I ordered a 700lb capacity table fromgrizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/g7313) to get it off the bulky bench it's on right now.
I bought the same table from the Grizz and would highly recommend you to pick up some 1/8" steel straps to triangulate that thing. It says 700 lb. capacity but after seeing what it's made from, I had to add some bracing. It's too rickety without the bracing. Maybe the Chinese lbs. rating is from the same specs chart they rate motor horsepower with?;)

I also added a steel shelf to stack tooling on after this picture was taken.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g227/DBAviation/X3Stand.jpg

edit: Oh yeah, when you throw the mill up on the table, you'll need to make one of these to drill the pilot holes for the mounting lag bolts. The table top is too small to drill through holes for nuts & bolts....much easier to pick up some 3/8" lag bolts from Home Cheepo.

The drill extender is just a piece of 1/2" alum. rod drill to fit the bit and turned down on the other end to fit in a 3/8" chuck. The bit was locked in with CYA (super) glue. I made an alum. drill bushing to center the bit in the hole also.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g227/DBAviation/DrillExt.jpg

Hi JL,

You had some problem with some backlash issue with the new ballscrews from cncfusion for the x and y axis. Has that been sorted out and how? Has cncfusion sorted out this as well? Since my last posting, I realised i can't get an X2 cos the Y travel isn't enough for what I need to do. So there goes my plan. And to get a syil is way out of my budget for now. So I am gonna have to built it up slowly.

I haven't tested the backlash now that I have double ballnuts on the x and a preloaded ballnut with oversized bearings on the Y. It feels SO much tighter than before. These upgrades are found here (http://www.cncfusion.com/smallmill1.html) on the bottom left. They are upgrades therefore they will cost extra. I'm not sure how he does pricing just email him and tell him what you're looking at and he'll figure it all out.

About the stand, I figured it would need some reinforcement. My welder is standing by. :)

Do you have any ideas for an enclosure type setup on that stand? I just want something to keep the coolant from splattering everywhere. I plan on lining the bottom of the table with some heavy duty liner or something.

I haven't tested the backlash now that I have double ballnuts on the x and a preloaded ballnut with oversized bearings on the Y. It feels SO much tighter than before. These upgrades are found here on the bottom left. They are upgrades therefore they will cost extra. I'm not sure how he does pricing just email him and tell him what you're looking at and he'll figure it all out.
Thanks for the info. No preloading for X and Z axis? only the Y axis?

oops I guess I used preload wrong there. The X and Z axis will have double ballnuts with preload while the Y axis has a single ballnut with oversized bearings. The reason not to go with a second ballnut on the Y is because you would loose almost an inch of travel on the Y. Modifications are always possible to gain that back but I don't have the means of doing that right now. Sorry for the confusion.

Hi jl123,

I finally decided to get the X3 mill from SIEG. And at the same time, I am also ordering a C3 Lathe. Thanks to this thread, it really helped me to decide on getting the two equipment. Now can't wait for the stuff to show up. I just have a few questions if you don't mind answering.

1. Can you tell me for starters, what tools shall I get along with the mill and lathe?
2. I want to do milling of large block of aluminium and would like to use a coolant feeder, can you advice me where to get the parts?
3. I will be doing my own CNC conversion, I would really appreciate it if you can give me an a-z on the parts that you purchased and where you got them. I know it may be a lot of work to document this. But if you could, that will be great.

Thanks.

Moving foward. Sorry I still haven't made a price list on everything. I'll work on that when I get back to school. For now I'm home for the weekend and trying to get things done. I have decided on a full blown enclosure. Paying for the expensive plexiglass was rough though(1/4" thick yay). (nuts) Take a look. This is going to have a pvc liner and going to go on top of the bench that the mill is already on. Sliding front doors coming soon as well. Can't wait to finish this tomorrow and get the mill in its new home. The Fog buster is standing by and the Z axis already upgraded to double ballnuts. I'm almost ready to roll. :)

Looking good! Coolant really does make a great deal of difference - I was reluctant to buy my flood system, but I'm glad I did - no more standing over the mill, with a can of WD40 for me! :)

JL & all the other posters - thanks for the diligence in keeping this thread going. A LOT of useful information for us rookies.

of course you can significantly lower costs if you source the materials yourself, and also machine your own brackets.

There is enough information out there on this board and other websites to accomplish just that - building it yourself.


I expect to not spend much more than $900 and thats including the stepper motors and drives.

check out this thread I started if interested:

Parts Sourcing Thread (http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32040)

this thread doesn't list out exactly everything needed, but most of this big considerations are there.

