Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated. - Page 3


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Thread: Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.

  1. #41
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    *chuckle*...should I call you Mr. Smith?

    FEA....oh, you are hurting me. So, be you a mechanical engineer?

    This is one of the finest builds since 5bears.com's mill and Widget's CNC....don't know how I missed the beginning....guess I thought "who's crazy enough to build their own mill from castings and why would they do that...?"

    Impressive, to say the least!!

    You mentioned that you had a minimum of 5 castings made at a time.....have you thought of offerring those to the rest of us....:rainfro:

    Just for grins.....what do people charge to make the castings that you've done?



  2. #42
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    Zipsnipe:
    Be of good cheer! I did cast a table, see photo enclosed.
    The thought of cutting “T” slots right now made my hair hurt.

    ViperTX:
    Thanks for your generous comments about the thread, my
    purpose is to take the mystery out of this stuff & encourage more
    hobbyists to give it a try. It’s great fun to make a pattern & see it
    replicated in gray iron or aluminum.

    Re: castings: I order 5 because there is normally no setup charge
    buying that quantity. No problem disposing of any extra’s!

    Cost: The last order averaged about $1.20/lb.

    Now....back to work on the "Y" axis!!!

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-table-casting-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-raw-castings-jpg  
    Last edited by CNCfun&games; 01-08-2008 at 08:03 PM. Reason: Forgot to attach Photo's.


  3. #43
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    Hey nice work, Have you had any of the castings have big voids that made them not usable? If so does the foundry take them back and credit you? Thanks, Dave



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    Default Y axis progress!!

    Davo727
    I've experienced surface imperfections caused by sand falling into the mold cavity. Never heard of a foundry not replacing a casting for this type problem.

    Y AXIS PROGRESS

    After saw cutting the cross slide base casting down to manageable size,
    the saw cut surfaces were finish machined.

    The next step was to bore the bearing pockets in the front & rear surfaces to
    mount the lead screw.

    Initially I decided to mount the linear rails on top of the dovetail, but decided to
    move them down closer to the centerline of the leadscrew. This required the
    removal of the dovetail to obtain the needed clearance for the trucks.

    Picture 5 shows the extensive modification to the casting, the approximate location of the linear rail & truck, and the clearance and placement of the step motor. The aluminum piece is the beginnings of a motor mounting bracket.

    A word on the castings:
    All the castings on this cross slide were excellent in design & execution.
    Generous radii on all intersecting planes and lots of draft. The interior
    surfaces were as smooth as the exterior.
    The castings were very machinable because of their fine grain.

    BUT : I still hate to machine gray iron………..W. Smith

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-mach-base-casting-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-bearing-instl-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-rear-bearing-instl-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-remove-dovetail-jpg  

    Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-jpg  


  5. #45
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    I plan on building a mill using castings someday. Can somebody recommend a book or DVD on metal castings?

    I also read that there are metal casting services who will do the castings for you, correct? I am not to happy about building my own foundry and rather pay someone else to pure the metal into the castings I provide.

    Thanks,



  6. #46
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    Georgebarr,
    See my pattern making brochure on page 1, post #5 on this thread. The first 3 photos at the bottom are the 6 pages of the brochure and can be downloaded and printed out.
    I have been using the same foundry for 25 years and I have never considered doing their job.

    Fixture Mill
    This week I concentrated on completing the “Y” axis.
    Positioning the Y axis motor gave me some heartburn because I had to make sure the motor didn’t intrude into space occupied by the X axis assembly.
    After looking at it for a couple of days, I proceeded to design the motor mounting bracket and the rear bearing block.
    Enclosed are some construction details of the two parts.
    The next task will be to mount the linear rails, motor, pulleys & belt.

    Knee Mill
    After cleaning & painting the Knee, I decided how the lead screw & bearing blocks for the “Y” axis should be attached. Luckily, the actual parts arrived this week and I had them to work with.

    The knee will require a lot of effort to put it into an acceptable cosmetic appearance.
    It was a loose piece (LPP) pattern, and not one of my best works. Lots of erosion on the parting lines because I didn’t radius the inside corners.

