Mechanical-Engineering Based

Design of the Transporter:

Device Geometry, Drive Systems, Power Requirements, Friction Coefficients

R. S. Shaefer
MAE-162D
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department
University of California Los Angeles
Winter 2014

TOPICS
Machine-shop Training
Project Updates
Teams
Design Concept Report
Conceptual Design Decisions
Vehicle Climbing a Ramp
Wheel Friction Coefficients
Motor Power Requirements
Gear Ratio, Battery Life
1/15/2014

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

Machine-shop Training

Project Updates

1/16/2014

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

Project Updates
Instead of 5 billiard balls ONLY ONE will be placed in the starting platform.
Teams have to find and move only one randomly placed billiard ball and
transport and deliver it to the collection bin and return to the platform (1
roundtrip).

With only one single ball to be transported, the dimensions of the starting
platform might not be increased from the current 24 x 24 inches (final
dimensions will be announced by the next lecture).

$350 will be deducted from your teams budget if the

IO controller board is damaged (fried).

Water jet use has to be OKd by the TAs or Instructors. In addition $2.50 per
minute will be charged for water jet usage.

Use of On/off switch:

If a transporter can achieve automated start/stop, without using the on/off switch
more than once during the entire trial, the total number of balls delivered will be
adjusted up by 15%.

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MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

TEAMS
Formed based on Student Survey

1/16/2014

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

MAE-162D/E Team Roster (01/16/14)

Group 2

Group 3

Chinn, James

Ahn, Min Sung

Ahn, Christopher

Dashti, Parisa

Hruska, Dylan

Godina, Everardo

Petersen, Daniel

Padula, Andrew

Liu, Hsuan-Chen

Ruff, Carlton

Provinchain, Adam

Pourati, Pouyan

Wong, Brian

Wong, Tsz

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Barnett, Kaleen

Apelacio, John Carlo

Chen, Joshua

Kampouridis, Christos

Brett, Bowers

Chow, Kevin

Lee, Jong Hak

Calderon, Daniel

Johnston, Timothy

Sakamoto, Ryan

Garg Archit

Okano, Jillian

Zhang, Yuheng

Yang, Brandon

Ruiz, Hector

Group 7

Group 8

Datta, Sanjeev

Dissanayake, Ravisha

Matsunami, Kameron

Jimenez, Marlon

Rechnitz, Jared

Knox, Allison

Voyen, Nicole

Lloyd, James

Yagi, Yuki

Stromlund, Adam
MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

Tuesday

1/15/2014

Group 1

Group 10

Group 11

Chan, Brandon

Chiu, Caspar

Hsu, Jonathan

Hee, Bryan

Downey, Brian

Phan, Tri

Kitchener, Bryan

Huang, Wen-Chieh

Sarabian, Chareena

Law, Jonathan

Meirovitch, Daniel

Sundin, Stephen

Stern, Brian

Shafer, Melissa

Vasko, David

Tran, Nina

Group 13

Group 14

Group 12

Edstrom, Mark

Jones, Luke

Delgado, Kristine

Le, Dai

Lee, Thomas

Flynn, Michael

Liu, Kevin

McKittrick, Michael

Gloutak, Dasha

Tate, Austin

Neff, Samuel

Hollins, Asya

Winters, Zachary

Warwick, Mark

Song, James

Group 15

Group 16

Kinoshita, Alan

Chung, Boris

Lam, Betty

Coleman, Matthew

Lee, Joseph

Dimapasoc, Brando

Levin, Cole

Holden, Emily

Sun, Daniel

Kurihara, Matthew

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MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

Wednesday

Group 9 (No Downeys)

Group 18

Group 19

Chatterjee, Shinjan

Garcia, Aurora

Hakobyan, Vardan

Hsu, Eric

Nishioka, Crystal

Pajuelo Lopez, Paulo

Ricciardelli, Albert

Tang, Yang

Partusch, Vincent

Shin, Seung Ryul

Wood, Kevin

Ramirez, Ricardo

Suh, Jungwoo

Yamayoshi, Itsui

Tang, Emily

Group 20

Group 21

August-Schmidt, Alex

Cooper, Andwele

Hwang, Jae Woong

Cooper, Cody

Kwak, Wooyoung

Moore, Danielle

Wong, Jameson

Saad, Hassan

Friday

Group 17

Sheu, Oliver

1/15/2014

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

Team Structure
Establish who will be :
o Project Manager, Mechatronics Engineer, Systems
Engineer and Cognizant Engineer

Upload an excel spreadsheet with the following structure by

next lecture:
Team #
Project Manager
Mechatronics Engr.
Systems Engr.
Cognizant Engr.
Cognizant Engr.
Cognizant Engr.

