[mcruff]

I am in the process of building a benchtop mill from scratch. I am collecting parts while I am building the thing. One of the issues that I am having is the motor. I would prefer a compact motor in the 500-700 watt range with its speed control. Cost is also an issue as I would like to get this thing built with as little cost up front as possible and replace a few things like the spindle motor later on with better if need be. The machine will be cutting steel and aluminum. Where can I get a X3 spindle motor and controller or something of similar size and power? Any suggestions would be great
The motor is gonna be attached to a mini mill head that has been grafted to a boxed frame traveling on linear rails for the Z axis. The machine right now weighs nearly 400lbs. The table is machined from a solid piece of steel and the base is fabbed from 26"x12" x1" thick piece of 1018 that has been boxed in and braced. So far the thing seems pretty sturdy. Most all of the material was leftovers from old jobs at the place I work, even the linear rails were replacements that the company tossed from old secondary machines that were spares and no longer needed as the equipment was long gone. I got all the rails and trucks for $20. I have my steppers and drivers from keling, my power supply, my ballscrews, basically I need a spindle motor that can be adapted to the mini mill casting and a controller to run it. After that its mainly on to finish fabbing and machining parts.


Thanks in advance!!

A couple of teaser pics:
The table.


The Z axis column laying on the garage floor.

[yantra3d]

I have a complete x3 motor and controller system that I removed from my x3 after replacing it with a superior AC servo motor setup that I could likely part with if you are interested. I was saving it for a back up but honestly don't think I will ever need it so it may just collect dust here.

It has less than 20 hours of operation so it's in good working condition. If you are interested you can check out my build in this benchtop machine subforum... just look for the "X3 Build, Kflop/snapamp, Keling servos, blah blah..." post.

Your project looks very impressive so far... should be a very nice machine when it's completed. If I can help you out with your build then I'd more than happy to do it.

[yantra3d]

Hey, I found what you were looking for... check out www.littlemachineshop.com if you want to go with a new one.

X3 motor:

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...3381&category=

X3 controller:

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...3194&category=

Something to consider though is that there are some various switches that go along with the controller (power on/off, variable speed, fwd/rev) that you will also want/need to run it. There are also a few pulleys, belts, gears, etc... that the x3 utilizes to achieve the rating that the x3 mill has but not sure if you need/want that as well.

If you are interested, I have stripped all of these items from my mill and can include them with the motor/controller unit if you decide to consider my offer vs buying a new one from LMS.

Hope that helps!

[hoss2006]

I'd take yantra up on his offer but if you're looking for new,
you can save a few bucks and get the replacement motor for the grizzly X3 G0463 for $187.50.
Hoss

[mcruff]

I
Your project looks very impressive so far... should be a very nice machine when it's completed. If I can help you out with your build then I'd more than happy to do it.

Thanks!
As far as help I'll take anything I can get, it won't be anytime soon as the fabrication and the machining part are the easy part for me, since I do it for a living. The electronics and wiring is another story all together though. I have a Dell computer that is brand new and almost a freebie due to a local company here that had a bunch of them and offered them for a bid price of $30, I bought 2. They were still in the box. I bought Mach from Kelling about 1 1/2 years ago when they were selling it for $99. Hopefully in about 6 more months I will have the machine part done nad will be working on the electrics. I'll definitely keep you in mind then.

I sent a Pm about the motor and controller.