    I made an LPP of a hefty angle plate (7” x 7.5” x11”) and cast it some time ago. It was a simple pattern with 5 degrees of draft, .125” radii in all the inside corners and several coats of sanding sealer with block sanding between coats to remove wood grain. The raw casting turned out well and was Blanchard ground on 6 sides to produce a reasonably good plate.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-bearing-block-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-bearing-block-2-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-motor-mt-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-motor-mt-2-jpg  

    Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-front-view-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-rear-view-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-pre-assy-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-pre-assy-2-jpg  

    Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-pretty-knee-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-still-good-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-angle-plate-2-jpg  


  7. #47
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    How are those enco tables out of the box? I was thinking of using one for my X2 (manual) Are they pretty sturdy. I can pick one up over here at the shars warehouse for $99, add about another $100 for materials to build up the base and I'll have what i need in terms of size.

    Otherwise I'll have to bite the bullet and throw in another $250 sell the X2 and get an X3.

    Nice job on the castings by the way. What did make the prototypes out of? I've been trying to get my own castings going but other projects keep taking precedent. Never thought of just taking to someone else, guess i'm pretty stubborn. Seems that it costs roughly about the same either way when you consider fuel for the furnace, steel, time, not to mention i cleaning up sand



  8. #48
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    Default Cross Slide Quality.

    Airhog

    The Enco Cross Slide is well made but has some serious shortcomings “out of the box”
    Zipsnipe said his is “sloppy”, and I understand why!
    See the Illustrated Parts List enclosed.

    1. The leadscrews are of excellent quality, but are not riding in bearings.
    This oversight can be corrected by boring bearing pockets in
    the Longitudinal Screw Brackets (item 24) and the Transverse Screw Bracket (item 4)
    The Base (item 1) can be modified to support the rear end of the leadscrew which
    must be turned down to match the bearing (or bushing) you select. The NSK Bearing
    I used is 6000ZZCE.
    Dims: 26mm x 10mm x 8mm.

    2. The acme nuts (5/8-10) are inferior and should be replaced with
    Delrin nuts. The Y axis nut (item 3 ) is a press fit into the Base and is easily removed.
    3. The X axis nut is cast into the Saddle (item 16) and will have to be
    machined out and replaced.

    Making these modifications will convert your Cross Slide into a valuable asset for manual operation or a future CNC retrofit!

    The foundry I use casts gray iron & ductile Iron, my castings are Gray Iron.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-milling-table-parts-list-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-cross-slide-mod-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-y-axis-pics-004-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-ls-nut-mtg-bkt-jpg  



  9. #49
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    CNCfun&games excellent work , so when can cnczone members make a order for a CNC_Mill ?



  10. #50
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    CNCfun&games In your post #5 you have a cast Base Plate. FLAT CASTING PLATE.
    I was wondering if you have an extra one to sell me?
    If not I was thinking of using Alum-1" Plate 18x20.
    All so looking at the parts list of the Mill Table item #24.
    Did you use the old parts or NEW castings?
    One more qestion; Did you use NSK 6000ZZCE bearings in X&Y?
    Or a differant bearing on the Y axis?



  11. #51
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    FPV_GTp

    Thanks for your kind words! On the question of CNC Mill orders, I'd like to share my castings
    with interested parties, but don't want to if it limits my fun time in the shop.
    I have been exploring some ideas with friends in the business but nothing concrete
    has developed.

    Oldboy

    A Designer/ Toolmaker friend of mine has several base plates in stock at his machine shop, send me a PM & I'll put you in touch with him.
    Yes, I modified the castings on the ENCO cross slide.
    The NSK 6000 ZZCE Bearings were used on both the X &Y axis.

    Fixture Mill progress:

    Not much physical progress to report because I've been working on an all aluminum moving gantry
    router for a relative who intends doing both sign & corian work with it.
    Luckily I've enlisted the aid of my Designer/Toolmaker friend who has years of experience building Gang Tool Lathe Retrofits & Toolchangers. We've been looking at several lengths of ½-10 acme screws from 12 to 48 inches (with Delrin Nuts) and they appear to satisfy our need to produce a husky reliable design at a reasonably low cost. We are also considering using Thompson Rails with Delrin Bushings & in preliminary tests they also look promising. See post #19 for photo's of a similar but much more rugged mostly steel design.
    We will complete the design in the next week then I can get back to finishing the benchtop mills & he can work his magic on the Aluminum Router parts. The Z axis design is already completed “so let the FADAL'S begin”.

    We will start a thread on the build and expect to receive much constructive input on our effort.
    Since the Gantry Router configuration is so popular we will also post the working drawings.



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    Thank You CNCfun&games.
    Im going at it a little different with my ENCO table from the way your doing it.
    So I wont need that Base plate. When im done I should have a very strong mini mill. With X&Y 16" or a little more. Will post pictures after completion.
    How is your project working out for you CNCfun&games?



