Colchester Student 6" - Foot Control??

[GRW]

Where I've started work recently has one of these Colchester Students for small machining jobs - and the owner would like to improve its safety in the workshop by having a Foot Pedal.
Can anyone shed any light on options/ solution please?
(I know v little about lathes, so I'm just trying to pick the brains of the Hive Mind).
TIA, G.

 

[Keith 66]

Many later students & bantams fitted in schools & colleges had a foot operated safety brake across the front of the machine. It both cut the power & stopped the spindle rotating when stomped on.
Quite useful for the technician or lecturer when a moron student starts gawping at his phone with the saddle approaching the chuck.
If its an older machine without one i suspect its going to cost more than the machine is worth to retrofit, It means a spindle brake & linkages all linked to switchgear inside the cabinet.
Probably easier to buy a machine already kitted out.

 

[Brad93]

Bad idea for a lathe, you'll be balancing on one leg all day with one foot on a pedal.

Estop with a brake is much more sensible

 

[GRW]

Many later students & bantams fitted in schools & colleges had a foot operated safety brake across the front of the machine. It both cut the power & stopped the spindle rotating when stomped on.
Quite useful for the technician or lecturer when a moron student starts gawping at his phone with the saddle approaching the chuck.
If its an older machine without one i suspect its going to cost more than the machine is worth to retrofit, It means a spindle brake & linkages all linked to switchgear inside the cabinet.
Probably easier to buy a machine already kitted out.

I think the hope was to perhaps have a "Shoe" which needed the pedal depressing to enable operation (I've seen similar on big metal folding kit).
My thoughts were it could be wired into the NVR switch?
At least this would improve things?

 

[GRW]

Bad idea for a lathe, you'll be balancing on one leg all day with one foot on a pedal.

Estop with a brake is much more sensible

Thanks, I just saw that as I replied.

 

[Brad93]

You take your foot off the pedal, NVR switch goes out and lathe coast to a stop anyway.
Better to have a mechanical brake.

I don't know how much turning you've done but i seldom want to stand in front of the lathe for the full duration of the cut!

 

[GRW]

You take your foot off the pedal, NVR switch goes out and lathe coast to a stop anyway.
Better to have a mechanical brake.

I don't know how much turning you've done but i seldom want to stand in front of the lathe for the full duration of the cut!

None. I'm just trying to assist, bit I get what you're saying there.
I think this small lathe is used mainly for journal polishing, so the user would need to be there for the duration.... but absolutely I can see it being a PITA to be stuck with a foot in the shoe.
A mehanical brake sounds the thing yes, but sounds expensive.

Am I making any sense in saying that VFD's (though works has 3ph, & I know v little about those either) can give an electrical brake option? Is something like that viable?

 

[Brad93]

None. I'm just trying to assist, bit I get what you're saying there.
I think this small lathe is used mainly for journal polishing, so the user would need to be there for the duration.... but absolutely I can see it being a PITA to be stuck with a foot in the shoe.
A mehanical brake sounds the thing yes, but sounds expensive.

Am I making any sense in saying that VFD's (though works has 3ph, & I know v little about those either) can give an electrical brake option? Is something like that viable?

It is a viable option but cost to retrofit would be £300 for the inverter and braking resistor, plus wiring and control gear like switches. plus an engineer for the day £600 at least.
If the lathe doesn't already have safety interlocks, they will need to be added or any engineer will not do the work.

 

[Brad93]

I done a retrofit for a guy who bought a lathe from me, for personal use not a business so it didn't have any interlocks, and that cost him about £600 including my time and the inverter.

 

[Robotstar5]

I think the hope was to perhaps have a "Shoe" which needed the pedal depressing to enable operation (I've seen similar on big metal folding kit).
My thoughts were it could be wired into the NVR switch?
At least this would improve things?

The shoe type switch could be used, but it would need interfacing via a safety relay to monitor the contacts to stop an "enterprising" operator wedging something in the switch and continue just using the NVR buttons.

 

[pressbrake1]

Many later students & bantams fitted in schools & colleges had a foot operated safety brake across the front of the machine. It both cut the power & stopped the spindle rotating when stomped on.
Quite useful for the technician or lecturer when a moron student starts gawping at his phone with the saddle approaching the chuck.
If its an older machine without one i suspect its going to cost more than the machine is worth to retrofit, It means a spindle brake & linkages all linked to switchgear inside the cabinet.
Probably easier to buy a machine already kitted out.

Didn’t have phones when lathes were still used

 

[Keith 66]

We were still using lathes at Seevic & i was still using one at the school i worked. Since i left it hasnt been used at all.

 

[pressbrake1]

We were still using lathes at Seevic & i was still using one at the school i worked. Since i left it hasnt been used at all.

I suppose it depends upon the school . They were disconnected at my school in the mid eighties.
Perhaps if I’d tried it and realised it was absolute mind numbing misery I’d have never got involved in metalworking and ruined my life

Too the op..
If it’s just a polishing lathe how are you polishing?

 

[Screwdriver]

Where I've started work recently has one of these Colchester Students for small machining jobs - and the owner would like to improve its safety in the workshop by having a Foot Pedal.
Can anyone shed any light on options/ solution please?
(I know v little about lathes, so I'm just trying to pick the brains of the Hive Mind).
TIA, G.

The Colchester student already has an e-stop and friction brake. It is connected to the drive lever by a very simple mechanism and simple wiring. Pretty sure it would be super easy to make up a long e-stop bar at foot level. The chuck brake is engaged by pushing down harder on the stop lever. It's a mechanical brake.

I would hesitate to encourage the use of a foot operated start-run system. I don't see how that is in any way compatible with lathe operations.

 

[brightspark]

fit one of these to the floor or on the front of lathe either stop it with your hand or stand on it with foot to kill the machine ive just wired 10 machines up with them at a school dt room i do work for . fitted on 2 band saws a pillar drill a wood lathe metal lathe disk sander and some scroll saws . apart fro every machine having the safety switches and nvr theres 5 safety stops on the walls round the room that kills all the circuit incVat=1&sitetype=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping feed&utm_content=surfaces across google&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhLSGlK39iQMVF5xQBh1soS_pEAQYAiABEgLiIvD_BwE

 

[GRW]

The Colchester student already has an e-stop and friction brake. It is connected to the drive lever by a very simple mechanism and simple wiring. Pretty sure it would be super easy to make up a long e-stop bar at foot level. The chuck brake is engaged by pushing down harder on the stop lever. It's a mechanical brake.

I would hesitate to encourage the use of a foot operated start-run system. I don't see how that is in any way compatible with lathe operations.

That's very useful to know! I didn't! I'll check to see if the owner knows about the friction brake.... I'm not sure he does!

 

[GRW]

I suppose it depends upon the school . They were disconnected at my school in the mid eighties.
Perhaps if I’d tried it and realised it was absolute mind numbing misery I’d have never got involved in metalworking and ruined my life

Too the op..
If it’s just a polishing lathe how are you polishing?

Honestly I don't know yet! It's been so busy learning the new job while doing the job.... there's been no time to observe & find out!
I do know there's emery tape involved with doing the cam/crank journal polishing, but no more than that (simply cos there's been discussions about chuck guarding and a gadget off the tool post for holding the emery tape that I heard)

 

[pressbrake1]

If it’s a polishing lathe it comes under a very grey area unless hands are completely out of the danger zone