Hi Guys,

I read this whole thread learning new things with every post. I also have a servo 3925 machine with all the axis on thompson rails and ballscrews on the x+y. I am a CNC rookie.

My machine was seriously beat up in shipping. We had the machine crated and sent nearly assembled by freight truck. K2 did a decent job crateing the machine but a lazy driver litterally pushed it out the back of the truck. Absolutely brutal handling. With a little luck, the freight company may have bought a good portion of this machine for me.

I have a couple questions....

How quiet should the ballscrews be? It seems that they are making a bit of "tinking" noise at 75 - 150"/min. Should the machine just make a "whine" noise when operating? I am not sure if the shipping damage is causing the extra travel noise. I lubed the ballscrews with lithium grease. I do NOT think the X or Y is bound at all, powered down I can spin the axis fairly easy by hand, even with the belt on. I can even push the carriage and the servo motors spins... I think the axis is free enough, but I am worried about the noise. The Z is dead quiet even though the lead screw is bent.

Is the best method to ensure a flat base surface to simply routing a wood base flat? By chucking up a 1/2 end mill and making a zillion passes this will create a perfectly calibrated Z axis base plane. Is there a better way?

I have the Hitachi 12V router and I am looking for a 1/8th collet without using the spacer collet in a 1/4 inch unit. Does anyone make a ope-piece (no adaptor) 1/8th collet? Will a Porter Cable or Makita work in a Hatachi?

Using MasterCam and Mach 2, it seems that there is some kind of post-processor issue when completing a drilling sequence. It seems that after canning the drill cycle (G80), it starts to contour without lifting the z and initializing a rapid transit movement (G0). Any one have any tricks to fixing this issue? Right now it requires manually adding a G0 after every G80 to rapid jog to the start point of the contour cycle.

Are most of you using soft limits? Or do most put micro switches at each end?

I am sure I will have some more questions, thanks in advance for your information.

Mark

I have a 3925 machine also and my ballscrews are pretty noisy also, Im not sure if they are suppose to be though.

Yes porter cable makes a 1/8 collet adapter. It isnt in any store you will need to order it from porter cable yourself, or a local homecenter can order it for you. And my machine makes all kinds of noise I have had my one for almost a year now with miminal problems. I had ken add a plasma table to my machine and he made me a holder for my plasma hand torch. You can chuck up a fly cutter to level your table real fast.

Hey guys,

Same here. I was suprised at how noisy they can be. I did open mine up to clean them out and added 2-3 (I think 3) extra balls. They are3.15 mm and you might have some ball bearings you can cut to get the balls from.

taus