The critical alignment of a lathe or other turning-type machine is the axis of rotation of the spindle to the tailstock, sub-spindle, turret or tool holder. Conventional methods are very cumbersome and time consuming and are practically useless on large lathes. The L-700 Spindle Alignment System vastly simplifies the task by putting the laser right into the spindle chuck. The laser is aligned to the spindle axis of rotation and is projected out to 100 feet (30.5 M). This becomes the reference from which the ways, tool holders and tailstocks can be measured and aligned.

Laser Setup

The setup and use of an L-700 is relatively easy and begins by "qualifying" the laser beam or making it parallel and colinear to the axis of rotation of the spindle. The laser is inserted into the spindle and a 4-axis target is placed in the tailstock, sub-spindle, tool holder or in a fixture. The target is connected to a computer and the NORMIN procedure is followed to center the laser beam on the axis of rotation.

Headstock/Tailstock & Bed Way Alignment

Once the laser is qualified, the resultant readings (set points) are the actual angular and center misalignment measurements of the headstock to the tailstock, or the spindle to the sub-spindle. At this point, the headstock, tailstock or sub-spindle can be aligned using the software as a 4-axis live indicator.

Once the headstock/tailstock or spindle/sub-spindle misalignment has been corrected, the bed-straightness data can be taken. The target is traversed along the ways in either the tailstock or tool holder, depending on preference and fixturing. Readings for horizontal and vertical straightness (and pitch and yaw if needed) are taken by using our 4-axis target, the T-261A.

Cross-Slide Squareness

Squareness of the cross slide can be easily checked by setting up a remote optical square (P-405). The optical square is put on a target stand and adjusted, using a 4-axis target, until it is exactly perpendicular to the input beam from the laser in the spindle. The optical square has an automatically rotating head that sweeps a laser plane that is perpendicular to the input beam. A single-axis target is placed on the cross slide and zeroed in the closest position to the spindle centerline. It is then traversed along its axis, and any deviation from zero is a squareness error. The straightness of the cross slide travel is also checked at the same time.