[QSIMDO]

Please pardon the non-CNC intrusion.

I have one of the last manual mills Aaron sold and I'm of an age now that cranking the head up will result in shoulder damage that I'd REALLY like to avoid.

Wondering what type of suggestions you folks with motorized axis movement experience might have?

I'll listen to everything from an old Briggs & Stratton with chain drive to changing over to a ball screw with whiz-bang controls!

TIA

Len

[jetflatline]

Before I decided to go CNC I was going to do something like figNoggle Designs: Tired of Cranking the Z-Axis Crank Handle on an RF45 Mill? Use a Cordless Drill and a Crank-Z-Doodle Adapter

[QSIMDO]

Excellent, simple idea but I'd be concerned about overcoming inertia without a counter balance.

[UUU]

The inertia will be higher with a counter balance.

[QSIMDO]

The inertia will be higher with a counter balance.

OK, perhaps I'm misusing terms but it's a bear to get the hand crank to move initially.

Once it's moving it's not extremely bad, but it sure seems if there was a counter balance it'd be less force to get things started and easier to keep 'em moving.

Care to explain?

[UUU]

I apologise, I'm playing with words here.

In the strict physics of the situation, the interia is a feature of the mass you are trying to accelerate. if you add a counterweight then you have more mass to accelerate and therefore more inertia.

Acceleration only comes once you've applied enough force to move in the first place. So you are concerned to apply enough force to move the z-axis assembly, and clearly a counterweight will reduce the lifting force required when going up. If the counterwieght is fully balancing the weight of the head then it's only the friction you have to overcome before you begin to move.

[ptxman]

Are you talking about something like this? I need to do the same with my RF-45 mill, but seems like most of the gas spring goodies are located in USA, not as much in my part of the world. I think just counteractingthe weight would make hand cranking much easier. Or, if you decide to go motorized, it should require less of a motor.

Gas Springs

[QSIMDO]

Are you talking about something like this? I need to do the same with my RF-45 mill, but seems like most of the gas spring goodies are located in USA, not as much in my part of the world. I think just counteractingthe weight would make hand cranking much easier. Or, if you decide to go motorized, it should require less of a motor.

Gas Springs

I decided to go with a pneumatic cylinder and a small air tank as an accumulator.
Someone else on here did that an I'm brazenly copying the whole affair!:wave:

[arizonavideo]

I have some new 500 watt scooter motors I could fab a pulley to go on the crank real fast and then you would have a good power lift.

I don't want to explain how I ended up with 5 scooter motors but I would like to see the go away.

A drill is OK but you still need to make a adapter.

[ptxman]

I decided to go with a pneumatic cylinder and a small air tank as an accumulator.
Someone else on here did that an I'm brazenly copying the whole affair!:wave:

do you have a link for that?

[QSIMDO]

do you have a link for that?

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/indust...erbalance.html