[3space]

Hey guys,

I just purchased an SX3 mill from MachineToolsWarehouse.com in Canada. I'm very happy with the price/delivery/etc. I also purchased the stand, but recognize that if I was already welding-cool, I could have done something better. Before even plugging in the mill, I began disassembly using the posted procedure, up to the point where I had to remove the spindle gearing. I decided I didn't have a gear puller, so I'd instead just hope that this part would be sufficiently clean. I'll deal with the problem later, should it arise.

At this point, I decided to get the mill onto its stand. I looked for a couple of weeks for used shop crane, but decided that I'd be better off biting the bullet on lost garage floor space just purchasing a 2T shop crane. I found one for $199 from BuyTools.ca, so purchased that. Fast delivery, cheapest price around. Good experience.

Although many have done the same conversion, I figure that another set of photos can't hurt. I'll post more later today (hopefully).

[dogmeatk]

Did you lift the mill by the head ?? :O

[H500]

What did they charge for delivery?

[Crevice Reamer]

Congratulations 3space!

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/machin...ly%20Guide.pdf

I wonder if that stand will get tippy if you put some weight on the table?

CR.

[3space]

Yes. I realized afterwards that was dumb for several reasons...

[3space]

What did they charge for delivery?

@H500: Not sure whether you were asking about the Shop Crane or the Mill.
Shop Crane: $60, but we're both from Montreal, so was cheap. Princess Auto would be closer to you, so in all, it might be cheaper.
Mill: $250, with lift gate service. Since you are closer to MachineToolsWarehouse, it should be less for you.

[3space]

Congratulations 3space!

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/machin...ly%20Guide.pdf

I wonder if that stand will get tippy if you put some weight on the table?

CR.

Thanks CR! I have read previous posts from you, so I knew about this link.

A couple of days ago I pulled the z-axis out, replaced it with the CNCFusion Deluxe kit (with Helical couplers) z-axis ball screw, installed a 75 lbs gas strut, installed the x and y ball screws, yesterday I wired up one stepper, and today I spent 2 hours hooking up the G540 to a computer I found at an electronics graveyard, and got the Y axis working on the mill. It's nice when everything works the first time! Still though, the CNCFusion Deluxe kit brackets weren't aligning perfectly. It seems like the X axis is not perfectly aligned, so I'll need to redo that part so I can properly attach the x-axis motor.

Question: I'll read more on it, but homing switches versus limit switches? Don't understand that yet. Do people use two sets? I built an Arduino-bsed 3D printer last year, and I use limit switches as homing switches. Is that wrong for a mill? Finally, can you (or anybody) recommend good switches, and can the Z-axis ones be mounted inside the mill?

Lots of questions, I know. I appreciate anybody's/everybody's help.

[3space]

I wonder if that stand will get tippy if you put some weight on the table?

CR.

I wondered the same thing. I was concerned about this when I thought I'd just have one shot at it. However, now that I have the shop crane, I figure that I'll just try it, and if it is wobbly, I'll just pick the sucker up, install outriggers (no idea what it is really called!) on the bottom of the base, and put it back down. I'll let you guys know how it works out. I don't want to bolt it to the floor, as I might move it, an the floor is nicely epoxied now.

My only big concern is swarf, and what kind of low profile enclosure I can install around it to contain the chips. Will be thinking about this. I don't have too much room, and I won't be using this daily, so I hope to have some sort of knock-down solution. Ideas welcome!

[H500]

@H500: Not sure whether you were asking about the Shop Crane or the Mill.
Shop Crane: $60, but we're both from Montreal, so was cheap. Princess Auto would be closer to you, so in all, it might be cheaper.
Mill: $250, with lift gate service. Since you are closer to MachineToolsWarehouse, it should be less for you.

I was asking about the mill, but I actually have one already. I was just curious. It's a very capable machine. My only complaint is the z backlash is bout 4 mil even with preloaded ball screws. One day, I will scrap the slide to improve the fit.

[Crevice Reamer]

I was asking about the mill, but I actually have one already. I was just curious. It's a very capable machine. My only complaint is the z backlash is bout 4 mil even with preloaded ball screws. One day, I will scrap the slide to improve the fit.

