[digits]

Also, at 1.5HP the weak link by far is the limitations that MT2 places on you. That is, small cutters! Rigidity of the machine becomes the factor here, no longer motor.

Thanks - this is one of the reasons why I am tempted to get an X2 spindle-box so that I can have R8 tooling and perhaps even treat myself to some tormach fixed Z tooling

On the motor front, is there any reason I can't just gut a variable speed router for a motor? I doubt the run out is great, but with a pulley drive, would that matter?

BTW, I have the 'super X1-L' version of the X1 with a 400x150mm table and about 290mm X, 145Y and 220mm Z-travel post CNC. It's going to need upgrading to 500mm X travel soon, but not if a 500mm long part would take 3 weeks to mill

Power, power, I must have more power!

[phantomcow2]

I really don't know the runout of a router. I suspect the runout on some of the nicer ones out there is pretty good.
I would not even bother to fix an X2 spindle box on there. Just buy an X3 .
A router that drives the spindle would work. Just be aware that the top speed of the router probably exceeds the top speed of the spindle bearings.

When my X3 is finally CNC'd, I will be making a side attachment for my HItachi router. The router will be attached to the head somehow, and It will be removable. I have a friend who wants me to mill some PCB's for him. He's helped me out a great deal, so I guess it is my turn to return the favor.

I do plan to upgrade my mill's motor and spindle speed to 4000 or so RPM.
5 x 10^3 RPM would be even better. I will get a Hi Low range belt setup.

The X3 is a lightyear ahead of the X1 in performance and frankly, quality. It is as if these mill's were made in two separate factories.

[digits]

I really don't know the runout of a router. I suspect the runout on some of the nicer ones out there is pretty good.
I would not even bother to fix an X2 spindle box on there. Just buy an X3 .
A router that drives the spindle would work. Just be aware that the top speed of the router probably exceeds the top speed of the spindle bearings.

When my X3 is finally CNC'd, I will be making a side attachment for my HItachi router. The router will be attached to the head somehow, and It will be removable. I have a friend who wants me to mill some PCB's for him. He's helped me out a great deal, so I guess it is my turn to return the favor.

I do plan to upgrade my mill's motor and spindle speed to 4000 or so RPM.
5 x 10^3 RPM would be even better. I will get a Hi Low range belt setup.

The X3 is a lightyear ahead of the X1 in performance and frankly, quality. It is as if these mill's were made in two separate factories.

Believe me, if I could get an X3 up the stairs, my X1 would be on ebay UK right now - I just can't manage a 150kg mill in my apartment - well, not unless it arrives in 25kg pieces anyway

Hmm, I do know where I can get an X3 spindle assembly in the UK... Edit Well, I did - Arc have trimmed down their spares list and deleted it

Yeah, it just occured to me that a router's unloaded speed is about 10x too fast for most milling operations. I do see the need for a high speed cutter for tiny mills and PCB work though - I might try bolting an 800W Kress router alongside my X1's spindle - I can't see myself sourcing the parts and building a 'proper' new milling head this side of New Year.

[phantomcow2]

The weight of the X3 was a challenge. If you disassemble it though, it is manageable. I unpacked, moved it down flights of stairs, and re assembled, all myself. Take the table and saddle off, thats probably 80 or so pounds. Take off the head, thats another 80 pounds. The base is probably 40 or 50. The column is the heaviest at 100 pounds. I figure you will want to disassemble the machine to clean and inspect it anyways, so you might as well.

[digits]

The weight of the X3 was a challenge. If you disassemble it though, it is manageable. I unpacked, moved it down flights of stairs, and re assembled, all myself. Take the table and saddle off, thats probably 80 or so pounds. Take off the head, thats another 80 pounds. The base is probably 40 or 50. The column is the heaviest at 100 pounds. I figure you will want to disassemble the machine to clean and inspect it anyways, so you might as well.

The problem with me just buying an X3 is that I'd have to CNC it and upgrade the spindle motor to get 4000+ rpm as soon as I'd finished putting it back together.

I don't see anything inherently wrong with the X1's base or table, so untill I am ready to tackle my parts which need 500mm of X travel, I am tempted to just replace the whole Z assembly and add an X2 spindle box and a bigger motor. I'll probably also add a 10-30k rpm router thinggy for high-speed work with tiny mills.

[digits]

Well, I went off to buy a metal-cutting bandsaw at the weekend - came home empty handed, but I did see an X3 in the metal. Too bulky for my needs, but it does look very well built

Anyway, today I got my R8 X2 mill head and belt-drive conversion from littlemachineshop.com - excellent service - delivered from the US to the UK within 6 days

I've just ordered an X3 motor to drive the thing and some R8-MT2 adaptors to get me going. I had hoped to use the Christmas break to get going on this upgrade, but I think it's going to be late Jan/early Feb now before I have the full set of parts for a new Z-axis.

[MIKE JEFFERS]

find yourself dragged into another hobby, machine building?
iv'e just rediscovered the reason why i started this again ,bits for bikes
what are you builbing?
mike

[digits]

find yourself dragged into another hobby, machine building?
iv'e just rediscovered the reason why i started this again ,bits for bikes
what are you builbing?
mike

It all started out as a quest to make a few simple parts for my car...

A shed load of elegance crept in and now I have 15 interesting parts to make - so far I've made 1.5!

It had never occured to me that, just as with computers, if a job takes too long, it really is infeasible on your equipment. I have a fairly simple 3D part to make that's 10"x2.5"x1.5" - if I cut it in 3D at 300mm/min / 0.5mm deep it will take ~40 hours. The same thing done as 2 2.5D passess will take about 5 hours on one side and 4 on the other. That is just possible on a wet weekend, but it won't win me any brownie points

I still need a bigger machine for 2 of the 15 parts - and it looks like I may have to build that to get the travel I want in a desktop machine. Or I could ask Father Christmas for a high-speed Wabeco - but even then I'd be a little short on the Y-axis and would probably have to sell a kidney to pay for it! I might have to buy a house with a garage just so I can fit a bridgeport

Still, I reckon a 600W X1 with an R8 spindle will be fun - and should be good for 13 of those parts I need.

I just have to decide whether or not to upgrade my CAD tools next - DesignCAD is good for the money, but is seriously slow for any reasonable number of 3D faces. I've already upgraded my PC to cope, but I should have just spent more than £40 on CAD S/W in the first place!

[MIKE JEFFERS]

try rhino ,free download on (ahem "demo" version) nice simple full 3d stuff
millwizards(del cam) good too.

mike

[digits]

try rhino ,free download on (ahem "demo" version) nice simple full 3d stuff
millwizards(del cam) good too.

mike

Cheers Mike - I've just bought a copy of VariCAD! I looked at it a few months ago, liked the look of it, but couldn't really justify the cost. After four months of buying tooling and fighting with Design CAD, it seemed a lot more reasonable!

I had a quick play with the demo - I managed to download and assemble some 3D models of Hiwin rails and carriages, and extrude and assemble some 80/20 profiles and it was still very responsive - DesignCAD would have been on its knees at this point. The best bit however has to be the ability to drill or mill holes in solids, and then edit the holes after the fact, or to simply drill holes by inserting bolts through several solids at once

[digits]

Well, it's taken me a week of making tooling, and a couple of days to mill it, but I finally have a workable X3 motor mount for the X2 head So far it weighs about 10.4kg!

Well, almost workable - the X3 motor spindle is about 10 mm too long, so I'm going to have to mill out some spacers to lift it up a bit. I still need to make or buy a pulley for the motor though as the X3 motor is about half as fast as the X2 one the kit is designed for.