[digits]

I agree that the cosmetics are nice and the running hardware is a little better, but that is all immaterial if you are going to convert it with ballscrews and a whole load of other add-ons. What's the spindle speed like, and what kind of motor and control does it have?

IMHO having the extra bearing mounts and the Y-axis screw sticking out the back is handy for a CNC conversion - the fact they have a ballscrew kit that's bolt in is also a plus to me - milling out the saddle on my WM-18 was a one-way trip to CNC or bust!

I've no idea what type the spindle motor is - I forgot to ask! It is 2.2kW though, and I'm guessing it's DC as it didn't sound make any invertery noises when it span up. The gear box has a top speed of 3000 rpm, and it wasn't insanely loud at full speed, with no load. The box also actually seems to be oil-filled, so I'm guessing it's got metal gears rather than the rather fragile plastic ones my WM-18 had.

I'm not sure how easy the motor would be to CNC though - the speed control is a bit too clever - it has a tapping function with auto-reverse too.

[MrBean_pm]

Hey Guys,
Been a while since I posted, I own a BF46 and will now start my conversion, this Monday the DMM-Tech 3x 750W servos and Drives will be delivered by TNT, finally. A long journey since my first post here a while back.

Anyway, here is a ling to the BLDC motor used in the BF46, I suspect I will replace it and the very noisy gear-drive system with a faster, slightly more powerful motor, associated higher quality controller, as well as a belt-drive conversion, as the gears run pretty hot, is very noisy, at least to me, and the drive is not that great in that the speed seems to fluctuate a bit for unknown reason.

2200W REPM Brushless DC Motor (MBL-123IM-300HA) - China Bldc Motor, Brushless Motor

I have a new spare MiGe 2.2kW motor, with 15nM nominal and 30nM peak torque, but only 1,500 RPM, but with the extra torque I can easily do a decent belt-drive conversion and step the speed up, I will be mostly machining aluminium and softer materials anyway...so I will source a decent controller for it and go from there...

The rest of the machine though is very sold and nice, at least to my untrained eye.

I hope an Admin will allow me to reopen my closed thread, as it would be nice to start where I left off. At least the machine is sitting on its stand and I have made a few small projects with it, so all good.

Anyway, good info in this thread, with excellent replies as always by Pete N, LongRat and others.

Cheers,
Beano

[embraced]

I would definitely go with the MiGe motor. I've got a 1.8kW on my puny BF20 machine and it completely transforms the thing. Perfect speed regulation under load and very quiet (using HTD5M pulleys/belts).

Your problem would probably be to find a suitable ratio to gear it up without having gigantic pulleys...

[digits]

Hey Guys,
Been a while since I posted, I own a BF46 and will now start my conversion, this Monday the DMM-Tech 3x 750W servos and Drives will be delivered by TNT, finally. A long journey since my first post here a while back.

Anyway, here is a ling to the BLDC motor used in the BF46, I suspect I will replace it and the very noisy gear-drive system with a faster, slightly more powerful motor, associated higher quality controller, as well as a belt-drive conversion, as the gears run pretty hot, is very noisy, at least to me, and the drive is not that great in that the speed seems to fluctuate a bit for unknown reason.

2200W REPM Brushless DC Motor (MBL-123IM-300HA) - China Bldc Motor, Brushless Motor

I have a new spare MiGe 2.2kW motor, with 15nM nominal and 30nM peak torque, but only 1,500 RPM, but with the extra torque I can easily do a decent belt-drive conversion and step the speed up, I will be mostly machining aluminium and softer materials anyway...so I will source a decent controller for it and go from there...

The rest of the machine though is very sold and nice, at least to my untrained eye.

I hope an Admin will allow me to reopen my closed thread, as it would be nice to start where I left off. At least the machine is sitting on its stand and I have made a few small projects with it, so all good.

Anyway, good info in this thread, with excellent replies as always by Pete N, LongRat and others.

Cheers,
Beano

Thanks for the link! My BF-30 clone had a brushed DC motor and rather iffy controller board, which is why I went servo, but is there anything really wrong with the stock BF46 motor and controller? I'm sure you could do a very easy belt-drive conversion with the stock bits - all I needed to do was make a new motor mount, remove a couple of gears and then add a couple of HTD pulleys on my WM-18. If the stock motor and controller hadn't died, I probably wouldn't have splashed out on a servo.

If you really want to do a lot of aluminium, wouldn't you want a faster spindle anyway? What rpm are the stock bearings on the BF46 rated at? I know the head of my BF-30 clone gets pretty warm when running at my max of 3,000 rpm, even with the whole gearbox removed.

[digits]

Well, I have finally moved, which really brought home just how much heavy stuff this hobby involves! I decided to break my mill down and transport it in the boot of my car, rather than trying to lift it intact into a rented van. While I have the thing apart, I thought I'd have a go at fixing the things that had been niggling me. I'd quite like the Y-axis screw to go out the back rather than the front, but I don't think my screw is quite long enough. I decided to modify the base anyway, and also to have a go at fitting a second bearing for the Y-axis screw. This obviously needs fixing to the base, but for now I just wanted to trial fit it:

[Commander_Riker]

The Warco WM18 is a BF20 clone, NOT a BF30 clone. Thread title is incorrect and misleading!

[digits]

Oh no it isn't!

[digits]

The dimensions, mass and column mounting method are all BF30 like. It just isn't made as well IMHO. It is half the price though...