Remove the Z pulley. Find the mark where the set screw hit. Now either drill a dimple there, or file/grind a flat for set screw. Now replace pulley and tighten down with a little locktite. Take a long prybar/screwdriver and make the belt as tight as possible. Your Z backlash should drop to practically nothing.

CR.

[luis.gm]

Hey guys,

I just purchased an SX3 mill from MachineToolsWarehouse.com in Canada. I'm very happy with the price/delivery/etc. I also purchased the stand, but recognize that if I was already welding-cool, I could have done something better. Before even plugging in the mill, I began disassembly using the posted procedure, up to the point where I had to remove the spindle gearing. I decided I didn't have a gear puller, so I'd instead just hope that this part would be sufficiently clean. I'll deal with the problem later, should it arise.

At this point, I decided to get the mill onto its stand. I looked for a couple of weeks for used shop crane, but decided that I'd be better off biting the bullet on lost garage floor space just purchasing a 2T shop crane. I found one for $199 from BuyTools.ca, so purchased that. Fast delivery, cheapest price around. Good experience.

Although many have done the same conversion, I figure that another set of photos can't hurt. I'll post more later today (hopefully).

Hey 3Space keep it up man! there will never be enough pictures, just put as much as you want!!! I think pictures are something that helps a lot people like me that sometimes do not have the knowledge to fully understand some obvious things but that want to learn and do it themselves.

Glad you are making progress man, how is your project going lately? let us know!

Best!
lg

[H500]

Remove the Z pulley. Find the mark where the set screw hit. Now either drill a dimple there, or file/grind a flat for set screw. Now replace pulley and tighten down with a little locktite. Take a long prybar/screwdriver and make the belt as tight as possible. Your Z backlash should drop to practically nothing.

I don't see any slip between the pulley and the screw. The screw feels springy when I turn the pulley. The head nods by about 1mil when changing direction. I think the gib needs to be scraped.

[3space]

Remove the Z pulley. Find the mark where the set screw hit. Now either drill a dimple there, or file/grind a flat for set screw. Now replace pulley and tighten down with a little locktite. Take a long prybar/screwdriver and make the belt as tight as possible. Your Z backlash should drop to practically nothing.

CR.

I was wondering how tight this should be, thx!

Speaking of the z-axis, I was wondering about isolating the electronics from the screw & steppers. Below is a pic of what it looks like now. I was thinking of either 3D printing an isolation plate, or using the metal I cut away with a small length of aluminum angle to make a chamber. I think I'd have to perforate the plate and install a small screen as Sieg did at the bottom of the original electronics compartment. Do any of you have pics you want to share illustrating your solution?



Thanks!

[3space]

Hey 3Space keep it up man! there will never be enough pictures, just put as much as you want!!! I think pictures are something that helps a lot people like me that sometimes do not have the knowledge to fully understand some obvious things but that want to learn and do it themselves.

Glad you are making progress man, how is your project going lately? let us know!

Best!
lg

Hey Luis,

The pics I posted above are a few days old. I am back at it tomorrow. The CNCFusion parts didn't line up perfectly with the bolt holes in the machine, but I'm guessing that is related to my lack of precision mounting the x and y ball nuts. I'll be taking that apart tomorrow. I still need to find limit switches and figure out where to install them. I saw somebody (you?) use the blue limit switches with the roller end, and wondering whether that is any better than the same units with the linear (like pushing a button I guess) end. Do you know what I mean? I understand that opto versions can be problematic with swarf, so I am sticking to mechanical ones for now.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any/all advice!

[kooka]

gday 3space my solution was to remove all the electronics from the rear of mill and relocate them in a cabinet along with rest of my control gear. this way all well protected and access if required is nice and easy, especially as i built my setup into racking.

[luis.gm]

Hey Luis,

The pics I posted above are a few days old. I am back at it tomorrow. The CNCFusion parts didn't line up perfectly with the bolt holes in the machine, but I'm guessing that is related to my lack of precision mounting the x and y ball nuts. I'll be taking that apart tomorrow. I still need to find limit switches and figure out where to install them. I saw somebody (you?) use the blue limit switches with the roller end, and wondering whether that is any better than the same units with the linear (like pushing a button I guess) end. Do you know what I mean? I understand that opto versions can be problematic with swarf, so I am sticking to mechanical ones for now.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any/all advice!

