[hoss2006]

Hey There,
Thought I would upload a .zip of the cad drawings as bitmaps
and the engraving tutorial in high resolution.
Looks alot better than what can be posted here with the size limits.
includes 17 images.
later Hoss

[JRouche]

Hoss....Great job. Both on the conversion and the detailed explanation of the process. Yer tops, JRouche

[hoss2006]

Hey Fellas,
If you're looking to make some custom plastic covers for your steppers
or whatever, I found(with help from this forum) some sites that sell
thermoformable plastic. Heat it up, form it into the shape you want and it'll stay that way when it cools.
Found several different types that pretty much do the same thing.
I ordered from here, good size selection and pricing.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pro...uct%5Fid=12070
This is a site for Kydex, but have a $50 min. order or you get charged an extra $15 for a small order.
http://interstateplastics.reachlocal...D=Kydex-Ca2009
This site has lots of plastic as well as many other stock, aluminum,brass,steel etc.
http://www.smallparts.com/?020
I'm going to order some Sintra PVC sheet from these folks too, lots of choices and good prices and no min. order. Get up to a 4' x 8' sheet if you want.
http://store.foamboardsource.com/sin...a-pvc-3mm.html
Later Hoss

[Jay C]

Or, call your local sign shop and ask them Tell them what it's for and they may just give some to you since you won't be competing with them. You can make a DIY strip heater using an electric stove and come cardboard. Have a look at Step 4 here http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/prism/assembl.html

Like I said, I used a hairdryer to heat mine up, but you can use hot water too.

Look forward to some photos.

Jay

[Jay C]

Here's an update. Got another 3/4 inches of travel on the Y with a modification
to the base. This gives me 4 7/8 x 8 1/4 travel for the X2.
Better. I'll live with it for now till I run across an old cross slide to adapt to it.
Maybe Little Machine Shop will get the X3 base for sale.Keep my eyes open.
Have Fun, Hoss

Hoss,
Most of what I've read about using ballscrews on the X2 say that one needs to mill the bottom of the table for the x-axis not to fit. Did you do this? Do you have a photo of the before and after?

Jay

[hoss2006]

Hey Jay,
You do have to remove a little material from under the saddle to give
clearance for the ballnut. I just used and angle grinder.
Here's a pictorial that hopefully explains it. I didn't take any pics of the before
and after, but was able to compile something close. Hope this helps.
Also have a high res .zip of the drawing and the ballnut stop blocks rev B.dxf
that shows changes I made to the X Axis block to give more clearance.
Later, Hoss

[Jay C]

Hoss your the man.

Jay

[hoss2006]

Hey Gang,
Finished my High Speed Spindle Motor attachment.
Will use it mainly for engraving and grinding.
Used a Dewalt Laminate Trimmer Model #DW670 I bought at Lowes.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...670&lpage=none
It has a 1/4 in. collet ( I made an 1/8 collet for it) and 34,000 rpm.
Very nice quality item with no backlash in the spindle.
Has a machined housing that fits nicely in the mount that I made to hold
it perpendicular and true.
Below are pics of the drawings and finished parts.
The spindle is offset 3 in. from the X2 spindle on the X Axis as it's mounted here
but it's able to mount on either side or the front.
This should work well.
Later Hoss
P.S. As you can see I need to mount the Spindle Lock I made on the front yet,
that's next.

[Rodm1954]

Hoss,
Your ideas are refreshing and you sharing so freely to the forum is very much appreciated. You sent me your plans earlier on and I will be copying your Z axis design on my X2 shortly.
Try this link here for some covers for your Z axis column.
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...itFast=bellows

[chrisplashek]

This is exactly what I have in mind. I did not read your post before I posted mine. You say you are not happy with the size? I am planing a buid for the model 47158, which is smaller. Should I splurge for a larger mill?

What are your plans for the speed control, this is were I get lost. Thanks for posting your motor mount designs they will come in handy.

How about your milling speed? How does she do with alluminum?


Great build and thanks for the information.


