Dividing Head

[Alan .204Participant @alan-204]

Could some one tell me what's the difference between a universal dividing head and a standard dividing head, also is it better to have a dividing head or a rotary table, I know this will have been asked before so sorry to be a PITA

What would you advise as a good one to buy if I wanted to get one.

Regards Alan.

[Alan .204Participant @alan-204]

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

No definative descripton because the manufacturers insist on calling them different names.

Universal dividing head 'should' have an drive shaft on the head that can drive the input shaft where the division plates fit.

The idea of this is so that the table can be geared to the head so it can do helical indexing.

It can also be fitted with a stand alone gear setup so that as the input shaft is turned it can turn the index plates so they finish up in a different position. This allows you to do what is known as differential indexing where you can do prime numbers that the plates on their own, cannot do.

Plain dividing head is the type that just has the index plates.

Very hard choice whether to have a rotary table or dividing head, both do much of what the other does but both lack all the features of both.

Many people start off with a horizontal / vertical rotary table with the optional index plate set. That will do everything a plain dividing head will do except tilting to do angular work but in some cases what can't be done on the top of the work can be done on the side

[magpieParticipant @magpie]

Thanks for that John, i often wondered what the diffrence was between the standard and universal heads. Just curiosity as i ca'nt afford either.

Cheers Derek.

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

I have been considering getting either a small dividing head or rotary table.

One of the options that I think will give the best of both worlds is to purchase a rotary table that comes with or can easily be fitted with a stepper motor, such as for example one of these from Sherline or ArcEurotrade although neither are particularly cheap.

Adding a digital controller such as the DivisionMaster or one of the other designs found on the web will then add a comprehensive dividing capability without resorting to counting holes.

Clive

 

 

Edited By clivel on 10/02/2013 02:49:08

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

One could always build a dividing head if funds are tight and Harold Hall has described one that is relatively easy to build and can be upgraded as needed .

I don't see the universal dividing head with the gear train getting a lot of use in model engineering but one never knows what bizzar project will pop its head up next !

Ian

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Re rotary tables, I used to have a Vertex one [200 mm] t was probably me but I never got on with it. It had quite a bit of play in the drive and although the bore was true running and everything was flat and square I decided to purchase a Bison 250mm rotary table and the difference was quickly noticed. [but so was the price, and the weight] . I would suspect that there are loads of model engineers out there that have Vertex ones and find them very good , they are one of the more respected far eastern brands. Like I said it was "probably me" but I never took to it. The Bison one is very ,very rigid probably more so than my Chester Lux mill , and very accurate,

Regards, Raymond.

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

You can get a kit of ccastings to make both rotary tables and dividing heads from Hemmingway Kits

I made a rotary table, which when used vetically on my Myford the centres of the table and the lathe are in line I find this very useful

I have no connection with Hemmingways only a satisfied customer

Roy

[Anonymous]

I would expect a universal dividing head to also be able to tilt, for operations like cam milling, and have provision for a gear train to drive the spindle directly for low lead spiral milling.

Although I have a universal dividing head, when I needed to cut spur gears with numbers of teeth that couldn't be done with the standard division plates I found it easier to make a special division plate, rather than set up the gear train for differential indexing.

Regards,

Andrew

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Differential indexing is an art, probably a lost art and thank #~'k for that.

To do it correctly requires 5 nights of deep study, a 9 day diet where no horsemeat is eaten [ hard these days isn't it ? ] and then on the day in question disconnect the phone, gag the missus and disappear into a locked shed and do 5 dry runs before you get distracted and mess the job up on the genuine final 6th run.

Or like Clive says and buy a Division master or similar.

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

The meaning of the term ' Universal ' has always been a bit iffy in the history of machinery . Just take the example of the ' Universal ' miller – at least three definitions :

With horizontal and vertical capability .

With table which can be set ( in horizontal plane ) at an angle .

With facilities to couple to dividing heads for spiral milling as mentioned above .

Michael Williams .

[colin hawesParticipant @colinhawes85982]

I was lucky enough to inherit a Vertex universal dividing head manufactured around 1996. If anybody else has one watch out for an error on the Vertex dividing tables (chart) supplied. The 24 teeth division table is wrong. I have not yet gone through the others but it's probably an unnoticed printers error. I'm glad I noticed it before I cut my gearwheel although the error is pretty obvious. Colin

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

With my rotary table which has a thimble marked in deg,Min. it is quite difficult to set Sec. in between the 20min scale divisions.

Apart from a Division master is there an easy way of setting the deg/min/sec readings? As at the moment it is just guestimation.

I wish I could fit one of those decimal readers that I had when I was in the Army, they were fitted to Dial sights on the guns and were able to be read to seconds.

Never seen one since.

Clive

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Clive,

Two possibilities spring to mind

1. Add a decent size Vernier Scale
2. Add a secondary Worm Gear, as per GHT's Dividing Head

MichaelG.

[Author]

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