I am going to try to build my first cnc machine. The idea i had and that im going to work with is to take a drill press and convert it. Has anyone tried this or have done it and would like to comment? As far as the tables go and the xyz axis, its all pretty much setup except the servo's need to be mounted and the wiring and boards done.

" Im not the sharpest tool in the shed but im not the rubber mallet either!"

Hello, Welcome to the Zone.

Hmmm. What kind of things do you want to be able to cut? Drill presses are not really designed for lateral or sideways pressure. The quill will not be able to take much and neither will the chuck. Search on chuck here, and you will see many posts telling you not to use one. As far as speed, it will be too slow for wood and too weak for metal IMHO.

Tell us more as to what you want to do and we might me able to help.
Steve

Im just wanting to make small parts for now, mostly out of plastic and maybe sometimes out of aluminum. What about replacing or changing the chuck? This being my first cnc machine and my first attempt to build one, im mainly striving at the experience of it all and to get familiar with all the parts and wiring. After this maybe i will commit to a more serious machine.

[QUOTE=compmedic]I am going to try to build my first cnc machine. The idea i had and that im going to work with is to take a drill press and convert it. Has anyone tried this or have done it and would like to comment? As far as the tables go and the xyz axis, its all pretty much setup except the servo's need to be mounted and the wiring and boards done.

" Im not the sharpest tool in the shed but im not the rubber mallet either



Do a forum search for 'cnc mill from a drill press' and you will find a thread on what you contemplate doing...Jim

Thanks jim, i have done this and found one that didnt seem too bad. I also did a google search of the subject and found a couple of nice work logs. Here is one:

drill press to cnc conversion (http://www.pathcom.com/~vhchan/cnc/cnc.html)

I think the project should go over well considering.........
it might be a waste of money and a good drill press to do it this way but when you dont have any money and your as smart as a rock then it dont matter, lol.

Just want to make a few computer modding parts with it and it might be good for circuit board making.

Hi Compmedic here's the link I was thinking about.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15408&highlight=cnc+mill+from+a+drill+press

Yeah i seen that. Although his machine looks good and he seems talented, it all looked a little confusing.

Wow, I never read that other thread til now. A monumental effort and well done job.

But, what exactly is left of the old drill press that one could even call it a drill press conversion? The spindle housing? :D The Rockwell deckel? :D

If your primary application is drilling hole patterns (which is a legitimate operation in some production facility), then sure, start with the drill press. Otherwise, get a mill drill and start from there, or better, an old cnc mill and "PC retrofit it"

Reminded me of the old autoshop joke: "Your car has some serious problems but the good news is the labor costs will be very low. All we have to do is put a jack under the radiator cap and drive a new car under it" ;)

I think this pretty much defines the line between work and hobby LOL



Tiger

Wow, I never read that other thread til now. A monumental effort and well done job.

But, what exactly is left of the old drill press that one could even call it a drill press conversion? The spindle housing? :D The Rockwell deckel? :D

If your primary application is drilling hole patterns (which is a legitimate operation in some production facility), then sure, start with the drill press. Otherwise, get a mill drill and start from there, or better, an old cnc mill and "PC retrofit it"

Thanks Hu

There is little left of the drill press; I also use it for small parts (not steel)
It's a 3000mm/min rapid feed 0.01mm repeatablity machine now; with 2 spindles one for 16,000 and the other for smaller cutters up to 35,000 rpm +

I see your also in Canada; maybe if your not too far away; you might actually see it and the new Gantry machine

Hey if a drill press to cnc is what you want to try; give it a go; I did and learned a lot from it; you don't have high expectations of the machine; so you'll have a ball making it

i did a similar thing to the v chan tool but without the cnc part and it was good enough
to build my small router on. i still use it for jig drilling and occasional milling.
as stevie say's build one you'll get a lot of satisfaction from it (should be part of a diy/cnc course -step one) and it wont cost much.
mike

Hi Compmedic. I've wanted to CNC my drill press, but not to use as a mill. I'd just like to use it when I have to drill lots of holes so my mill can continue milling. I'll probably get to do that conversion someday soon. Meanwhile, those other guys are bang on. Converting a drill press will involve jacking it up and driving a mill underneath. It only looks sorta like a mill, it isn't really one.

Why not look at building a router table? I would think a small one could be done fairly cheaply with some eBay scrounging. It will cut a little aluminum and a lot of plastic. It will be a good learning experience and you won't have to do any "hard" machining to build it probably. Stevie and the College Prof did those conversions with benefit of outside machine tools and a lot of knowledge. As the other old joke goes, "Don't try this at home, they are professionals."

Alternatively, you could buy a used mill drill, or a small Taig or some such off eBay if you shop carefully. It's also pretty cheap to CNC a small lathe and it would give you some great experience.