Hope this helps

Yep if you want to save money make the motor mounts yourself. Also buying your own ballscrews and ballnuts on your own would save you some money. You would have to have the means of turning journals on them.

Did some more work today. My body hurts but got some stuff done. I also finished shopping for more materials I'd need to complete the project. As always here's a few more pics. Finally took those casters off that bench. :) First pic is of the double ballnuts on the Z axis. The setscrew is on the other side.

All done! Just gotta add some handles to the doors. I'm saving that for next weekend. Can't wait. I still have to mount the fogbuster on the wall and set everything else up. The keyboard and mouse will be in front of the driver box. The monitor is going to go on top of my driver box and my computer will hang under everything. After that it'll be ready to make some serious chips.

Hi JL,

Congratulation on setting up the whole thing. I see in the picture you have the controller box all ready for use. I am looking to either use Gecko drive and build up from there like you did or just go for the StepmasterNC box.

Do you mind giving some info on how you build up the Gecko controller box? Like which parts you purchased and from where and maybe a schematic of the wiring? Where did you get the box? It looks really nice. And how are you connecting the controller box to the computer. With Gecko, there isn't a part for the breakout to connect to the computer. All I know is you can connect eitehr via USB or Network. But can't see where the connectors are on their driver cards. Thanks in advance.

Can't wait for the test. Can you put up some video as well? Thanks.

hi

Thought i would post a link to Marc's DESKTOP MILL , website link is

http://cnckits.com.au/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1156803486

His an Australian guy doing X3 mill conversion and kits http://cnckits.com.au

seems like a very nicely worked out kit and reasonable prices

cheers

All done! Just gotta add some handles to the doors. I'm saving that for next weekend. Can't wait. I still have to mount the fogbuster on the wall and set everything else up. The keyboard and mouse will be in front of the driver box. The monitor is going to go on top of my driver box and my computer will hang under everything. After that it'll be ready to make some serious chips.

Looking good :)

Are you going to bolt your mill down to the bench through your coolant tray, or is it just going to sit on top?

I am trying to figure out what to do for my coolant-table mkII and I am worried that with a wet table, the milling vibrations might cause the mill slip and slide around, despite its weight.

As of right now I didn't have any plans on bolting it down. I guess we'll see this weekend when I crank something out.

alexccmeister,
My driverbox has 4 G202 drivers and a G-Rex G100. The G100 connects to my pc via ethernet which I'm using mach3 on. The capacitor and rectifier board combo are from ajax cnc (http://ajaxcnc.com/cnc_components.htm). The torrodial transformer and case are from this ebay store (http://stores.ebay.com/Antek-inc). A little expensive but they sell some quality parts. Everything is mounted to a 1/8" aluminum plate that is mounted on 6 standoffs to the bottom panel of the case. All the wiring is mounted under the plate along with the fuse block and terminal blocks.

I've been pretty busy with class so I haven't had much time to sit down and make a list of everything I bought. I'm kind of scared to see how much I spent. Heh.

Have you got spindle speed control under Mach 3 via your G100? If so, how are you interfacing it to the spindle motor controller?

Cheers.

Negative on the speed control. That's definately a future upgrade I have on my list along with a faster spindle though...

Couple of pics showing a part in progress. The upgrades are definately showing. :) I used a 1/4" 4 flute uncoated carbide @2000rpm and 8ipm/2plunge. The depth of cut was around .077 a pass. The material is .312" thick.

I'll have a video later today.

My shop is all cleaned up and much roomier. See pic :)

Video here (http://www.wowstfu.com/images/k/pocket.wmv). Right click save as. 52MB sorry dial up.

That's looking really good :)

Did you have any movement of the mill at all whilst cutting with it just sitting on the liner?

What's the part by the way?

There wasn't any movement while cutting. It's sitting on 2 layers of liner so I'm sure it's already made a nice impression in it so I don't think its going anywhere. The part is an a-arm for a nitro rc truck. Just something I'm practicing with trying to become as familiar with onecnc as I can. If it turns out good I'll create some jigging to make a set. I'm having fun over here. :)

Forgot to post a pic of the part. Still haven't hand finished it as I'm already working on something else more complicated. I need to toss these cheapo HSS em's that I used to face the top and bottom of the part. You can see how well my 1/4" carbide endmills worked in those pockets. You can also see how bad the 3/4" hss em did facing the part.

Anyone know of any resources for learning different methods of fixturing and clamping? It's obviously one of the skills I need to develop as I don't feel very comfortable yet.

