[wisp]

Hello all. There is a new manufacturer of cnc kits for Sieg mills and lathes. Check them out at www.cncfusion.com The first kit available is for the X1 Micro Mill and X1 Super Micro Mill. Kits for the 7 by X series of lathes will be ready to ship soon. Followed by kits for the Mini mill. If the X3 Small mills become more popular, and I can get my hands on one, I would like to make a kit to retrofit it as well. {if anyone wants to ship an X3 to Houston, I will make them a free CNC retrofit kit, and ship it back to them }

I set out to design high quality kits that didnt look peiced together from stuff at the local hardware store, and so I designed a series of motor mounts that are machined from one solid peice aluminum. No screwing a bunch of small parts together. I also wanted the motor shaft, and couplings to be covered, or hidden so that things like shop rags, fingers, etc.. can't get caught up. Andeach axis needed thrust bearings.

The other criteria was they needed to be more affordable than any other kit out there. Guess I will let you all be the judge. Also please let me know what you think of the web site, I'm no web guru, so I did them best I could. If you think the web page is hard to navigate, or you see any flaws in the kit design, I welcome any suggestions.

Currently I am not selling stepper or servo motors, but if interest is shown, I can include three 270oz/in + stepper motors for about $160 extra. Stepper motors are not that hard to come by, especially with eBay as a source. Thats why I decided not to sell motors at first.

cheers,
Mike

[phantomcow2]

I have a Micro mill as well, which is on its way to being converted. I like the approach you take for your kits, it seems very much like a "bolt on" kit, which definantly justifies its value if you ask me.
The only thing i am unclear about is how you go about installing the thrust bearings.
For my mill i used my 4 jaw chuck to bore out a recess that made a precision fit with the bearings i got from SDP-SI. They are 8mm. I did this for hte front and rear, so i have two thrust bearings per axis.
Am i correct to assume that you use the mounting piece also as a bearing block and the thrust bearings fit right into that? If so, nice going!

[wisp]

Yes that is correct. I also use two 8mm thrust bearings per axis, and there is a counter bore on each side of the mounting block that each thrust bearing just fits into, just like your setup.

The Z axis was the toughest to design, because the mounting holes are so close together. If anyone doing a conversion is interested in just the Z axis mount, I can add that as a $99 option, thrust bearings, collar and coupling included.

I also just finished the assembly inctrustions, if you would like to see how the kit installs, look HERE
If any of the instructions are unclear, please let me know, and I will edit them.

Am i correct to assume that you use the mounting piece also as a bearing block and the thrust bearings fit right into that? If so, nice going!

[phantomcow2]

I have to say I read over your instructions and they are very clear.
I was unaware when i bought my couplings that you could use one with a .25" bore and one for the 8mm so i went with two .25" bore ones and turned an adapter on my lathe. One end has been drilled and reamed to 8mm to slip onto the leadscrew, then the other end is .25".
Even then though, i think the leadscrew was slightly oversized because it was still difficult to put on, so for each leadscrew I had to take a very light facing cut on my lathe. Now it goes on, but i cant detect any play at all.
Even then, i drilled and tapped for a 10-32 locking screw on each adapter.

[dropride]

Wisp, when will you have your conversion for the mini mills done?

[wisp]

I hope to have them ready in about 3 weeks.

All the design work is finished, I am currently trying to find ways to lower the cost, and have a ballscrew upgrade available. The basic kit will include a Thomson ballscrew for the Z-axis and use the stock screws for the table. Thrust bearings on the X&Y&Z-axis. You will be able to upgrade to ballscrews either when you place an order, or at a later time. The ballscrews make up the majority of the kits cost, I spend about $50 per ballscrew, and that’s without any machine work done to the ends.

The Z-axis portion of the kit will also be available by itself for guys who want to make their own X-Y motor mounts. I guess I can make an X-Y only kit too.

I would also like to offer a much less expensive, do-it-yourself kit that contains all the un-machined aluminum, bearings, couplings etc. you need, and blueprints, instructions & tool list, possibly even G-code. Basically, you would do all the machining yourself. For those with a lathe, you could buy your own ballscrews, and machine the ends per print to save even more. You could also buy machined ballscrews from homeshopcnc.com for a good price. If anyone would be interested in a do-it-yourself kit like that, please let me know.

As far as pricing, I REALLY hope I can offer the basic kit for $349 or less. Thats with the Thomson ballscrew for the Z.

The Z-axis only kit, should be under $200

A do it yourself kit, with one ballscrew for the Z-axis, I would guess to be about $150-$170

So far, the only modification to the mill is two "optional" 1/4" holes in the column to help lock down the Z-axis thrust bearing block. They would be just above, and to either side of the hole for the plastic stop that keeps you from raising the spindle head too far.

Mike

[wisp]

Hi everyone. I just put up some photos of the Z axis portion of the new mini mill kit. Here is a link to take you straight to them.

[dammachines]

Nice Work!

I noticed that you have 9x20 listed on your site, but didn't mention it in your message. Does that mean it's for the far distant future? Or maybe never?

I've got a lathemaster 9x20 that I would love to convert to CNC while saving up for a big CNC lathe.

Thanks,
Dave.


OOPS! Had I just gone back to the home page I would have seen the note at the bottom of the page... I was looking at the page with the Z-axis pics and noticed 9x20 on the left side... Duh... I'll be checking back often to see when they're available!