Best,

BW

Thanks for all the replys fellow enthusiats. I think for a smart lad like myself but first in the cnc then this is a good way to learn some of the process. Build it as a 2 axis table mostly for drilling pcb's. Then i can build a second with the new Ryobi router i got for $2. Yes i said $2! I also got a new 4" 2 way movement vise holder for free but its too big for my press table. Anybody interested in any of these kinda parts or computer parts and laptops and would want to trade for some servo motors and other parts then let me know.

Also i forgot to ask, can anybody tell me the rpm's to use for different kinds of material?

I am going to try to build my first cnc machine. The idea i had and that im going to work with is to take a drill press and convert it. Has anyone tried this or have done it and would like to comment?

I haven't tried yet but I have the perfect canidate drill press ready to go. It has a sever runout issue with the spindle. I was going to fix that but purchased another drill press instead.


As far as the tables go and the xyz axis, its all pretty much setup except the servo's need to be mounted and the wiring and boards done.

Well that is a lot farther than I'm at the moment as frankly this idea is back burner. Do post some pictures for us please.


" Im not the sharpest tool in the shed but im not the rubber mallet either!"

By the way It was my intention to build a new spindle with an ER taper and direct drive it with a spindle motor. The problem is that quil assemblies in most drill presses are not exactly the most rigid of fit ups. I'm not sure how it will work out.

The other option is to turn the drill press into a super hand taping station. I would still fab a spindle but it certainly would be less work than that offered up by trying to get decent CNC performance out of it.

Dave

Yeah i seen that. Although his machine looks good and he seems talented, it all looked a little confusing.

Well if it looks good; but you find it confusing; then the statement "he seems talented" really seems out of place
I'll be watching your build closely; to see if you are in a position to know if I'm talented or not

Hey Compmedic, I,m in the same boat as you. I too am planning to convert a drill press to a milling machine and add cnc later. What I caught on another forum was that drill press spindles are not good for milling due to as you lower the spindle the shaft looses its ridgedness. So I thought why not leave the spindle where its at(not lowered) and just have the table be the z axis(raise up and down). Just thought I,d share my idea with ya..

What the hell is a quill?


Zip..... that is the same idea i had, just have the table move and not the spindle. Thats why im going to start with just 2 axis then add the z axis later.

Stevie.....im not very smart but by the looks of your handiwork then your alot smarter then me.

Well idon,t know if I,m a step ahead of ya but I just ordered this compound table
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G8750
G8750 6" x 18-1/2" Compound Slide Table

I like it because it looks like a real milling table and I like the handles and only $119.00. Yeah I too will be adding the z axis later and my only concern about moving the table as the z axis is if that can be programmed into a cnc controller(I,m sure it can). I,ll bring my camera to the shop and take some pics with it mounted to my cheap $44 drill press from Big Lots. I seen the same drill press sell on some web site some where for $189.00.

ZIP.........It already sounds like your a step ahead of me.
I have not got any mill table yet accept for a 4" mill vise.
I would love to see a pic of the Drill Press you got from Big Lots if you get a chance. All i have is a 1/2HP 5 speed press to start. I will post pics of my stuff as soon as i get a chance.

Here,s a pic of mine.http://www.toolprice.com/product/9102L
Proline - 5 Speed Bench Top Drill Press

I think the manufacturer must sell to different companies and they put thier own name on it as mine is called ShopSource.The only difference between mine and this one is mine is orange in color. How ever after doing some measurements, I realize that I,ll have to get another drill press to convert to a mill as this one is just to short. There,s no room to create the z axis table like I want. So now I,m lookin at a Ryobi at Home depot $99.00, I like the Ryobi becuz it has a table that round and rotates, basically giving you a cheap rotary table.

Whatever happened with these conversions you guys were going to do?
Anything ever come of this?

Patrick

I built a manual mill out of a drill press. I spent about 200-250 bucks on it total (not including things I messed up or wasted), all with parts from hardware stores, and a 40 dollar drill press from Harbor Freight. I simply added a sliding table to the base of the drill press. It wouldnt deflect noticably when doing steel, but I am sure it would do plastics or even aluminums pretty well. It had a capacity of 4"X (throat depth to column) and about 24"Y.

It would take a bit of effort to keep deflection down enough to CNC (unless you were doing plastics). Plus, since you have to move the head alot, it would be a huge pain to have to realign the head everytime you had to lift it to change tools.

If I were to do it all over again I would just bought an X1 from Harbor Freight for about $300, or save a bit more for an X2.

I just started on another mill, a gantry-style one. My running total on it is about $1100 last I checked, but I am expecting up to $1400. Its milling capacity is 12" x 24".

I am also about to build my own drill press. Basically the column and head of a mill, but without the table.