Name
Name
Name
Name
Name
Name

email address
email address
email address
email address
email address
email address

(template has been uploaded to courseweb)

Name the excel spreadsheet: Team-YOUR#-Structure.xlsx

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

Conceptual Design Report

(due next Friday, Jan. 24, 2014)

1/16/2014

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

10

Conceptual Design Outline

Report Word-2013 template has been uploaded to courseweb

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

11

Examples of Concept Sketches

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12

Examples of Acceptable Hand-sketches

MAE-94 Fall 2013

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13

Developing Design Concepts

Meet at least two times between now and next Friday and establish
team structure

At this stage you are developing the mechanical portion of your project (the
control and feedback will come later)

Therefore, assume your device has found the ball and you are only
concerned with designing a product that will deliver the ball to the drop-off bin.

Also, do not be concerned about how you will find the entrance to the ramp.

However, you need to think about how the device will:

change directions,
initiate the move up the ramp,
turns the ramp corners (mechanical aspect only),
stops in the unloading platform, and
releases the ball into the bin.

MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

14

Design Process
Need

Conceptual
Design
Preliminary
Design

Detailed Design
Product
Specifications

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15

Lecture TOPICS

Mechanical Engineering Based Design :

1. Design Concept Overall Geometry ?
2. Drive System for a Vehicle Climbing
a Ramp ?
3. Wheel Friction Coefficients ?
4. Motor Power Requirements ?
5. Gear Ratio, Battery Life ?

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16

Maximize speed of delivery

Limitations: 5 min
Budget: $350

Length ?
Width ?
Height ?
Wheelbase & Track ?

Need to establish
necessary traction
force (friction
coefficient)

Wheel size &

Material?
Need to know
required power:
to get the
right motor

Want to supply sufficient traction force

at minimum required power
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17

Conceptual Design Decisions

For the conceptual design a number of primary design

parameters have to be established:

Overall device dimensions (height, length, width)

Cargo delivery system (mechanism)
Speed and load capacity (device + cargo) (time per run)
Drive system (AWD, FWD, RWD)
Wheel size (diameter)

Wheel position (track & wheel base)

Wheel material (necessary friction to climb)
Motor Power minimum requirements (speed and # of runs)
Gear Ratio (speed/power)

Choice of design parameters must be based on

engineering fundamentals (todays lecture)
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18

Vehicle Climbing an Incline Plane

Examine the physics behind wheeled vehicles climbing
slopes for:
Front Wheel Drive (FWD)
Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)
Four Wheel Drive (AWD)
Step (over an obstacle)

Questions:

http://hpwizard.com/carperformance.html

What is the minimum wheel/surface friction coefficient necessary

to avoid slipping, what is the tip-over angle?
What is the minimum Tractional Force necessary to climb?
What is the appropriate drive system: FWD, RWD, or AWD?
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19

Vehicle Driving Up a Slope

L
LC
FW
RW

hc

Ftf

Ftr

Fm

Nf

Nr
Fm = gravitational force on the machine L = distance between FW and RW
Nf = normal force of both front wheels Lc = distance between RW & center of mass
Nr = normal force of both rear wheels hc = height of the center of mass
Ftf = Nf
Ftr = Nr

Tractional force of both FWs, caused by static friction

Tractional force of both RWs, caused by static friction

= coefficient of friction, q = angle of incline plane

20

Front and Rear Wheel Tractive Forces (Ftf, Ftr)

Using Free Body Diagram:

Fy 0 : N r N f Fm cos q 0
M r 0 : Fm h sin q N f L Fm LC cos q 0
Fm LC cos q Fm h sin q
Nf
L
Fm ( L LC ) cos q Fm h sin q
Nr
L
R ear and Front Tractive Forces :
Ftr N r
Ftf N f
21

What happens when Nf zero ?

