Step 3 – Live Spindle-to-Bed
Alignment Screen
Click Move in Step 3 to open the
Spindle-to-Bed alignment screen,
showing a live display of the
vertical and horizontal
parallelism (angular) values
relative to the lathe's machine
ways or bed. The data can be
shown relative to the tailstock
bed, saddle bed or an average of
both.
Lathe9 automatically calculates
the shim values to align the
headstock spindle to the tailstock
or saddle beds and on-screen
graphics and display values
update continuously as the shim
is added. The shims are color-
coded and when they turn green,
the alignment is complete. Click
Close to return to Step 3 to retake
the data and confirm the
alignment.
Step 4 – Lathe Bed Straightness
Results
To view the Lathe-Bed Straightness
results, click Next and Lathe9
displays a graph of the Vertical and
Horizontal straightness results for
the lathe's bed. A summary shows:
•The overall Vertical and
Horizontal Straightness TIR for
the tailstock rails and for the
saddle rails (if the saddle has
separate rails) and if the data is
in or out of tolerance.
•Parallelism of the headstock
spindle to the tailstock bed
(rails) and if in or out of
tolerance.
•Parallelism of the headstock
spindle to the saddle (if
separate from tailstock bed)
rails and if in or out of
tolerance.
The straightness data can be plotted
for the tailstock rails, saddle rails or
both. The plot can use the Best-Fit
line as the reference or the laser
beam. The graph also shows
tolerance bands, the Best-Fit line, or
pitch and yaw data for each point.
