hi all-

as we're working on a harbor freight 8x12 mini-lathe cnc conversion, we decided to jump into making a cnc bench-mill from the ground-up.

here's the blog entry that we're updating.

it's basically a 24"x18"x24" mill with travel as yet to be determined. it's basically a prototype that we're working on to see if it's possible to get a larger work envelope like that of a sieg x3/super x3 (or larger) with the costs coming under that of a x3 conversion. we'll be using (most likely) the x2 head since it already has the r8 spindle. we may upgrade this to a x3 head as well..

we're still working on the x3 cnc conversion, but this is a more promising project at present since we'll be able to piece together a fairly accurate machine using ground ballscrews, linear slides, etc.. and we won't have the myriad design constraints we encountered when working with a small mill like the x2 (still a great little machine, but it's always nice to have bigger machines!)



enjoy!

http://www.fignoggle.com/workshop/it...e-introduction