Alright well I've been taking a lot of light cuts lately but that's about to change. I needed to face this block down to an inch thick which left me having to remove .360". The block is around 3.4 x 3.4. I used that cheapo 3/4" hss endmill at 2000rpm, 20ipm, and .1" DOC. There was barely any vibration while cutting. You could see it if there was because the fogbuster's magnetic base is mounted to the head. The process took around 10 minutes. Here's some pics and vids as always.

Right Click Save as...
Video 1 17MB (http://www.wowstfu.com/images/k/facing_closeup.wmv)
Video 2 18MB (http://www.wowstfu.com/images/k/facing_action.wmv)

All the chips in the enclosure are from this since I had just cleaned it beforehand. :)

The second operation of this project. Now I have to figure out how to do the rest. (nuts) It's going to be a PITA.

Right click save as...
Circle Profile 39MB (http://www.wowstfu.com/images/k/circle_profile.wmv)

The black spot is where I forgot to whipe off some standing coolant...

Have you tried checking the roundness of a pocketed hole or circle?

Looking good! What is this part? Got an overall drawing we can see? :)

is your software generating G03 arcs or doing successive G01 moves for the circle? You'll get a nicer finish using arcs assuming the part is circular. It looked like there were polygonal flats around your profile.

You might also want to check your first plunge (g0 x,y,z) to make sure it clears the part. Some cam softwares use a macro to approach the to ensure clearance. If you don't have it setup dissaster can occur. I know.

If the profile cut is truly circular you could also helically mill it which gives a nicer finish unless you are taking a finish pass a full depth.

pretty cool. My brother just purchased a super x3. I just setup a grizzly g0519 that I am converting to CNC.

I checked it real quick with my caliper and there was a variance of around .004" I believe. I didn't take a finish pass at it, it was merely to knock the corners down to be able to clamp those down to allow me to do some 3d stuff on the circle part. I don't want the spindle to run into the clamps once I moved down in cutter size. My spring break is over so I'm heading back to school today. I still have to finish up the programming during the week. I'll post some pictures of the part later tonight. It's a paperweight that my professor wanted made. They want to cast it in brass. I have to get all the tapers right so it comes out of the mold. (nuts)

0.004" is really small. Thats 0.1mm of variance. I will say thats quite accurate. Will you be able to see the diff with your naked eyes?

jl123

I was wondering why on the video you posted 52meg
you pocketed out the through holes. It seems like you
can cut out the through holes buy just cutting around
the frame letting the inside drop out the bottom. Then
you would run a finish pass and spend half the time
cutting.

I would pocket the holes if I wanted to lower the risk for a good finish.

Unless the cutout is supported it could pinch and bind the cutter as it drops through causing a cut in the pre-finished side that might be greater than the programmed side finish thickness.

With those size holes, I would have cut it like you suggest and taken two finish passes to be safe.

I pocketed them because I didn't want to risk binding the end mill and I'm not in a rush. It's also more fun to watch this way. :)

is your software generating G03 arcs or doing successive G01 moves for the circle? You'll get a nicer finish using arcs assuming the part is circular. It looked like there were polygonal flats around your profile.

You might also want to check your first plunge (g0 x,y,z) to make sure it clears the part. Some cam softwares use a macro to approach the to ensure clearance. If you don't have it setup dissaster can occur. I know.

If the profile cut is truly circular you could also helically mill it which gives a nicer finish unless you are taking a finish pass a full depth.

pretty cool. My brother just purchased a super x3. I just setup a grizzly g0519 that I am converting to CNC.


Sorry I missed your post. Yeah my software is outputing G02s (clockwise). I'm using onecnc. I'm not concerned at all about the finish of the cut. Its jus to clear material for clamping to do some 3d on the middle.

Remember kids...always zero out your tool before making your run. (nuts)

Damn end mill was new too. :o

The mill is fine. The end mill is not...

I don't even know what to say...I never forget something so simple. I guess I was just anxious to start the 2 hour run. Sigh...

At least the workpiece is still usable. I had myself a good chuckle...lol.

Remember kids...always zero out your tool before making your run. (nuts)

Damn end mill was new too. :o

The mill is fine. The end mill is not...

I don't even know what to say...I never forget something so simple. I guess I was just anxious to start the 2 hour run. Sigh...

At least the workpiece is still usable. I had myself a good chuckle...lol.




gasp!!!


so I am wondering: since you are using mach3, when using a tool which needs to be changed out to finish the job, does the machine zero itself and wait for a manual tool change? And then you perhaps press a resume button to resume the program and commence milling?
maybe sounds dumb, but I am still in the process of getting all the materials together and haven't used the machine yet.

thanks

so I am wondering: since you are using mach3, when using a tool which needs to be changed out to finish the job, does the machine zero itself and wait for a manual tool change? And then you perhaps press a resume button to resume the program and commence milling?

