Mini CNC Lathe Overview

A mini CNC lathe is generally converted from a regular lathe when a hobbyist wants to experience a machine that can do twice the work they can do manually. Usually these are small machines that have a lot of power but that can sit on a desktop or workbench in the home.

The CNC mini lathe is a good choice for people who want to experiment with what these machines will do, inventors or for people who specialize in making models. The CNC mini lathes are good for metalworking in general and for making small parts that need to be made with precision. Generally speaking the individual starts with a mini-lathe that they buy and then convert it to do CNC.

Most mini-lathes are a smaller version of those used in commercial shops but they can be a different design than those that are made strictly for working with wood. The mini-lathe is able to shape plastics, woods and other materials. A nice feature of these is that manufacturers are continuously developing new features so it has become easier to convert them to CNC over the years.

Mini lathes usually come in three sizes: 7x10, 7x12 and 7x14. Each one is measured by the length that length of the swing as it goes over the bed of the lathe. Today you can also find 9x models. The conversion of a general mini-lathe to include CNC has many benefits.

Many plans that you can find on the Internet will allow both manual and CNC abilities in the conversion because there are times when an individual is working with the machine that they may elect to do some processes by hand. At other times they may want to use CNC capabilities to produce repetitive pieces or ones that require a lot of time manually.

Converting to CNC also allows you to be able to produce both 2D and 3D contours which are unavailable when you are only working a lathe by hand. All you have to do is program the computer to create the part you need. You can use wood plastic or metal to make a mold and using the CNC portion you can produce a mold that you can use as many times as you want because it creates a perfect mold. You can do multiple holes drilling by creating the diameter of the whole and then programming it into the computer; from that point the CNC lathe does the work.

When converting to CNC it will generally take one or two weekends to finish the conversion; however plans will vary depending on what you want your CNC mini-lathe to do. You can usually buy plans that include pictures and step-by-step directions for around $50.

To convert to CNC you will need to understand either CAD or CAM software because currently these are the types of software that is used in the CNC mini-lathe machines. Usually you can control the lathe right from your PC because the software is created to run in that way. Generally it seems that you can make this conversion for under $2000.

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