L
LC
FW
RW

hc
y

Ftf

Ftr

Fm

Nf 0
Nf

Nr

22

Tip-over Angle
Tip-over angle when Nf = 0: q = qmax and maximum COM* height h = hmax

Fm LC cos q Fm hc sin q
Nf 0:
0
L
LC
hmax
tan q
tan qmax = Lc / hmax
When designing your transporter the location of the center of gravity of
your system has to be established for the Preliminary Design Report):
use SolidWorks to establish the coordinates of the center of gravity of your
device assign correct materials and include the cargo

Ramp angles are set

the COM (hc, Lc) and L of your transporter can be optimized.
Write a simple program or use an excel spread-sheet to modify
dimensions to optimize dimensions of your design
*COM Center of Mass

23

Required Friction Coefficient for AWD, FWD, RWD

Fx 0 : N r N f Fm sin q 0
Fx 0 : r N r f N f Fm sin q 0

FWD set f =1 and r =0

RWD set f =0 and r =1
AWD set f =1 and r =1

Fy 0 : N r N f Fm cos q 0
M r 0 : Fm h sin q N f L Fm LC cos q 0
Fm LC cos q Fm h sin q
Nf
L
Fm ( L LC ) cos q Fm h sin q
Nr
L
L sin q

( r f )( h sin q LC cos q ) r L cos q

Tractive Forces : FTf N f ; FTr N r
Tipping angle :

1 LC
q tan

Required friction
coefficient based on
DRIVE SYSTEM &
Device dimensions

24

COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION
FOR
AWD, FWD, & RWD

Required Tractive Forces

L
LC
FW
RW

hc

FTf

FTr
Fm
Nf

Nr
FTf = Nf
FTr = Nr

Tractional force of both FWs

Tractional force of both RWs

What is the minimum required (= ?)

for a given transporter drive system and ramp slope q
26

Estimate Required Wheel Coefficient of Friction

The necessary static coefficient of friction ()

depends on powering mode:
Four Wheel Drive

4WD

Front Wheel Drive

FWD

Rear Wheel Drive

RWD

4 Wheel Drive

4WD

Ftr Ftf Fm sin q

N r 4WD N f 4WD Fm sin q

(slide 24)

4WD tan q

Minimize required coefficient of friction depends only on angle?

Decrease by decreasing the incline (cant ramp slope is set !)

27

Estimating Necessary Coefficient of Friction

Front Wheel Drive

FWD

N f FWD Fm sin q
FWD

1
LC
h

L tan q L

How can the required coefficient of friction be minimized?

Move the center of gravity forward

Shorten the wheelbase (L)

Lower the height of the center of gravity (hc)

28

Estimating Necessary Coefficient of Friction

Rear Wheel Drive

RWD

N r RWD Fm sin q
RWD

L LC h

L tan q L

What can be modified to allow for a lower coefficient of friction?

Move the center of gravity towards the RWs (reduce Lc)

Increase the wheelbase (L)

Raise the height (hc) of the center of gravity

29

Required Coefficient of Friction

Depending on drive-system (FWD or RWD) the
required wheel friction coefficient can be
minimized by adjusting device geometry:
4WD
FWD

RWD

Lc

hc

NA

NA

NA

Tractive Forces :
FTf N f
FTr N r

L
Tipping : q tan 1 C
h
30

Required Coefficient of Friction

The distance of the Center of Gravity from the rear
wheels can be chosen such that either RWD and FWD
will require the same minimum coefficient of friction.
For equal FWD and RWD minimum coefficient of
frictions we can solve for LC-F/RWD :

FWD RWD
L
LC F / RWD h tan q
2
Positioning the Center of Gravity at LC-F/RWD provides
design flexibility
31

Determining Optimum Drive System

Example:
Given device dimensions L, h, and slope What would be the best drive
system: FWD, RWD, or AWD
Investigate the impact of the distance of the CG from the rear wheels
(Lc).
Dimensions are as follows:

Wheel base (L)

Height of CG (h)
Angle (theta)

12 inch
7 inch
10o

On the next slide we compare the friction coefficients for FWD,

RWD, and AWD

32

Minimum Required Friction Coeff.

