Hey, thanks Al.
Oxford, Al is of course right (as always). And that is the Panduit brand of ducting that he mentioned. I got it from Mouser. If you need a part number I can post that for you. I'll try to post a pic so you can see the difference in having the conduit vs free-hanging wiring... the difference is HUGE. Once you start wiring you'll quickly notice how freakin' messy it gets.
I'm going to answer all these questions that I've missed by being offline for so long.... very sorry to leave you all hanging like that! I started making some good progress on some jigs that I'm building for a prj but had to put my entire shop into storage after the house I was leasing had sold. I moved into a temp place since and am still looking for a more permanent spot so I can set my shop back up and get back to work. Hoping to be back up by this time next month.
So, to answer your questions;
cjdavis: here are the specs on the spindle motor and controller I'm using:
spindle motor: Kollmorgen Goldline XT (MT308TB1-E1F4) brushless servo. 1.81 HP - 3000 rpm @ 225 oz/in.
spindle controller: ServoStar CD (CE06250) w/ motion link controller software.
spindle encoder: Class F LPR incremental w/ 2048 ppr
Here's a pic of how I purchased the rig off ebay - all for under $300:
This unit is amazing. The software is amazing and easy to use. I'm not familiar enough with high-end servo systems but I would bet that it's one of the best available... at least for it's time.
The great thing about this is that the drive will run directly off of step/dir signals from any cnc controller. It also has a differential encoder output on the drive that I've connected into the kflop/snapamp controller that allows for closed-loop configuration which I'll be using for rigid-tapping.
If you have trouble finding any info on these just let me know and I can post that here for you. The manuals are way dense and packed with everything you'd ever want to know about them.
veteq: Yes, the kflop controller has 8 opto-isolated inputs and 8 opto-isolated outputs. (you probably figured that out by now though.)
ronncat: Again, probably too late but.... the back plate (lexan) could have been even taller without it crashing into the head at -Z travel so that's not an issue. Y travel is fine too... the cutter/spindle only gets to within 2+ inches of back shield. It's not a problem. But, depending on the placement of your tooling plate it possibly could be.
With my tooling plate and the Glacern 4" vise, I can run a 3/4" endmill outside the vise jaws when they are mounted in the max position. So, when I mount the jaws on the outsides of the vice for max holding capacity I still have room to cut the back edge of the mounted stock with a 3/4" endmill.
How's your chip tray going by the way? Did you get a chance to make it, or use it yet?
matt (1hand): Thanks a lot! I got my inspiration mainly from the enclosure gallery at Bob's site cnccookbook.com. If you haven't been there you should definitely check it out. A great site for cnc resources.
Sorry for taking so long to reply to all your questions... I'll try to check back more frequently and will start posting more once I get my shop back up and running. I still plan on doing some more mods to the mill so I should have some more posts coming in the future.