Hi 3space,

Hoping to see more pictures of your conversion. I am also looking for my limit switches at the moment. I lost about a month waiting for some coupling, but thats another story Im trying to move on with the conversion now

Did the re-alignment of the ballscrews helped you to mount without problems the motor-mounting of the Y axis?

lg

[3space]

gday 3space my solution was to remove all the electronics from the rear of mill and relocate them in a cabinet along with rest of my control gear. this way all well protected and access if required is nice and easy, especially as i built my setup into racking.

Will you post pics?

I was thinking of the same thing, to build a box with all electronics including P4 mainboard, G540, spindle controller, etc. I thought I'd do this in 2 steps: 1) Buy and use a controller box for the mill to get up and running more quickly. 2) Over time, design a rackmount box layout, and ultimately use the mill to machine front and back plates of the new box, move equipment over, or use existing setup for a lathe conversion, and buy a new G540 for the new mill controller.

Anyway, thanks for the reply!

[3space]

Did the re-alignment of the ballscrews helped you to mount without problems the motor-mounting of the Y axis?

lg

No, but thanks for asking. As it turned out, I was within 0.04mm when I measured the valley of the ball screw thread to the edge of the dovetails on each end of one of the dovetails. The re-alignment process led me to notice that none of the bolt holes line up. So, I get the feeling that the misaligned bracket is causing poor alignment of the motor with the helical coupling. Read my 2 posts ago where I explained my problem more thoroughly. This could be what is creating the pulsing sound that I am now hearing as the x-axis works its way up and down the screw. As I also already mentioned, the motor is unable to turn the screw at some points, especially as the platform moves to the right towards x=0.

I forgot to ask above, could the fact that I have not oiled the ball screw yet be causing the high friction? For the most part, it is smooth and quiet, so I am guessing that the answer is "no". I still have to figure out what oil to use for the ball screw. If you know, please tell me. I asked Michael at CNCFusion, but no answer.

On the upside, I temporarily wired up the z-axis motor, and tested it. By default, it moved at 1"/second. I am not yet Mach3-cool, so I am not sure whether it will go any faster than that. It's a thing of beauty to see that head move so fast, when I manually turned the screw so many times, only getting mm's per turn.

Thx!

[3space]

Hi 3space,

Hoping to see more pictures of your conversion. I am also looking for my limit switches at the moment. I lost about a month waiting for some coupling, but thats another story Im trying to move on with the conversion now

lg

I still need to get some 3.5k resistors for the DB9 connectors. As it turns out, I'm a distributor for Neutrik (long story, not my day job), so I'll likely be using some Neutrik speak-on connectors for my motors. I'll wire from the motors into the back enclosure, install panel-mount Neutrik plug connectors facing the outside, then run the signals to the G540 through Neutrik jack connectors. They are good locking connectors, so I think this will be a plus. We'll see.

What will you do for limit switches? I see packs of 6 temco limit switches on ebay for $40. That seems like a good deal. However, they have roller, plunger, etc. versions, and I'm not sure which to get. It's a matter of which version will fit more than anything. Any ideas?

Thx!

[billfle]

Hello 3space, I purchased an X3 mill 5 years ago and intended converting it to CNC. I have been seriously concerned at the reliability and doubt that I will continue to sink money into it. My last failure was the DC motor. The windings were done in wire similar to that used in the 1960's so I replaced the 600w motor with a 1500w DC motor from a treadmill which performs well. I have had 4 failures of the speed controller and now use a Minarik controller. The gearbox is becoming noisy and I will need to dismantle it soon to avoid possible failure. The Z axis movement is siezing also. I also purchased the X axis DC drive which is very useful. It did have problems just after purchase but I did rectify these. I should add that being an electrician I was horrified with the workmanship inside this unit. Given my present knowledge and experience I certainly would not buy another one of these but would choose a slightly larger machine to avoid the column twist that the X3 series exhibits. Sorry to be so negative but this machine has cost me a lot and I suppose I have become part of the manufacturing process. In reality it is a small hobby machine with a slightly higher cost than some better machines, quality and reliability are just not present.