[asckone]

I was t hinking to upgrade my 6040 and make it more rigid for stainless steel.

I have bought hgr20 linear rails.

And was thinking what pieces should i focus on making the machine more rigid?

X axes i might make them on steel and solder a big steel plate that will funktion as Linear rail support for the X

The bed i was thinking to replace the aluminium extrusion plates for a solid steel plate 10mm.

I have some concers on how to make the Z axis whit The rails, will need a backplate support .

What are the toughts here on making this frame more rigid ?

[Mmpie]

Buy a new machine, seriously. You’re gonna be too much invested into it before you can machine SS. Stainless work gardens like a *****, you need slow RPM’s and torque, something the Chinese spindles just aren’t capable of. You’ll want to redo the whole frame in steel, which in itself is cheap, but then proper alignment, stress relief etc starts to be pricey. You will also want flood coolant with stainless, which means a fancy enclosure with drains, chip tray and a coolant sump.


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[asckone]

Buy a new machine, seriously. You’re gonna be too much invested into it before you can machine SS. Stainless work gardens like a *****, you need slow RPM’s and torque, something the Chinese spindles just aren’t capable of. You’ll want to redo the whole frame in steel, which in itself is cheap, but then proper alignment, stress relief etc starts to be pricey. You will also want flood coolant with stainless, which means a fancy enclosure with drains, chip tray and a coolant sump.


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yes i understand, but for the 8months comming i have free access to big cnc workshop, so i can use anything to machine the pieces.

What i understand the Chinese performance depends on the VFD, i have a 4k VFD to run onto the 2200w spindle.

So right now it's all about ideas, as material is free and i have the workshop acces i want to use this possibility to upgrade my machine whitout spending any $$$$$$$$

[Mmpie]

yes i understand, but for the 8months comming i have free access to big cnc workshop, so i can use anything to machine the pieces.

What i understand the Chinese performance depends on the VFD, i have a 4k VFD to run onto the 2200w spindle.

So right now it's all about ideas, as material is free and i have the workshop acces i want to use this possibility to upgrade my machine whitout spending any $$$$$$$$

A 4KW VFD won’t pull more power from the spindle, it’s not even truly 2.2kw anyway more like 1.5kw. OLV control helps a teeny tad but not much, the spindle will not run with enough balls to machine cardboard at the RPM’s you would need to run at never mind stainless. So that’s a new spindle and motor needed. By the time you’ve got those, and done the frame up enough to cope, your time, effort and money invested would have bought you a Tormach or a used machine that CAN cut stainless.

By all means upgrade the frame, I was going to use all the motion components and electrics from my 6040 style machine to build a welded steel fixed gantry machine, but I ended up going down the VMC route. I’m lucky I had the resources, space, and business case to do so, I understand that not many have. But if stainless is your goal it’s unrealistic to try to do it on a budget with cheap parts. You will not get the performance the effort deserves.


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[dharmic]

I smell the gangland killing of another dream coming up...

Is that 2200w spindle a 24000RPM one? If it is, bear in mind that below about 6000RPM they have no torque and you will cook them running them slow. Regardless of the VFD. They're just too fast for SS on anything but a tiny tiny endmill and, with the flex you have in even a reinforced 6040 machine, you're going to be pinging the ends off those little endmills every five minutes.

Mmpie absolutely has the right of it. After chasing a rabbit down a hole very similar to the one you're contemplating, seriously: resist the temptation to "succeed where every other idiot who's tried this just didn't try hard enough". Even mild steel is a mongrel to work on a 6040 machine. Stainless? Take the cash you are planning to use to upgrade your machine. Hold it in your hand. Now set fire to it. Same end result, just quicker and less painful.

Better yet, use that cash to build up a working relationship with a local machine shop, EDM, laser, water jet, plasma cutter place - whichever best suits your needs - and job the work out. Best move I ever made. Use the 6040 for spinning prototypes, get everything right, then let the guys with the expensive toys do the final run for you. You'll have less frustration, it will work out cheaper in the short and long run, and the results will be far superior in quality to anything you'll ever get out of your 6040.

[routalot]

As has been said before in the thread,the frame of the machine is just a part of the problem.The spindle just will not go down to the speeds best suited to stainless.Either buy a used Bridgeport and do a conversion or send the work to somebody who has the right machine.