Lot's of ways to handle a tool change. I manually change tools and rezero them. I have mach stop on a tool change. So you just change tools and then rezero or use whatever offset you are using for the particular tool and then hit start to resume cutting.

Steve

JL123:

Can you comment on your experience with Fog Buster? I'm about to order an X3 and it will be a lot easier to set up if I can get by with the Fog Buster instead of flood. Any regrets? What about 1 head vs. 2? Thanks for a great build log.

K

I have no regrets at all about it except I wish I had got the dual head. Not really a regret I guess but had I gone with flood cooling I would have had two nozzles for obvious reasons. Clearing chips from both sides of the cutter is in my mind ideal. Not that it would make that huge of a difference...I'm just like that I guess. Don't get me wrong, the single head works great. It keeps the area around the end mill free from chips without much effort. Keeps the cutter clean as well. I'm able to push some pretty nice feeds without any clogging.

Of course the air stream isn't going to be very effective on the opposite side of the cutter which is my reason for thinking I should have gone with a dual head unit. I usually run it under 10psi unless I'm doing some pocketing. The stream is very powerful considering the psi I put into the unit. There's zero fog unless you're running a high psi and lots of coolant. You can run a high psi and keep the coolant on the lean side without any fogging. It's quite amazing actually. You have to actually try and make it fog up. :) If you want some higher quality video of it working up close I can take care of that this weekend.

I think my favorite part of it is the fact that it's very clean. The unit is nice and simple. Works great and makes for a really sweet setup. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I ever had the need.

I'm handling the tool changes manually. I'm not using any offsets or anything right now as I usually post do each operation separate since I haven't had much time on the weekends to finish a project in one sitting.

I use the dual head fogbuster on my minitech mill. It is fantastic. I considered flood cooling, but I am thrilled that I chose the Fogbuster instead. I chose the dual head because I do a lot of pocketing and deepish contours with smallish bits, so I figured it would be a nice benefit to blow air/coolant from two sides of the cutter. I haven't used a single, obviously, but the dual works great. I cut prototypes in plastic as well, so the Fogbuster has benefits a flood system wouldn't have - I use around 12-15 psi for aluminum with a light mist, but in plastic I use about 5 psi of air just to keep it clear(no coolant). I couldn't be happier with the system(the air compressor is annoying when it kicks on, though - about 1 minute on for every 5 minutes of use).

I turn off my compressor until I need to refill the tank. The fogbuster alone takes over an hour to drain my tank. That's when I run it around 10psi. If I leave my compressor on auto...yeah it'll kick in every 5 minutes also. (nuts)

I'm thinking I might give them a call to see how I could upgrade to a dual head unit. Should only be another head and maybe a different outlet coming out of the tank...

Did you get the gallon or half gallon? I'm running the half gallon and I have to say it goes a long way.

I use the 1/2 gallan tank as well. It lasts quite a while for sure. When I get to my machine, I generally work it for a few hours, so turning off the compressor is actually more annoying - when it comes on, it has to stay on for longer.
A buddy of mine has the single head on his Taig mill - it works pretty well also. The top piece is different(the whole 1/2 gallon container lid) on the single nozzle version. It may not be a bad idea to splice the single at the air hose only and create a secondary nozzle for "air only" for help clearing the deeper pockets. I often flow coolant from only one side, and just blow air from the other - it is nearly as effective(though the deep slots have a better and more consistent finish when I blow coolant from both sides).

Yeah that's something I might look into. I bought a new valve for the bottom of the tank so it won't loose air just sitting there. I decided to just get it here while I was at school so I wouldn't forget to get one when I go home. :withstupi

I guess for the time being I'll make due with the single head. ;) It does work great though. I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression. I'm very happy with it.

Thanks for the fogbuster reviews guys!! I have been studying them for a while, and now I know what I am going to purchase. It might be worthwhile adding your comments to the review section of this forum, so that more members can see real-world feedback.

Thanks again!!
Wayne

Guys,
I am planning to order a Fogbuster setup this week, and noticed they offer a number of different mounting options. Which mounts are you using, or did you make your own?

I got the "Model # 00316 Quick Mount with Mag Base". The magnet is nice and strong, the rest of the mount is nice and tight so you don't have to worry about the fogbuster slamming into your endmill. It has screws on each joint to tighten them up whenever they get a bit loose. I haven't looked at it closely but I think the set screws it uses are soft tipped. Feels that way...

well I deffinetly didn't read this whole thing, but I am looking into cnc mill stuff.

How easy did the cnc kit go in? Would you do it again? Would you recommend the kit to someone?