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    I received a nice present today via UPS.

    It was my order of electronic modules for my Mill projects.
    Compared to the Yaskawa & Ge-Fanuc drives,motors, BO boards & cables I buy regularly,
    it was very very inexpensive! But unlike them It was plug and play.
    Definitely eye candy for this “old” electronic packaging guy. Nicely designed & executed
    PC boards. Thoughtful consideration for the person who will assemble the modules into
    the finished system. I'm a happy Guy!

    Enclosed are photos of Tom Caudle’s Cand CNC products & the other stuff I use regularly.

    W. Smith

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-plug-play-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-gecko-sys-01-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-sys-01-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-sys-02-jpg  

    Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-electrical-panels-003-jpg  


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    Great stuff CNC Fun&games !!!! The exploded view of the table and explanation on fixing its short comings is excellent!!!



    You Da Man !!!!!!



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    Zip: comments appreciated!!

    Finally Back to the project at hand!

    Installation of the linear rails on the Cross slide base to complete the “Y” axis.

    After pre machining the various mounting surfaces, a new 4 flute 5/8 “ end mill was installed and an .060 deep Datum Plane was machined into the mounting surface.

    Then the mounting holes were drilled and tapped.
    After carefully stoning the mounting surfaces tp remove the eruptions from the surface
    caused by the drilling & tapping operation the linear rails were installed.

    The next step will be to install the 10” long rails on order from NB. These rails will provide 6” of travel on the Y axis.

    Then the X & Y axis’ will be joined & the Z axis spindle will be started.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-y-lin-rail-instl-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-y-lin-rail-instl-2-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-y-lin-rail-instl-3-jpg  


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    Default Excuses, Excuses!!

    I have not posted to this thread since mid March because I’ve been pre-occupied with a Gantry Router with 54” x 44” x 6” Travel, which has been much more time consuming than I anticipated!

    The Router will be used for sign making, Wood, Mfd, & Corian.

    Will drive the Gantry (X axis) with 2 steppers.
    Obtained four 5/8-5 Thomson Ball Screw's, but am considering Rack & pinion on the X. However; I have NO experience with R&P so input would be appreciated from any of you router Guy's out there.

    W.Smith

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-gantryrouter-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-dsc01368r-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-x-axis-gantry-supports-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-yz-mtg-blk-assy-jpg  

    Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-y-z-mounting-block-1-jpg  


  17. #57
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    Hi All,

    Was hoping to get some friendly advice on Rack & Pinion Drives for my Gantry Router now in progress, But; guess this is the wrong forum!!
    Have been checking the Router forums & think I can make an informed guess on which way to go.

    During the last few months I’ve been thinking about a Square column adaptation for the Benchtop Mill. I’ve been playing with the column on the Knee Mill and it is extremely rigid in all planes. It could be modified to put a geared Head/Spindle on the dovetail ways, but there is room for improvement!
    1.- Increase the surface area of the foot to 5-1/4” x 8” -3/8.
    2.- Decrease the height from 24” to 19”.
    Think I’ll Make a couple of patterns and give it a try.
    As usual a lot of details will change in the pattern making process.

    After looking at the drawing it becomes obvious I should extend
    the foot in the front and back by .625 like the sides.
    Enclosed are sketches….Comments appreciated!


    Regards…. W. Smith

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-mill-column-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-p1-column-bm-b-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-column-details-jpg  
    Last edited by CNCfun&games; 07-05-2008 at 06:27 PM. Reason: Add Attachment


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    Question

    Why not do the same mod to the back of the column also?



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    i cast bronze in my shop and wanted to know what yall thought of it for a milling maching base and upright if i use thk rails with it



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    Default Revised column Design

    Jalessi
    I will probably cast 5 pcs in the present design. If the rigidity isn’t adequate I’ll happily take your suggestion and enclose the rear of the column. Adding a core will definitely increase the stength and the complexity.

    Johnc2309
    The base weighs 33# and the column #40.
    Those castings in bronze would be something!!

    Rodm1954
    Would appreciate your input.

    HI All,
    Enclosed are photo’s of the modified column.
    I will start the pattern making this week, and post a comprehensive
    photographic record of the build.

    W. Smith

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-p1-column-rev-1-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-p1-column-rev-1a-jpg   Will build a Benchtop mill including Castings! Comments appreciated.-column-rev-jpg  


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