Nice,

Chris

[hoss2006]

Hey Chris,
I'm quite happy with the size of the X2, it will handle just about anything I plan
on making, It's just the X3 is bigger and bigger is better, usually. Spend as much as you can afford, that's what it really comes down to. Plus the X1 and X2 can be handled without to much exertion but the X3 at over 300 lbs. could be a bear. I'm working on a control panel to control the mill 'manually' thru Mach 3.
I have the speed control built in but it's manual right now, I'll figure out how to control it with g-code later. It will require rewiring to bypass the E-Stop and a Variable speed switch because If you interrupt power, the Variable speed switch needs cycled off then on again. I know the paperwork for the cnc controller talked about it,so I'll have to dig it up again. I'll post it when It's done.
The mill can handle aluminum pretty well as the following pics show, but it is for
light work. Can't go whole hog like at work, but this is at home.
Heres a hint at the control panel, Should be done this week.
Later Hoss

[Micro Rotors]

Hoss,

Your conversion is exactly what I am looking for! Do you have all this info in a zip file?

Thanks
Bill

[Jay C]

Bill, did you read the thread? Look at post #21 and #26 (nuts)

[Micro Rotors]

Bill, did you read the thread? Look at post #21 and #26 (nuts)

Yes I did, twice, I did not know if he had added everything after that post, Hmmm, Mabey I should have looked.

Besides, it was late and I felt like this .... (chair)

[hoss2006]

Hey Gang,
Here's some more pics of my control panel for Mach 3.
I'll hook it up tomorrow and add my DRO on top.
I took 2 USB controllers, an aluminum case, a bunch of switches and
some wire and came up with this.
I'll use Keygrabber from Mach 3 to program the buttons.
I can control (4) 110 V accessories, i.e. the engraver, light, vacuum.
I have a duplicate X2 Speed Control switch from Littlemachineshop.com.
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...282&category=6
I added Jogging feedhold switches with LED's for taking long 'manual' cuts.
Still have about 10 buttons unused available for future plans.(maybe Mach 4?)
Next on the agenda, a surface grinding attachment. Stay tuned.
Later Hoss

[Jay C]

Looks great, you don't to anything halfway do you

[hoss2006]

Hey Gang,
Have a little update for a few projects.
Welcome to all the extra visitors c/o WillO from hackaday.com.Thanks guy.
That's a really cool site more for the electronics side of things.
Will be getting my own website up and running soon thanks to Godaddy.
Will post a link when she's ready.
Here's some pics of the spindle lock I made. Had to mount it on the front
to make room for the attachments that go on the right side of the Mill.Changed the length of the pin so it doesn't protrude as much as in the first pic.The print shows the shortened pin.
Also some clamps to hold down a precision vise.
Plus a sneak peek at the surface grinding attachment.Waiting for my grinding wheels to show up from Wholesaletool.
Later Hoss

[pedward]

I've tried tons of different software to change an image into an engraving,
but none gave me what I wanted in one simple program.Please let me know If
you've found something that works nice and easy.

BobArt Pro-X does this quite well. There is a demo version builtin to BobCAD too. I ponied up and bought is as an addon on one of their slow sales days...

Short, you can open any supported image format and do posterization from 2 to 8 colors IIRC. You can vectorize in multiple formats too. It makes a vector toolpath out of an image, the rest is just a few clicks away.

That was a neat feature, one I thought I'd use, but it's the embossing feature of toolpaths that I've used the most.

--Perry

[hoss2006]

Looking for a cheap Flycutter?
You could make one like I did.
Here's my print.
I use a single Kennametal Carbide insert CNMG431 KC850.
Get them here.
http://www.jlindustrial.com/catalog/...tosearchpage=Y
Or a lot cheaper on Ebay here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kennametal-Lot-o...QQcmdZViewItem
I hold the insert with an allen head screw.
Later Hoss

[pedward]

Looking for a cheap Flycutter?
I use a single Kennametal Carbide insert KC850.
Get them here.
Later Hoss

Even though this is highly off topic, KC850 is the grade of the insert. That doesn't describe the geometry or size. It looks like you were using a CNMG insert, probably a 432 or 332, the most common sizes and radii.

--Perry