Aww come on. Read it all. :D

I would only recommend cncfusion's kit if you went with the preloaded double ballnuts on the X and Z along with the single ballnut with oversized bearings on the Y. There have been improvements to the kit since I first bought it such as the screws now come with journals and a preloading nut for the thrust bearings.

It looks like they're coming out with a new "premium" kit or whatever you want to call it. It looks really nice and the ballscrews are precision rolled. Much higher quality components but it will come with a price to match I'm sure. Regardless if I had to it over again I would at least get the options I stated above or wait for their new higher quality kit to come out if you can swing it.

Some new tools...

I got the Hanita 1/4" roughers off ebay. Came out to 16 bucks a piece...not too shabby. They're brand new not resharpened. I'm happy. :)

A few improvements I made that make everything much easier. Having all the setup tools right beside you makes a hell of a difference. A 3 way air manifold for the fogbuster, airgun, and whatever else I need is pretty nice. The air gun makes cleanup a sinch...just gotta watch the eyes. ;)

I use a 3 way adapter as well - one for the fogbuster, one for the blow gun and one for "something else". :)
I used I guess the "standard bolt on mounts" for the fogbuster and clamped them to the back of the mill head. It works out well, is easy to adjust and equally easy to move out of my way. :)
the mill is the minitech mini mill 4 with a Sherline spindle(has x2 motor on it at the moment - soon to put the x3 motor on it once I work out a mounting arrangement). :)

My rougher's first cut. 1/2" TiCn coated promax @ 20ipm, .140"DOC, 2200RPM(my spindle is a bit underrated...tested it with a tachometer) :)

Right click save as...10mb (http://www.wowstfu.com/images/k/promax_rougher.wmv)

And yes thats conventional milling...whoops.. :p

Okay, jl123, I'm convinced. However, I must ask where'd you get your recipe for the controller? I think I'm familiar with the basics (drivers, board,..). But, I'm concerned that I'd miss something like your fuse box or miss-wire the toroid/capacitor.

Thanks.

Dodson

I'm convinced too. Of what? That I should get working on a website since the information in this thread is so unorganized and random. I can't promise anything yet because school is really whipping my tail right now. I just finished two research papers earlier and I have another 3 papers to write by next week. If I feel I deserve a break I'll start working on it. In the meantime I'm pretty sure I listed what I used in my controller a few pages back. Let me know what in particular you're unsure about.

Couple of pics showing a part in progress. The upgrades are definately showing. :) I used a 1/4" 4 flute uncoated carbide @2000rpm and 8ipm/2plunge. The depth of cut was around .077 a pass. The material is .312" thick.

I'll have a video later today.

My shop is all cleaned up and much roomier. See pic :)

Video here (http://www.wowstfu.com/images/k/pocket.wmv). Right click save as. 52MB sorry dial up.

i have a few Q's

how did u make the tool path to cut out the round hinge mounts? u are using oneCNC right? im stilll trying to figure out that program, but its not a very steep learning curve, and im getting the hang of it. are both sides of the part cut out, didi u flip the part and then face the other side alontg with the rest of the round hinges?

I'm convinced too. Of what? That I should get working on a website since the information in this thread is so unorganized and random. I can't promise anything yet because school is really whipping my tail right now. I just finished two research papers earlier and I have another 3 papers to write by next week. If I feel I deserve a break I'll start working on it. In the meantime I'm pretty sure I listed what I used in my controller a few pages back. Let me know what in particular you're unsure about.

I'll look for that. Thanks.

What are you studying, anyway?

Dodson

Electronics. Wish this school had EE but I guess this will do in the meantime. I think once I move back closer to my hometown I'll give mechanical engineering a shot or something. I want an engineering degree of some kind. :confused:

skmetal7,
Yep I'm using onecnc. I did flip the part around to do the facing and hindge parts on both sides. The hindge parts are done with an SMT toolpath...yes they took a while. Damn spindle... (nuts)

Hi JL,

Your setup is looking good and well done on getting everything all setup. I was looking tru the thread again hoping to see where you purchased the casing/housing for the controller for $70. Can you tell me where you got it? Thanks.

Alex

P.S. Found the enclosure on ebay.

Yep, I got the enclosure off ebay. I forgot the seller I bought it from. There should be a link somewhere in this thread. I'll see if I can find it. Know that the case didn't come with that baseplate I used. That was just a plate I bought to mount everything too. The bottom panel is .060" just like everything else.

Here's a link to the ebay store. It was on page 27.

http://stores.ebay.com/Antek-inc

I know this thread is dated, but it inspired me to CNC retrofit my X3. My only question is what kind of travel are you guys getting the X, Y, & Z axis?

Thanks