[fignoggle]

hi all-

as we're working on a harbor freight 8x12 mini-lathe cnc conversion, we decided to jump into making a cnc bench-mill from the ground-up.

here's the blog entry that we're updating.

it's basically a 24"x18"x24" mill with travel as yet to be determined. it's basically a prototype that we're working on to see if it's possible to get a larger work envelope like that of a sieg x3/super x3 (or larger) with the costs coming under that of a x3 conversion. we'll be using (most likely) the x2 head since it already has the r8 spindle. we may upgrade this to a x3 head as well..

we're still working on the x3 cnc conversion, but this is a more promising project at present since we'll be able to piece together a fairly accurate machine using ground ballscrews, linear slides, etc.. and we won't have the myriad design constraints we encountered when working with a small mill like the x2 (still a great little machine, but it's always nice to have bigger machines!)



enjoy!

http://www.fignoggle.com/workshop/it...e-introduction

[Deviant]

Awesome.

I been toying around with the idea of building something like this for a long time.

I'm extremely curious how it all turns out. Cutting speed, chatter, accuracy etc..

Keep us posted.

[fignoggle]

thanks deviant. will definitely report back. right now the nema23/34 mount for the x-axis is completed and the an intermediate mounting plate is being cnc'd. then the motor will get hooked up to the gecko drive and huge step motor for a test run. should be interesting to see what happens!

[XYZABisFUN]

Hello,
what kind of total weight are you aiming for? Is the idea to make a Bridge type or a C frame mill? Just a couple of questions...
Thanks
Will

[fignoggle]

it's probably going to end up being between 200-300lbs, and can be disassembled and put into a car trunk.

here's the x-y (some of it). the fignoggle website should have a slew of pictures and video in a day or so - there were quite a few interesting moments so far.

sometime this week the drives and motor will be hooked up to play around with the x/y and see about accuracy and the dreaded backlash...

the x axis is using a cheap rolled ballscrew with a re-balled ballnut to reduce backlash and the y-axis has a grade C1 ballscrew with preloaded ballnut (but there were some issues with it)... the z-axis should be the fun part - trying to figure out how to mount everything.

[RTP_Burnsville]

I have thought of doing a similar project come winter. Will look forward to your progress reports.

Thanks,
Robert

[XYZABisFUN]

Hello,
Thoughts on using a "tube" frame out of steel for the entire frame?
Think it would be lighter and still have good rigidity?
Checked out the write up...so far looks good.
Considerations for an enclosure?
Coolant tank and drainback?
modular...x/y axis then z...then enclosure etc.
add as you get to it but have a running machine first.

Thanks,
Will

[fignoggle]

just finished the x/y axes today with motor mounts, etc.. friday (that's today! and here's the video) will yield some videos of test runs. should be fun to see what it can do! we're probably going to re-work the x-base later, but as a proto it's fine.

aluminum plate is nice since you can mount all sorts of stuff on it and it doesn't require welding/cutting. so far this proto hasn't required any "heavy duty" work - just drilling/milling/cutting with small-shop tools like the mini-mill, 4x6 bandsaw, etc.. the goal is to see if we can build a more portable, larger work-envelope mill using the small machines many of us have.

[digits]

just finished the x/y axes today with motor mounts, etc.. friday (that's today! and here's the video) will yield some videos of test runs. should be fun to see what it can do! we're probably going to re-work the x-base later, but as a proto it's fine.

aluminum plate is nice since you can mount all sorts of stuff on it and it doesn't require welding/cutting. so far this proto hasn't required any "heavy duty" work - just drilling/milling/cutting with small-shop tools like the mini-mill, 4x6 bandsaw, etc.. the goal is to see if we can build a more portable, larger work-envelope mill using the small machines many of us have.

Any updates on this - the links don't seem to work anymore

[jleb]

hey can you fix the links?? can't see this.. and we need more pictures of your done conversion vs that blurry video on the site

[fignoggle]

hey can you fix the links?? can't see this.. and we need more pictures of your done conversion vs that blurry video on the site

hi. thanks for checking it out. we moved the blog to another server and we're working on getting it back online.

we'll have more video, but it's still blurry until we get a video camera set up.

happy holidays!

[digits]

hi. thanks for checking it out. we moved the blog to another server and we're working on getting it back online.

we'll have more video, but it's still blurry until we get a video camera set up.

happy holidays!

Excellent! This really is one project I'm very interested in

[nancygal]

How about fixing the links!

[fignoggle]

http://www.fignoggle.com/workshop/?c=Home-Brewed-CNC-Vertical-Mill

hi all- here's the new link to all articles related to the build. enjoy and happy holidays!

[digits]

Thanks for fixing that - some of the links still seem broken, but most of the interesting stuff is back

Did you really drill all those holes in the base and Y-plates with a hand drill? How did you do it accurately enough to maintain parallelism across such a large distance?

[fignoggle]

Thanks for fixing that - some of the links still seem broken, but most of the interesting stuff is back

Did you really drill all those holes in the base and Y-plates with a hand drill? How did you do it accurately enough to maintain parallelism across such a large distance?

hi- the links took a while to get back up.. and there are more site changes coming

re: hand drilling. yes. a large mill would have come in handy, but the bolts used allowed a bit of adjusting the rails to within acceptable parallelism. we laid out the markings many times over and measured just as much to make sure the scribes were close, then center punched, center drilled, then used the shorter machine screw drill bits with a tap block to ensure perpendicular holes.. lots of work!

[digits]

hi- the links took a while to get back up.. and there are more site changes coming

re: hand drilling. yes. a large mill would have come in handy, but the bolts used allowed a bit of adjusting the rails to within acceptable parallelism. we laid out the markings many times over and measured just as much to make sure the scribes were close, then center punched, center drilled, then used the shorter machine screw drill bits with a tap block to ensure perpendicular holes.. lots of work!

All in all, would you say that flat plate makes a good base for a DIY mill, or was it more effort than you expected?

Do you have any pics of your Z axis mounted on to the X-Y? In video of the X-Y in action, it looks like the whole assembly is upside down - unless the Y-axis really is on top?

[fignoggle]

All in all, would you say that flat plate makes a good base for a DIY mill, or was it more effort than you expected?

Do you have any pics of your Z axis mounted on to the X-Y? In video of the X-Y in action, it looks like the whole assembly is upside down - unless the Y-axis really is on top?

hi digits. will be posting up some conceptual drawings and a prototype (on a small scale) of a 3-axis post adjustment design shortly. we'll be using 3" square cross-seciton 80/20 doubled-up side by side as the column and will be bracing that using our post-adjusting "thing" to finitely adjust for tramming and squaring true.

re: y-axis. yes, it's on top - the shorter table of the two.

happy new year everyone!

[bad bearings]

Is that cold roll steel that the guides is mounted to? Has it been surfaced? You might look into getting some tooling plate just to avoid pulling those rails out of true.