix.
Maybe the most common use of the rotary index tables though is the drilling of equidistant holes on a circular flange. Using the tool for this purpose is an easy and straight forward activity that is only requires the calculation of the intervals based on the number of holes and their center to center distance. By re-positioning the flange in off-centric holes, one can further drill each hole into a larger one.
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