Steady Rest principles.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by Neil Lickfold on 31/01/2023 05:25:05:

…..

The advantages of cast iron is quite easy to cut when making things from it, and is a lot more rigid than cast ali or mild steel……..

Cast iron is stiffer than ali, but in tension it's less stiff than steel. Exact values for CI depend on the mix see this.

Main advantage of CI for machine tools is damping, but castings tend to be eaevy, so more material, so even tho the material has lower Young's modulus, the component is stiffer (because there is more of it)

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I've 3D printed a custom steady before now, fitted three ball races onto spigots. I put a ring of insulation tape on the work to stop it being marked. It worked very well.

Neil

[ChrisLHParticipant @chrislh]

ega I used Delrin for the pads because I had some. The choice is unlikely to be critical for occasional use. The ali I used is only about 0.090 thick again because I had some and I wasn't planning mamoth cuts. In any case loads are largely up in which direction quite a lot of material is in direct tension leading to small deflections if used gently.

[egaParticipant @ega]

Posted by ChrisLH on 01/02/2023 13:51:40:

ega I used Delrin for the pads because I had some. The choice is unlikely to be critical for occasional use. The ali I used is only about 0.090 thick again because I had some and I wasn't planning mamoth cuts. In any case loads are largely up in which direction quite a lot of material is in direct tension leading to small deflections if used gently.

Thank you – Delrin sounds like a good choice.

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