[itsme]

Hi there,

I would say that a concentrated solution of NaOH is just as bad as a concentrated solution of a 'strong' acid (HCL, H2SO4 etc). You need to be careful with any skin contact and particularly your eyes. I certainly wouldn't say it is like rainwater when compared to these acids - it is nasty stuff.

Regards
Warren

[rustyolddo]

Also interesting to hear it's called Lye. We were told it's a chief ingredient in dishwasher soap. Anyway, good warning -- be careful!

It is used in diluted concentration as a degreaser. Purple Lightning is a popular brand. Also, lye is used to strip the anodizing off of aluminum and also as a prep prior to anodizing/reanodizing.

[Cold Fusion]

Anyone interested in buying the 2 Gecko 320 drives which I no longer need?

[DieGuy]

Anyone interested in buying the 2 Gecko 320 drives which I no longer need?

Maybe! PM me with the details.

[Cold Fusion]

Ygpm!

[Cold Fusion]

Come on guys, $190. Any takers?

[Cold Fusion]

It's been a while since the last update, but unfortunately not a whole lot has been done. I've decided to change the Z axis motor to a Stepper (it's a long story). Hopefully this will work as good, or better then a Servo. I figure that driving almost a thousand pounds up and do is not a good idea over 20ipm. Figuring in gear reductions and ballscrew pitch, that brings the rpm needed to 400. That's just about the perfect range for a stepper, because after that the torque falls off quickly. Also, the Z axis won't be moving 99% of the time. Since simple holding torque is all that's needed, a Stepper seems the best way to go.

Yesterday I got the .001 indicator and worked on tramming the table. When I first took the measurements, it was tilted in both axis by almost 5 degrees. The indicator was mounted using an 8" swing bar, which I've heard is a sufficient length. After an hour I got the X and Y to about .0005. The instrument is only graduated in thousandths, but that needle didn't twitch through the entire sweep....

[ViperTX]

Isn't that the same stuff used to pickle pickles....suppose to make them crunchy....it does....I used some about 3 years ago....

[chrispy]

Cold,
How are you tramming the rig? Not looking for a detailed explanation, but are you following some guideline? As you know I have the Series one (I assume tramming would be the same), and need to tram it once I get it going.

Or is it really just common sense? I have the manuals for my machine, but I see no mention of it.

BTW how is the VFD going? I am trying to learn about VFDs, and as far as I can tell people are using it instead of three phase. I have a rotary phase converter already, and plan to leave the 3 phase running to the spindle, and the rest is wired to a separate 120v connection.

I would assume that after you get you VFD installed, you can control spindle speed with MACH3. I am not looking to spend that much more on this project, and variable speed control will be down the road somewhat. Problem is I have no idea how to control spindle speed with a 3 phase motor and MACH3. Heck I do not even know the principle of the adjustable dial up top yet ( the one that controls spindle speed). I guess once I get that figured out, it should put me on the right path.

You mention Z axis moving 1000lbs, are you moving the knee or the spindle? I have heard of people moving the knee as well on these machines. Being lazy it would be neat to move the knee as well. Again another "upgrade" after I get the bulk of it done. Although this would take some work for sure. Than again, how do I go about controlling 2 Z axis with MACH3????

Neat color and paint. Use a red colored lube and you would never see the oil dripping from the ways.

Chris

[Cold Fusion]

Concerning tramming, I did a lot of searching on the Practical Machinist for how to do it. It's really not that hard once you do it for the first time. To tram a series 2 you have to loosen the 4 front head bolts and gently turn the worm screw on the right side for the X axis. For the Y axis you have to loosen the 3 bolts on the ram and gently turn the worm screw that is on top of the ram. http://www.practicalmachinist.com/cg...ultimatebb.cgi


The VFD has been working great. I have not had a chance to wire it to Mach2 yet, but that appears to be easy. There is a breakout board at the bottom of it with a bunch of relay controls and even a ttl input.

The series II came from the factory with the Z axis on the knee. It has a 4:1 reduction, plus a massive .2" ballscrew at the bottom. To further help with the weight, an air piston counterbalance was used in the base. To sum it up, you don't. I've locked my quill in place at the very top and left it there. The knee has such a larger travel, almost 15", that it will make you never want to go back to the quill again.

[rustyolddo]

Isn't that the same stuff used to pickle pickles....suppose to make them crunchy....it does....I used some about 3 years ago....

That would be "Pickling Lime" also "Alum" is used in pickling, of vegtables that is.
Lye is drain cleaner (& oven cleaner). Still available but not talked about much because it's dangerous and people today are not as intelligent. Liquid drain cleaner is sulfuric acid combination, safer but weaker in comparison.