The graph shows that the required friction coefficients -FWD and

-RWD are

equal for an Lc-F/RWD = 7.234 inches from the rear wheels:

Device Dims.:
L = 12 inch
h = 7 inch
q = 10o

The lowest required minimum coeff. of friction is for AWD (which would require the
smallest tractive force (FT) to drive the vehicle up the slope). However the
additional weight, complexity, and cost of an AWD system has to be considered.
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33

For the Preliminary Design Decide on the Best Drive System

1. First, measure the coefficient of
friction (Slide #19) between your
wheel and the sloped surface:
-Wheel
2. Next, determine the coefficient of
frictions between your vehicle and
the slope for the drive systems:
FWD, RWD, AWD
Compare the friction coefficients for FWD, RWD, and
AWD and pick the smallest one, which requires the least
amount of power to drive the vehicle up the slope.
Finally, compare the estimated required minimum coefficient of
friction with your measured wheel/surface coefficient (-Wheel) to
guarantee that the vehicle will not skid backwards.

1/15/2014

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34

MEASURING COEFFICIENT OF
FRICTION

Measure Wheel Coefficient of Friction

Coefficient of Friction:

N Fm cos q Fm sin q
tan q

h
L2 h 2

Perform a simple inclined plane test

Use hypotenuse length ~ 50 cm
Raise end of ramp until test car slips
Measure h and calculate

Wheel surface
Plain
Knurled
Sandpaper covered

Coefficient of friction
Plywood
along grain across grain
0.45
0.47
0.47
0.48
0.91

0.92
36

Fraction of Weight on Front/Rear Wheels on an Incline

Dividing the normal forces on the wheels (slide 26)
by the total weight gives fractional distribution of
weight (r,f) :

Fm LC cos q Fm h sin q
Nf
L
N f LC cos q h sin q

f
L
Fm
Fm ( L LC ) cos q Fm h sin q
Nr
L
N r ( L LC ) cos q h sin q

r
L
Fm

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37

Measure Wheel Coefficient of Friction

Assuming you have decided the following for your concept:
4-wheel drive, 2-wheel rear, or 2-wheel front drive
Maximum size of the device
Amount of rice per run
Approximate time to deliver the load
You have estimated the minimum coefficient of friction required to go
up the plywood ramp

You can now try different materials and see if they will provide the
necessary coefficient of friction
You can approximate the overall dimension and coordinates of the
center of gravity
And you can now estimated the required total power/torque necessary
to deliver the load
And therefore you can start looking at motors, and decide how many
motors you should use.
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38

POWER TO MOVE A VEHICLE

Required Power to Move a Vehicle & Minimum min

For a machine of mass m to move a distance x under constant
acceleration a in time t:

at 2
x
2

v at

F ma

F v

efficiency

Solving for the power consumed in terms of m, x, and t: :

2x
a 2
t

2x
v
t

2 xm
F 2
t

4mx 2

efficiency t 3

If the percent weight of the vehicle over the drive wheels is , then the
minimum coefficient of friction between the drive wheels and the ground is:

F N F ( mg )

min

mg

Create an excel spread-sheet to calculate a (m/s2), F (N), min, vmax, P (Watts)

40

Excel Spread-sheet to calculate a(m/s2), F(N), min, vmax, P (W)

Power Required to Move
To estimate the power to move a mass m a distance x with constant
Enters numbers in BOLD, Results in RED
Distance to move, x (m)
Desired move time, t (sec)
Mass, m (kg)
Estimated system efficiency, eta
% vehicle weight over drive wheels, beta
Power per motor, wm (Watts)
Acceleration required, a (m/s^2, g's)
Force required, F (N)
Min. coeff. of friction drive wheels to ground, mu_min
Maximum velocity (at end of move), v (m/s)
Power required, P (Watts)
Motors required

at 2
x
2

v at

F ma

F v

efficiency

2x
a 2
t

F N F ( mg )

2x
v
t

min

F
mg

2.0 m
3.0 s
3.0 kg
50% -50% -2.0 W
0.44 m/s 2 0.05 g's
1.33 N
0.09 -1.33 m/s
3.56 W
2 --

2 xm
F 2
t

4mx 2

efficiency t 3
41

Example: Choosing a Go-Kart Motor

The challenge:
Build a Go-Kart that goes up a 30o hill at 4 mph
(m = 90 lb, wheel diameter is 10 inch).
You are given a 9 amp-hour battery to power the Go-Kart.

