[BobWarfield]

I completed my Z-axis modification today and got started on a one shot oiling setup for my IH mill. I haven't done an awful lot on the latter except to cut some oil distribution grooves with a 1/8" ball mill. I tried the slide on the column after hand injecting some oil through the ball ports--this one shot oiling is going to be sweet! I was concerned the grooves would be too large, but they're perfect. Oil was spread very evenly across the ways and it made the carriage slide very nicely.

Next I need to remove the ball ports, install fittings, and decide what to do about lubing the Z-axis ballnut.

A couple pics:





More details on my site: http://www.cnccookbook.com/index.htm

Best,

BW

[KEYTEEM]

That's a good idea, do you suggest a slot in the x + y axis also?

[BobWarfield]

Yes, Keyteem, I'll be adding oiling grooves to both the x and y axes as well.

Best,

BW

[KEYTEEM]

I will keep an eye on your progress , here and at your site.
I plan on doing the same , just have to figure out how when
I own just one machine.

[BobWarfield]

Keyteem, I can think of several suggestions.

First, I think a one shot oiler has value even without the grooves. Take the X-axis, where the ball ports are in the middle. I prefer oil ports in the saddle where I can crank the axis back and forth and give squirts all along the length and not just in the middle. Thomas Powell built a nice system without any oil grooves.

Second, you may be able to find someone with a mill who can cut the grooves. It's dead easy to do, provided the mill is large enough.

Third, if all else failed, I think you could create a rig to do the job. I'd mount the 1/8" ball mill in a Dremel or similar and build a carriage that could travel along the ways to create a groove. It only has to be approximately right and is not a high accuracy job. You could probably manage to make a drill press do the job too if you have an X-Y table for it.

Or, you might make an assembly that can ride the dovetails of the saddle and Z-axis slide to cut grooves. It's a very light cut, so it wouldn't take much.

Cheers,

BW

[BobWarfield]

Here are the various eBay goodies I've accumulated for the one shot oiling system:



I reckon that's just about $100 worth of stuff there. The key components are Legris push-in fittings and a set of flow control valves I found cheap:



The flow control valves let me individually tune each of the 9 circuits (one for each way side plus ball screw nut for each of 3 axes), and also incorporates a check valve so oil flow is always towards the ways.

I got grooves on another axis but then had to stop to help my brother make a new part for his Audi TT. Here's the saddle with one axis done:



More to come. I'm also planning an epoxy granite fill for the base and column.

Best,

BW

[mxtras]

Nice work, Bob!

Scott

[BobWarfield]

Scott, I have to give credit to you for the idea of using flow control valves. I saw that reading your thread on the oiling system you built.

Thanks for the idea!

BW

[KEYTEEM]

Yes I agree Bob, an oil system is a must have unless use of the machine is
limited . I think the grooves are the way to go, nice job.
I am gonna try a dremel maybe,and or thinking of using
a die grinder . nice job !

[Andre' B]

Traditionally oil groves would be put in with a hammer and chisel.
Based on some of the old iron I have seen it was not a slow process, way faster then a die grinder will be. You just need to be willing to hammer on your new machine.
Some of the stuff I have seen looked almost as good as if it had been done with a ball end mill.


http://books.google.com/books?id=iD5...rr=1#PPA235,M1

[BobWarfield]

If you use a hammer and chisel, you'll need to take care about the area that it raises around the groove. Some provision will need to be made to get rid of that.

Machine Tool reconditioning suggests hammer and chisel work be done before scraping, for that reason, or that you use a small hand grinder to avoid the problem.

Cheers,

BW

[BrendaEM]

Traditional or not, I would not take a hammer and chisel to $2000 of cast iron.

Of course you did nice deburring, right?

Although I might try a Dremel tool and one of those 1/32" cut off wheels, but if the Dremel tool has that new auto speed control, it might make it lurch. Why did they put that ruiner/injurer circuit in there.

[Geof]

If you use a hammer and chisel, you'll need to take care about the area that it raises around the groove.....

Actually on cast iron you will get practically no distortion around the chisel cut. Some cast iron, after appropriate heat treatment, may be described as malleable or ductile iron but it is nothing like steel, very little deformation plastic occurs during cutting.

[BrendaEM]

Wow, that casting (saddle?) is massive!