Sorry for the off topic post, didn't want anyone making pickles with Red Devil Lye.

[rustyolddo]

Concerning tramming, I did a lot of searching on the Practical Machinist for how to do it. It's really not that hard once you do it for the first time. To tram a series 2 you have to loosen the 4 front head bolts and gently turn the worm screw on the right side for the X axis. For the Y axis you have to loosen the 3 bolts on the ram and gently turn the worm screw that is on top of the ram. http://www.practicalmachinist.com/cg...ultimatebb.cgi
.

It's not hard at all but getting the direction straight in your head on which way to move the head to make the correction will drive you nuts the first time you do it. Loved to watch the first timers tram the mill.

All that's required is a DTI and one of the tramming rigs that clamps to the spindle and holds the DTI.

Makes you rethink tilting the head for a special operation. You start playing with sine bars & sine vises and angle blocks so you don't have to re-tram the head.

[Cold Fusion]

Hahah, that got me a couple times on the first try. I found that the easiest way to do it was zero the indicator at the back of the table, then swing it to the oppsite side and note the difference. It was high on the front side almost .1", or one revolution of the needle. After noting that, it was easy to adjust the worm screw so that the needle rested exactly in the middle of the two measurements. Of course you need to repeat this 2-3 times because everything moves when you start tightening those bolts.


Since I don't even have sine bars & sine vises, I think I'll stay far away from those type jobs.

[chrispy]

Cold,
Thanks for the info on tramming, I figured I would just have to tough it out. You are probably correct, once you do it it is simple. Problem is, that I will probably not have to do it again.

I did not know the Series II had the Z Axis on the knee. I did know about the air assist. That must give you a ton more axis on the Z as compared to the Series I (5" for the spindle here I think). I now see no place for the stepper on you head. Makes all the sense now. I assume that the spindle is fixed (as compared to the Z axis)? That 10" of travel makes me want tot convert it even more. How big is the stepper on your knee? I would think that one of the original steppers would work. I have 4 steppers on my machine (one for the rotary table as well). Might use the one off the rotary to do a mock up when time comes. Or just keep an eye out for parts form a Series II. Although I doubt that would come up.

I do think that our machines use pretty much the same castings in the knee area, although I might be wrong. That might give me an easy way out, if I can find the relevant parts to mount a stepper on the knee, form a Series II.

If you ever get a chance, I would not mind seeing a picture of the knee stepper.

BTW is that you in the pic??

Chris

[chrispy]

Rusty,
You are more than welcome to come over here and watch this first timer make a fool of himself.

Chris

[Cold Fusion]

That's me, after too many hours in that horribly hot garage. As far as castings go, I think the the Series 2 uses mostly different castings. The reason I suspect this is that all my ways are Box ways, instead of the dovetail ways that a series I uses.

No, my quill is fully working and has about 5" of travel. Right now I have a hand lever on it to do manual drill work. I've got a 1200oz stepper on the Z right now, and it seems to work great. Without the air assist it struggles, but when you bring that thing to 40psi, it hums along just fine. I think that with the lighter knee on the Series I, you would get away with either a smaller stepper, or a 1200oz with no air assist.

[chrispy]

Cold,
Now you are making me jealous. The Z axis being moved by a handle sounds great. Especially for a homeowner. Sounds like your machine will defiantly be usable as a nice drill press as well.

Did not know the ways are different. In looking at your pics, I see the table ball-screw is different (you have a gear on the left side, where my ball screw floats). See what I can learn. Neither the less, from what I have seen, most of the knee mills from Bridgeport seem to have the same setup on the knee axis. I might be wrong on this. If this is the case than I am sure I can find some simple parts or plans to upgrade it to a stepper.

I am getting ahead of myself and should be working on the mill, and finish what I have started and not making more work.

[Cold Fusion]

The drill press option is nice, but not as easy as a regular one. There is no through hole in the table, and all parts have to be carefully clamped down. 4hp at the spindle is enough to do some wicked damage if it picks up the part I'm drilling on.

I believe that a company makes a Z axis ballscrew conversion for the Series I. The link slips my mind right now, but I'll do some research and let you know what I come up with.

[chrispy]

Cold,
I completly forgot about the ball screw. That extra cost might kill my plan all together.

[Cold Fusion]

Perhaps the best thing to do would be finish the mill first Even I don't know what I will use 15" of travel for. On 90% of my work, I only use 1"....