TB170 (Rev1) - Recutting an Existing Thread

Overview
This document describes how to pick up and recut an existing thread on the Centroid lathe control. The
examples here assume external threads, cut from right to left. However, the same techniques can be used on
internal threads and left-to-right threads as well.
Locate the Index Pulse
Your spindle encoder sends an index pulse to the control once per revolution. This index pulse is used to
synchronize thread starts. When the control is ready to start a thread cut, it waits until the index pulse comes
around before it begins to feed the Z-axis.

1. You need to locate your index pulse in order to know where the threading cycle will begin cutting. To do
this, you can use the G32 command at the MDI prompt.
2. Put the headstock in neutral if possible. Otherwise put it in the highest available gear range. You want to be
able to easily turn the spindle by hand.
3. Press F3 for MDI. Enter the command: G32 and press CYCLE START. The cursor will disappear, but the
"G32" command will remain on the screen until it "completes". That will happen when the index pulse comes
around.
4. Slowly turn the chuck by hand until the G32 command disappears from the screen. Enter another G32 and
press CYCLE START again. Turn the chuck even more slowly back the other way until the G32 disappears
from the screen again.
5. Repeat the process until you have narrowed the location of the index pulse down to a few degrees or better.
6. Mark this spindle location in some clear and impervious manner.
Find the Thread Starting Z

1. Place the part you want to recut in the chuck and get it centered so it runs true.
2. Set Z and X offsets for the threading tool and any other tools you will be using. Set your Z-axis part zero at
the end of the part, or at your customary location.
3. If the offsets for the threading tool are not already active (as displayed in the status box in the upper right
corner of the screen) then activate them using the MDI prompt. For example, to activate tool offsets for tool
#5, press F3 for MDI and enter the command: T0505 then press CYCLE START. Press ESC to leave the MDI
prompt.
4. Press F5 for CAM and go to Intercon. Create a new program and insert a Thread operation in it.
5. Enter all the threading information except starting Z. You will need to know what major and minor diameters
you want to cut to, what your thread lead is, and how deep you want to cut in each pass. The first pass of the
threading cycle will be made at the major diameter minus 2x the first cut depth. For example, if you request a
major diameter of 3.900" and a first cut depth of 0.020", then the first pass of the threading cycle will be cut at
a diameter of 3.860" (3.900 - 2*0.020).
6. Press F9 to display the Teach Mode DRO.
7. Turn the spindle around to the index pulse position that you located earlier.

8. Jog the threading tool to the expected first cut diameter, carefully jogging the tool tip between the crests of
the first two fully formed threads. Slowly and incrementally jog the tool tip right (Z+) until it just touches the left
flank of the first thread. Note the Z-axis position on the DRO.

9. Highlight "Starting Z" in your threading operation. Type "Z" to copy the Z position from the Teach DRO to
the Starting Z field. You now have a thread start position that is synchronized with the existing thread. The
only problem is that it is already on the thread, and you can't start there without interference. You need to start
some whole number of thread turns out to the right.
10. Press Enter to modify the Starting Z value. Add several times the thread lead to the value you got from the
Teach DRO. You can easily do this with Intercon's expression calculator: type "=" and append "+" and the
distance to you want to add.
11. Set the Ending Z value to some reasonable position at the end of the thread. If the thread ends in a relief
groove, then you can stop the cut anywhere in the groove. If the thread ends in a chamfer out, then you
should err on the side of chamfering out early. In any case, Ending Z does not need to be synchronized the
way Starting Z does.
12. You may need to jog the tool in to a smaller diameter in order to reliably touch off to a thread flank. In this
case, you will have to adjust the resulting Starting Z value by following the thread angle back out to the
expected first cut diameter.
13. The adjustment you make to Starting Z should always be half the change in diameter, multiplied by the
Tangent of half the thread angle.

For example, if you are recutting a 60 thread, and you expect the first cut to be at a diameter of 3.860", but
you have to go in to a 3.790" diameter to locate the thread, then you would add 0.0202" to the Starting Z

position that you got off the Teach DRO. This is 0.035" (the difference in radius, half the difference in
diameter) multiplied by the Tangent of 30 (half of the thread angle).
Document History
Rev1 Created on 2004-08-24