It must be handy to have a spare mill around.

[While I was thinking about Dremel's awful speed control, a thought occurred to me: Dremel makes some pretty small ball mills, although a 1/8 channel seems to get lost on the bottom of that that dovetail"]

[BobWarfield]

Wow, that casting (saddle?) is massive!

BrendaEM, the casting seems small compared to most of the other parts. The IH is a big mill, as benchtops go.

Got the X-axis grooved finally (some interruptions):



Be sure to avoid the access hole for the Y-nut bolt on that one!

Now that the grooving is done, I need to drill some intersecting holes and tap for fittings, figure out how to mount various brackets, engineer oil to the ballnuts, and probably a lot else!

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready to pour epoxy granite in the base. I may do the column too, but haven't decided. I've started a page on the 'cookbook for the Epoxy Granite too:

http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCMillEpoxyFill.htm

My inspiration is our very own Davo727 for this work. Epoxy Granite is cool stuff. It has 8x the vibration dampening of cast iron, so with the iron for strength and the E/G for dampening, I'm hoping surface finish and ability to take deeper cuts without chatter will be greatly improved. When you consider how much more than the IH even small VMC's weigh, I feel better adding a little mass. Besides, playing with sand and gravel is good for the inner child!

First step is a containment system for the epoxy:



I need to seal those up so no epoxy can escape. Still consideration how best to do that. My inclination is a bead of 5-minute epoxy on the tubing, and RTV fillets on the plates. Not sure how RTV will play with the Epoxy Granite though, so I'm going to check in over on the E/G thread and see if anyone knows.

Cheers!

BW

[Oldmanandhistoy]

Looking good and nice website

A one shot oil system is on my to do list along with Turcite http://www.midlands-slideway-grinding.com/products.html on the saddles and gibs eventually.

John

[BrendaEM]

Being lazy, I might just gluegun the dams in, depending how much you are going to tamp the EG in.

If you do use epoxy, perhaps you could add some filler (thixotropic stuff) in the epoxy to make it hang better. Body filler would be thicker, and so would Rot-Out which is basically bondo (microspheres) with fine fiberglass (rods) in it. The bodo (polyester) and the EG (epoxy) may react, but by then it will hardening. Bondo would be nice and thick.

I see a little oil film in the upper right of the casting. If there are things you don't want stuck, polypropylene is pretty hard to bond to.

If you mean RTV as in anything that contains silicone, I'd keep it away from your project.

One of those little sandblasters would be nice to prepare the surface, as long as you could keep it away from the ways, and shiny parts.

[BobWarfield]

Thank you BrendaEM!

Hot glue is a good idea. I'm not sure why, but I almost never think to use my hot glue gun rather than the other adhesives. It's much quicker. I also need to put magnets in the hanging hole of about 5 more chip brushes, so I need to get it out anyway.

BTW, very handy to have a chip brush with a magnet. Slap 'em on the side of the machine and they're there the next time you want one.

Best,

BW

[Runner4404spd]

Bob,

i did a cnc conversion on my second IH mill and am wondering if the epoxy fill your doing will really help in vibration damping. i agree with the theory behind it but i think you would need to fill the column as well, at least partially. good lcuk with your project.

[BobWarfield]

Runner, I think the base will still matter. There's one heck of a cantilever involved with that column and heavy head. It's going to be even more so if I fill the column to any extent. I also do agree that some column fill could have an even greater effect, and plan to investigate it.

There are two aspects. First is just putting some fill into the column. The challenge is ensuring there is enough clearance for the leadscrew and nut in there after you're done. This is not much of a problem in the lower part of the column because the screw doesn't even go there. Higher up, I will either have to do multiple pours and turn the column each time, or fabricate some sort of a mold that goes in through the open slot to reserve the necessary space. I need to go ahead and assemble the Z-axis leadscrew enough that I can take some measurements and formulate a plan.

The thing is, Epoxy Granite is cheap and easy, so experimenting with it seems a worthwhile risk/reward equation.

Meanwhile, the hot glue didn't work out so I'm trying some RTV. I found a reference that there are no adverse effects with West Marine Epoxy. Biggest issue is I only had enough in the house for one test, so I'll go get more if it cures up okay. I need to do a trial mix of the epoxy outside the mill anyway.

Cheers,

BW