[David Bord]

New to the sight, and getting addicted already!

Does anyone have information on converting a Harbor Freight 44142 3 in 1 Mill/Lathe to CNC? I am most interested in converting the Mill portion. More information on the machine here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44142

I am facinated with CNC, and want to convert my Mill for the learning experience. I realize the machine has its limitations, and I dont have any grand plans of making super precision parts, but I would like to learn more about CNC and figure this might be a good place to start.

Based on what I have learned so far, I think I will go with Mach II software, Gecko Stepper drivers and largish 34 size stepper motors.

If anyone has any information, advice or links on converting one of these machines, I would greatly apprecaite the help.

Thanks!

David Borden

[cncadmin]

here is a website I found that sells plans for converstion- http://www.cnczone.com/modules.php?n...ategory&cid=42

[David Bord]

Thanks for the reply! Interesting site and the kind of material I was looking for. My machine is quite a bit different that what appears to be in those plans. Would it still apply?

This is a pic of my machine:


Does anyone have any information on converting one of these specific machines?

Thanks!

David

[Jim Stein]

I have the same mill drill lathe 3-1 but mine is gray.I think it would be fairly easy to convert to CNC if you do not mind drilling some holes in your machine.You will need these holes to mount the steppers.You will also need some kind of gear reduction for the Z-axis, because it is kind of hard to turn by hand.I would use dual shaft stepper motors, this way you can still use it for manual operations.