I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Hi everyone, I've called Charter oak a few times now trying to get someone to pick up the phone. No Luck. I need a spindle drive gear for my I. H. Charter Oak 12Z mill so I can do my own belt drive setup. It seems Arizona Video is not making them now and I'm on a list when he starts making them again but that could be who knows when. Does anyone know if Charter oaks is still in business? I see they are having a moving sale but not answering the phone should not be part of a sale. Does anyone know if any of the RF45 clones have the same spindle drive splines as the I.H. I've went through as many threads as possible trying to find the answer but no luck. Or is there any one else how has made or is making a conversion? Any help is appreciated.
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Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
I completed an MD001 belt drive conversion and from what I can tell it's very similar to the IH. There's some info here http://www.cnczone.com/forums/vertic...m-posts-5.html at the bottom of the page.
The attached image gives a rough idea of the spindle splines so you can check if this will fit your machine.
Best Regards.
Carl
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Pretty sure they are the same spline. And ArizonaVideo made those sleeves for his belt drive kits. His splines are also very loose, he said they work better that way. But the loose splines clank under load, which bothers me. One of these days I will take it apart and make my own spline sleeve that fits properly.
The one thing I did learn when I ordered my conversion kit, was that every rebranded RF45 has a slightly different head casting.... So every kit has to be custom tailored to fit. If we all had the same casting, I believe you would see more bolt on support for our machines.
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
The splines from most clones should fit but not all. It depends which part they decide to take the clearance from. The IH is a ZAY mill so all they ZAY clones fit.
Some make the shaft under sided and some make the spindle over sized. It looks like the IH makes the spindle over sized as I have a spindle from a RF-31 that does not fit the splines from a IH.
I have a spare spindle that fits if you want to exchange so you have one to work on while your mill is running.
Send me a email at [email protected].
To Mike,
I know the loose splines rattle some times but it was the only way to do it when you can't hold tolerances under a few thow. Tight created massive vibration which was worse.
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Thanks cmnewComer and MikeC8, I ended up ordering the PO754057 from Grizzley to see if it's the correct for the I.H. everything points to it working but you never know until it's in hand. The measurements that cmnewcomer gave me seem spot on for as close as I could measure with the with the quick change setup on the top of the machine. I hope this does not have me down too long. One thing we all found out when building machines is that you need a CNC mill to build a CNC mill to make life easier. Is that what's called a catch 22? I'm really thinking of getting two 4" round aluminum slugs and two 2" aluminum slugs machine the grooves in each then match drilling them and using 5 grade 8 allen bolts and locktight to put them together. Taking a 4" slug and cutting down the one end to 2" seems like a garbage can full of scrap chips. Seems wasteful. Well first things first, see if the part fits the spindle. Again thanks guys.
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Dave, have you considered just making the spindle adapters and pulley sets, and selling those as a more DIY kit? Might be easier to keep up and stock just those parts? The pulleys are what kept me from making my own belt drive.
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MikeC8
Dave, have you considered just making the spindle adapters and pulley sets, and selling those as a more DIY kit? Might be easier to keep up and stock just those parts? The pulleys are what kept me from making my own belt drive.
That's what I was thinking. Pulleys and adapters and we'll make all the other stuff. Dave it's calling your name.
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Quote:
Originally Posted by
arizonavideo
The splines from most clones should fit but not all. It depends which part they decide to take the clearance from. The IH is a ZAY mill so all they ZAY clones fit.
Some make the shaft under sided and some make the spindle over sized. It looks like the IH makes the spindle over sized as I have a spindle from a RF-31 that does not fit the splines from a IH.
I have a spare spindle that fits if you want to exchange so you have one to work on while your mill is running.
Send me a email at
[email protected].
To Mike,
I know the loose splines rattle some times but it was the only way to do it when you can't hold tolerances under a few thow. Tight created massive vibration which was worse.
I emailed you. Thanks
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Thinking a bit outside the box - is a spline adapter actually necessary? The spline is to be able to transmit torque while the spindle moves up and down within the head - as used in drill press mode as it were. On most CNC conversions the spindle stays put, and the whole head is moved up and down. What about a simple slip fit to the OD of the splined shaft with set screws for torque transmission? Seems to me it would greatly simplify the adapter construction, and all you loose is the ability to use it manually like a drill press, which I don't use anyway.
Thoughts?
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
I did as ninefinger described. Cut bore of pulley to a fairly tight slip fit over spindle. I cut a keyway in spindle and also pulley. if I remember right it was 5/16 or 3/8 key. Drill and tap pulley for set screw.
Re: I.H. Belt drive conversion spindle drive sleeve gear
Quote:
Originally Posted by
vertcnc
I did as ninefinger described. Cut bore of pulley to a fairly tight slip fit over spindle. I cut a keyway in spindle and also pulley. if I remember right it was 5/16 or 3/8 key. Drill and tap pulley for set screw.
Everything about both your suggestions would be great if I built and ran normal CNC setup. My setups are both CNC and manual. I use my spindle often as a quick drill press too. I don't lock it up, if I did then again both suggestions would work great. Also you really don't even need to cut a keyway at all. Use a taper lock clamping setup and with the 6 cuts in the spindle once your toque up the taper lock it should never move. Thank you both for the input. I'm actually looking to buy a Haas Mini Mill at the moment so I may not need to do the spindle anyway. If I do I'll have a pretty sweet Charter oaks that's pretty trick to sell. A persons garage is only so big.