For the motor you have two options :

Motor-1: Electric motor, which draws about 20 A to produce
1 Hp with a torque of 60 N-m at 150 rpm. The motor
costs $167.99.
Motor-2: Electric motor that puts out 0.4 Hp at 2500 rpm
drawing ~ 5 A. The motor costs $37.59.

Which motor will you choose and why?

42

Required Motor Power

Given:
Electric Motor:
Hill Slope:

0.4 Hp at 2500 rpm

30o

Design Requirements:
Max speed
Wheel diameter
Total Mass

4 mph (up a hill of 30o)

10 in
90 lb

Approach:
First determine the necessary POWER needed to move the
Go-kart up the hill.
Next, determine the gear ratio to achieve the necessary torque at
the wheels.
43

Estimating Required Power

Force to move the Go-kart :

Freq:
FW :
Ff :
Frol:
FInertia:

Freq FInertia FW Ff Frol

total required force

vertical component of weight
friction force
rolling force
overcome inertia (assume v = 0.25 m/s in 1 s ainertia =0.25 m/s2)

Estimated the required force using:

f = 0.35
rol = 0.015
Required Power:
v is steady state velocity
(vtan = r w; w in rad/s))

Freq maInertia mg sin q

f rol mg cos q

337.00 N

Preq Freq v
337.00 N 1.79 m/s
602.56 W

44

Estimate Required Torque for Go-Kart & Motor

Torque Power Relation:
P is the motor power

w is the angular velocity

Motor produces 0.4 Hp

at 2500 rpm*:

Pm Tmwm Tm

Pm

wm

Tm 1.15 N m

For a 5 inch radius

v 1.79m / s
wheel at 4 mph*: w r 0.13m 14.08 rad / s 134.45 rpm
Necessary torque to
Preq
602.56 W

42.80 N m
drive the cart at 4 mph: Treq
w 14.08 rad / s

*Note that the units actually come out as 1/s (Hz);

however, radians are a suppressed unit
with regards to angular velocity
so we write (rad)/s
1 rad/s = (2/60) rpm

Treq

Tm

45

Determine the Gear Ratio and Battery Lifetime

TMotor is less than TRequired

Tm 1.14 N m

Treq 42.80 N m

Requires gearing determine gear ratio (GR):

46

Determine the Gear Ratio and Battery Lifetime

Tmotor is less than Trequired

Tm 1.14 N m
Gear ratio:

Treq 42.80 N m

Treq

42.80
GR

37.56
Tm
1.14
Use a gear ratio of 40

Battery Lifetime: Motor currents are rated at 5 A and 20 A each:

Motor 1
time

9 amp hour
Motor 2

1hr 48 min ; Btime

27 min
5 amp

47

MOTOR SPEED, POWER, AND

TORQUE

Stall Torque and No-Load Speed

Assuming steady state and no slippage between wheel
and ground:
Torque (T):

T F r
if r is not

(1)

T F r sinq

(2)

Stall Torque (ts):

The minimum torque needed to completely stop the motor

shaft from rotating (stalling the motor). Units are ft-lbs or Nm.

No-Load Speed (wn):

The rotational speed of the motor shaft when there is NO

torque being applied to it. Units are RPM or rad/s

49

Motor Torque Speed and Power TRADEOFF

Using eq. 1 we can define the following :
Ts
T Ts w
wn
or in terms of w :
wn
w (Ts T )
Ts

(3)

r
F

(4)

The plot of eq. 3 or 4 is called

a torque-speed curve.

Example:
A motor has
a no-load speed of 95 RPM
and a stall-Torque of 0.6 Nm:

Stall Torque ts )

no-load Speed (wn)

50

Torque -Speed Curves

If we know the torque applied to the motor shaft we can
find how fast the motor will rotate.
Or if we know how fast we want the motor to spin, we
can find how much torque should be applied.

