Just bought a Square column mill/drill that is almost converted to CNC, however I have a couple of questions about design. Here's what the mill looks like new.
1. Should the z-axis control the entire vertical head movement, or just the quill. Seems like it would be nice to have the complete range of the head under NC control. This means tossing out the head raise/lower motor and put in a large stepper (due to the weight involved), then just use the quill for any sort of quick drilling.
2. Is it better to direct drive the stepper motors or use a step-down belt system for the axis (assuming ballscrews?)
The goal is to turn this into a working 4 axis machine!
JK