[wisp]

Thank you for the complemet. Yes, I will be making a kit for the 9x20's and, if enough people are interested also the 8x14's. I JUST finished machining the X-Y mounts, about 20 minutes ago. I will take some photos tonite and get them up so you guys can take a look. Also made a couple little movies while I was machining the X-Y mounts, I'll get them up too.

I should be buying a 9x20 first part of next year. I would guess kits will be ready sometime in March or April. Would you want to convert to ballscrews, or use the stock leadscrews?

[txcowdog]

Beautiful work and reasonably priced. Makes me wish I had something to convert. Again... congratulations on some really nice work

[dropride]

What's the cost to upgrade to ballscrews on the x&y?

[wisp]

Thanks cowdog. You know, I am going to be selling the Grizzly mini mill you see in the photos.....

Dropride, I estimate the ballscrew upgrade for the X-Y to be in the $175-$195 range.

[wisp]

Ok, I finally got photos of the X an Y axis mounts up. I also put up some videos of the mini mill moving around. The Z axis is quite fast, over 200 ipm with a 166oz/in Vexta stepper, API drive, and a 24v power supply. I actually had to dis-connect the torsion spring on the Z axis because it was lifting so hard it limited the max rapid speed. After I removed it, I was able to get a steady 204ipm up and down. I didn't make any adjustments to the mill, its exactly as it came from Grizzly, cosmoline and all. The Z axis is working so well, I would recomend anyone planning to machine their own Z-axis retrofit follow the same design. It works really well, and you don't have to modify your mill.

I'm now working hard to get the ballscrew upgrade for the X-Y axis finished.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

The attached video is the Z axis jogging up and down.

[phantomcow2]

Well i dont have the mini mill, i've got hte micro. BUt I would like to say, that is a high quality looking kit!! Well done!

[dropride]

Great vids. Can't wait for it to be available, i've been looking at all the different conversions and yours looks like the one i'll probably go with. What size ballscrews are you going to be using on the x,y?

[wisp]

Thanks drop. I only had my little Casio digital camera when I took the vids, that why the look so grainy. I will get some steppers on each axis and make some higher quality videos of some test cutting, probably in aluminum.


The X-Y ballscrew upgrade will use 5/8" dia. x .2 lead Nook or Thomson ballscrews. The main reason for using 5/8", is that if you go down to 1/2", the ballnut costs 6 times as much as the 5/8 ballnut, and the screw is double the price. Figure that one out....

You can order the kits are now. There is about a 3 day lead time to ship.

If you're just dying to get your mill going, you could always use the stock X-Y leadscrews until the ballscrew upgrade is ready .

cheers,
Mike

[dropride]

I'll probably just wait till the x,y ballscrew setup is ready and do it all at once.

[wisp]

Hi all, I JUST finished machining the first X-Y ballscrew upgrade. I put some photos online for those wanting to see how it will go togther. I still need to turn a ballscrew for the X axis, and fully test it for bugs, so I used the Y ballscrew in the pics for illustration. Here is a link straight to the pics.

The ballscrew upgrade installs with no mods needed to the mill. That took me a little while to figure out, everytime I thought I had it, it was like "nope, that dont fit there" or "now you cant get to the screws to tighten it down".

The only downside is you will loose a maximum of 2 inches travel in the X- direction. This is because the ballnut can not be placed above the saddle without machining the saddle, it just wont fit. So, I had to design a ballnut mount that fits to the right of the saddle. The ballnut does not effect Y axis travel.

The other problem was the ballnuts need to be at an exact orientation when fully tightened in the ballnut mount. You will see in the photos the nut housings are split and a screw and nut are used to lock the ballnut at the needed orientation. The kit will come with the ballnuts locked at the proper rotation. Has anyone else fitted 5/8 ballscrews to an X2 mini mill without machining the saddle/table? Just curious.

If anyone is wondering how the threads were cut in the ballnut mounts, I used a .31 diameter threadmill.

I also tested the Y axis, boy does it fly, 204 IPM. You run out of travel real real fast.

I won't be able to put the upgade as a purchase option until I can get some turned ballscrews in stock. That is the only hold up at this point.

cheers,
Michael

[dropride]

Great pics on your site, can't wait till it's all ready

[wisp]

Thanks phantom. I just put up a couple videos of the X2 cutting some aluminum at 20 IPM, .04 deep @ 2500 RPM with a 1/2" two flute EM. If you watch the video, look for the ramp move at the begining, moving down in Z and over in X at the same time. The X2 handled that move pretty well. Keep in mind we have not done any tweaks on the mill, it still has the cosmoline grease from the factory on it. It was sitting on the shop floor when I made the videos. I will try to get some more videos up soon.

Here is a link to the mini mill page with the new test cut videos

I will be ordering ballscrews on Monday for the ballscrew upgrades. Once they arrive, complete kits with ballscrew upgrade will be ready to ship.

Due to request for a DIY kit, cncfusion will soon have kits that you will do most all the machining yourself. Kits will include all the bearings, couplings, aluminum material, screws, shaft collars, and any other items needed for making and mounting the kit. Aluminum will be machined to the proper length, width, & thickness. Difficult/expensive to machine features, such as the 15/16-18 thread for the ballnuts will probably be pre-machined, that way a person won't need to buy a $45 tap that only gets used one time. Kits may also come pre-scribed/engraved with guidelines to aid in machining. A full set of blueprints, a tool list, and a CD with videos guiding you through each step will also be included. Best of all, the price should be under $125. I will post more details as the kit nears completion.

Cheers!
Michael