Pm Tmwm

Stall Torque

Low Power

Max Power

no-load Speed

Low Power

Tm

Pm

wm

Motor Specs.
often list
no-load Speed
51

Motor Power
Recall:

P Tw

(5)

T Ts

Ts
w
wn

w (Ts T )

wn
Ts

(3)
(4)

If we multiply eq. 3 by w or eq. 4 by T we get power as

a functions of either torque or velocity:

Ts 2
P(w ) w Ts w
wn

wn 2
P(T ) T wnT
Ts

(6)
(7)

These quadratic equations are shown on the next slide:

52

Motor Power as functions of w orT :

There is a maximum power for a given range of speed and torque.

For optimum performance, the motor should be operating at torque and
speed corresponding to the maximum power.
The optimum torque and speed are at about half Ts and wn respectively.
The maximum power available is (Ts wn )/4

53

Maximum Velocity and Torque

If k (speed-torque slope) is known then relate torque,
power, and velocity:

t kw t max
t max
k
wmax
P t w kw 2 t maxw
P
0 2kw t max
w
wmax
ts
wP max
; t P max
2
2
54

Motor Power
Given: tmax= 9 N-mm, wmax= 14000 rpm, tw slope (k) = - 0.006
the motor torque and power for w-increments of 200 rpm are:

3.5
3.0

8
7

2.5

2.0

5
4

1.5

1.0

Note: max
power is not
at maximum
torque or
speed

Power (Watts)

Torque (N-mm)
Power (Watts)

10

Torque (N-mm)

0.5

1
0
0

2000

4000

6000

0.0
8000 10000 12000 14000

Motor Speed (rpm)

55

Concept Design Procedure

After you have made the following concept design decisions:
Drive system (4-wheel, 2-wheel rear, or 2-wheel front)
Maximum size of the device (height, length, width)
Cargo weight per run (dont forget weight of the transporter)
Approximate time to deliver a billiard ball (tmax = 2 4 min ?)

You can now refine your conceptual design based on the following
mechanical engineering fundamentals:
1. Estimate the minimum coefficient of friction (m) required to climb the
plywood ramp
2. Establish candidate wheel materials provide the necessary m
3. Establish the overall dimension of your device and coordinates of the
center of gravity (L, LC, h)
4. Estimate the required power/torque necessary to deliver the load
5. Research motors, and decide what motor and/or how many you
should use including gearing requirements (use plot torque-speed
curves to estimate maximum torque and RPMs)
6. Approximate battery power consumption (more on this next lecture)

56

Background Slides

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Need for Standards: Inch Converter (Mid 19th Century)

Hamburgh - Inch divided into 8 parts. 1 inch 23.2 mm

Portuguese - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 27.0 mm
Austrian - Inch divided into 8 parts. 1 inch 25.8 mm
Moscow - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 27.7 mm
Itallian - Inch divided into 8 parts. 1 inch 28.3 mm
Russian - Vershok divided into 8 parts. 1 vershok 44.1 mm
Bremen - Inch divided into 10 parts. 1 inch 23.7 mm
Amsterdam - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 23.5 mm
Swedish - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 24.3 mm
Rhynland - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 26.1 mm
Turkish - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 31.3 mm
French - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 27.0 mm
Bavarian - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 24.0 mm
Fr. Metre - Centimetres divided into Millimetres.
Spanish - Inch divided into 12 parts. 1 inch 23.0 mm
English - Inch divided into 32 parts. 1 inch 25.3 mm
MAE-162D R. S. Shaefer, W14

58

The parts of a mill and what they do (1/5)

Parts of a mill and what they do.
Variable Speed Control KnobControls motor speed from 0 to
2800 RPM
HeadstockContains the spindle in two preloaded ball bearings.
SpindleThe spindle is inside the headstock and is driven with a
belt running from the motor pulley to a pulley on the rear end of the
spindle shaft. The nose of the spindle is treaded on the outside to
receive chucks and tapered on the inside to receive other
accessories.
Drill ChuckUsed to hold drill bits for drilling holes. (Not to be
used to hold end mills!)
Mill TableParts are fixed to the table using a vise, chuck or
clamps and moved under the milling cutter using the X- and Y-axis
handwheels.
Mill SaddleThe mill saddle slides in and out (Y-axis) on the mill
base. The mill table moves left and right (X-axis) on top of the
saddle.

