Hey guys...
As most of you know I have a Lathemaster Milling machine and I am gonna convert it to cnc control. I just recently got some cash to do this and I thought I would post this to all on this forum....

If you had this mill and were to convert it. How would you go about it? There are a few features I want and many avenues to go down from different suppliers/ types of products. This mill will be a closed loop servo system with ballscrews and gecko drives. The question I have is what type of ballscrew and nut setup would you use? Which motors and how much torque, which power suply, which breakout board if any, which belt drive setup and what ratio, which encoders, which bearings, etc, etc, etc,. I of course do not have unlimited funds but I want to build this thing once and end up with the most reliable, accurate, and simple design possible with purchased components and possibly some homebuilt components. I am no expert and this will be my first build so simplicity and strength will win out over lotsa bells and whistles every time assuming the end result is a capable and pleasing machine. The mill is in very good condition and works very well for me so I feel good about putting the money into it. I intend to use this machine to make some custom parts I have been manually machining which need to be accurate but not necessarily extremely accurate. Any help will be apprecited because I see so many different components and ideas out there I do not know where to start. Thank you in advance for your ideas about how you would build this machine today if it were yours to build and within a reasonable budget. Peace guys..

Pete Matos
Matospeter@charter.net
865-363-9218

Pete,

If I had the money, I would look at the IH conversion kit.

Alan

Four thousand plus dollars is unfortunately way outta my price range and besides if I were to spend that much money I would be getting a used cnc knee mill somewhere. thanks for the thought tho...

Stating what your budget is might help in getting you some help.

Phil:)


Four thousand plus dollars is unfortunately way outta my price range and besides if I were to spend that much money I would be getting a used cnc knee mill somewhere. thanks for the thought tho...

Pete,

What is the backlash of your mill with the stock screws?

Jeff...

Well the factory screws are much like most aisan machines. I think I get around eight to ten thousandths of backlash with the acme screws. My used Rong Fu mill is also a little worse. I am gonna do a ballscrew conversion of course and would like to go with some zero backlash nuts already pre-loaded so that I do not have to build my own. The machine is pretty rigid and solid tho especially for a benchtop machine so with ballscrews I am hoping for some decent accuracy. I guess my budget is gonna come in around $1500.00 or possibly more. I just got a big boost from my new good friend Bill south who has offered to make my mounts for me on his already cnc lathemaster mill. He also said he had some Ametec servos like the surplus center sells he would sell me for a good price so all I will need is the ballscrews and nuts, angular contact bearings, belts and pulleys, a power supply, breakout board, gecko 320 or 340, some limits and home switches, and whatever else goes into the conroller unit and some Us digital encoders. I may be able to come up with some more cash in a month or two but I think this should get me a good start if not get it done entirely. So again, the reason I posted this is to get others opinions about which breakout and ancilliary boards and from which manufacturer you guys recommend, which gecko's and where to get them from, which encoders, and a supplier of them, which ballscrews and a supplier and on and on. Basically looking for good reviews on parts and suppliers that others have had good luck with and hopefully I can avoid some problems this way. Does that make any sense? Thanks guys...


Pete Matos
Matospeter@charter.net
865-363-9218

Pete:

I am also in TN (near Nashville), and I have been wanting to build my own 4 axis CNC mill. I stumbled upon this website 5bears.com and the guy built a 3 axis desktop and documented the whole process. It may be some help to see the types of things he did and had to re-do. Please post a picture of your milling machine (as I am not sure which unit you have), and maybe as I come upon deals for my components, I can steer you to similar deals. I check ebay everyday for stuff right now, but I have no spare cash to acquire the necessary components to make headway. Beside, I'd need to have a good mill just to mill the parts I'll need to make up the structure of my design. If I can be of any help, please let me know.

Regards,

Mark (in Smashville)

Pete,

This is a good idea to save money on the ballscrews and nuts.

http://www.tomsinstitute.com/Ball%20Screw%20Conversion.htm

Jeff...

Nice to meet ya MG, I have been to Nashville several times since I moved to TN. I dunno if you are gonna build from scratch or use an existing mill but my mill is a Lathemaster Zay7045L. This machine can be seen at Lathemaster.com and is the only milling machine that they sell. Mine is one of the earlier ones he imported and has a power head lift feature that I will probably be selling once I get mine cnc'd. The mill is quite nice for the price and very heavy duty for a benchmill. If you need to have some parts machined I would be willing to help you any way I can and I just recently purchased a Used Rong Fu Rf30 Round column mill to use for my Lathemaster conversion. I may actually convert the new mill as well down the road but for now I am gonna keep it manual and put the x axis power feed unit I have on the Lathemaster mill on the RF once the cnc conversion is complete. Jalessi, I have seen the ballscrew mods from several people and while it looks very simple to do I am kinda leaning towards the one piece purchased ballnut with zero backlash already installed to make my conversion go both smoother and quicker as I already have a bunch of parts to build for the machine already. Besides the two nuts even at around $25.00 a piece per axis plus material for the parts and a spring are only about $50.00 away from a purchased unit. I can make something in my shop and make more money than that with that time I would be spending tinkering with something that I would have to make work in the end. I may change my mind on this but for now I would like to go the simple and safe route. I am also considering building my x axis mount like one I saw in a thread about the HM52 mill where the builder put the mount for the x screw ballnut on the side of the carriage instead of underneath. This looked very elegant and simple as well as accessible for service without having to tear everything down. Thanks guys....

Pete

Pete,

Do you have the link to the thread about the HM52 mill where the builder put the mount
for the x screw ballnut on the side of the carriage instead of underneath?

Jeff...

The thread entitled Hafco Metal Master HR52 cnc conversion in the verticle mill and lathe build threads. For me it comes up on the first page on the forum. I would post the link but I just dunno how? Peace man...

Pete

He is recommending the c11g board with some G320 servo drives. He also has a nice limit/home setup for sale. Anyone here using this setup for their conversion? I like the looks of it but still not sure yet. I am gonna be using some of the Ameteck servo motors and gotta get a power supply solution soon. Peace all...

Pete