The parts of a mill and what they do (2/5)

Headstock SaddleThe saddle on the vertical column that moves the
headstock (Z-Axis) up and down by means of a leadscrew and handwheel.
Mill ColumnThe steel dovetailed column that is held to the mill column
base and supports the Z-axis saddle and headstock.
LeadscrewThe threaded screws that move the table left/right and in/out
as well as the vertical axis up and down. They are driven by handwheels
marked in .001" or .01 mm increments.
Leadscrew Locking LeverLocated on the back side of the vertical
column, this locking lever locks against the saddle nut to prevent unwanted
movement of the Z-axis during machining operations. Manual machines are
fitted with a standard on/off locking lever. CNC machines are fitted with an
adjustable locking lever that can be used to control backlash in the Z-axis.
This function is available as an option on any manual mill as well. (P/N
4017U inch or 4117U metric)
GibsTapered plastic gibs are used on each dovetailed axis to take up
wear as it occurs. They are slightly wedge shaped. As side-to-side "slop"
develops on an axis, the gib lock is loosened and the gib is pushed a little
further into the gap, taking up the play. These allow the machine to always
be kept as tight as the operator desires. If or when they wear out, they are
very inexpensive to replace.

The parts of a mill and what they do (3/5)

Mill BaseThe solid base that has the dovetail for the saddle to move in and
out on and to which the mill column is attached.
DrawboltGoes through the hole in the spindle to draw chucks and other
accessories into the headstock taper inside the spindle. A special washer
locates in on center in the spindle hole.
#1 Morse ArborThe arbor screws into the back of the drill chuck so it can be
used in the headstock. It is held in place in the #1 Morse taper with the
drawbolt.
Tommy BarsRound steel bars used to tighten and loosen chucks and other
spindle accessories. Sometimes called "Spindle Bars."
Y-axis Locking ScrewA thumbscrew on the side of the base that keeps the
saddle from moving in and out when tightened.
X-axis Locking ScrewA screw that goes through the barrel lock on the front
of the saddle to lock the table in place during machining operations where
movement is not required or desired.

The parts of a mill and what they do (4/5)

Backlash LocksThe lock works like tightening two nuts against each other
on a threaded shaft to reduce play in the threads.
Backlash is the pause in travel when changing direction of rotation of any
threaded crew. Because both sides of the thread don't rub on the nut at the
same time (they would quickly wear out), one surface is pulling or pushing the
nut when the screw is turned.
When you stop and change directions, the screw turns a slight amount while
the thread picks up the other side and begins to move the nut in the other
direction. The looser the fit of the threads, the more "backlash" occurs.
In essence, it is the amount you can turn the handwheel in the reverse direction
before movement occurs on an axis. An adjustment is provided on the X- and
Y-axes to reduce the leadscrew backlash.
Backlash is not a "fault" of a machine, it is simply a physical reality that must be
taken into account when machining. You adjust to a known or acceptable
amount using the locks and then remove it from the machining operation by
always approaching your cut from the same direction with the backlash already
eliminated before the cut begins.

The parts of a mill and what they do (5/5)

Alignment KeyA precision ground key that fits in a slot in the column
saddle to keep the headstock aligned straight up and down. A second
slot is also provided to locate the headstock at 90 for horizontal
milling. Removing this key and rotating the headstock allows bevels to
be cut at any angle. An approximate angle scale is laser engraved into
the saddle for reference.
Headstock Spacer BlockMoves the headstock 1.25" further out
from the saddle to increase the "throat" distance (distance between
cutter and column). It is optional on 5000-series mills, standard on
5400-series mills and not needed on 2000-series mills because the ram
can be used to adjust this distance.
V-beltA Kevlar-reinforced Urethane belt that drives the spindle
through the pulleys.
2-position PulleyThe normal (rear) position gears the motor down
about 2:1 for a maximum speed of about 2800 RPM. The "High
Torque" position (closest to the headstock) gears it about 4:1 for lower
speed but more torque when needed for heavy cuts.