Nobody out there with this combo yet ?
Well I ordered it to fix my ailing stock setup. Just need it to hold together for another month or two , till I can get a Novakon NM 200 in the shop.
But anyways, I ordered a A2Z CNC extended base and Table for my Sherline 4400. Once the NM 200 is here the little Sherline will probably be retired to engraving parts for me and other small jobs.
I ll post a review when it gets here ! I ordered the 4 TPI screws. So hopefully that will speed up my rapids a little bit over the stock Sherline screws.
Thanks and pictures soon !
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Nobody out there with this combo yet ?
Should be here today .....
Well its here, and looks good. I haven't done anything other then pull it out of the box. I ll report more with pictures soon.
looking forward to what you find. I am thinking of going the same route.
Thayer
I just saw your post today. Yes I have the extended base, extended X table and Kerk lead screws. Just waiting for the money for the Z axis column.
I really like the "zero" backlash, at least I can't measure it.
The bad news is that my Y axis screw broke and has been sent back for repair. I had a go around with Tim about the depth of the 5-40 thread on the coupler end, it should have been .4" but was only .187". It broke at the end of the coupling screw. (It had been running for one year.)
If anyone is wanting a CNC Sherline this is the only way to go, IMHO.
GeneK
Last edited by GeneK; 06-14-2009 at 10:06 AM.
Sounds like a great setup. I can't wait for the rest of my parts.
Thayer
I would think for someone that is starting from scratch, getting the extended base, X axis and column from A2Z and then getting a head stock for either Sherline or Taig would be a good start.
I have enough pieces now for two more mills. One is already set up as a horizontal mill. After the column upgrade I can put the Sherline 2000 mill back together for another mill.
GeneK
That is exactly what I am doing. I have a manual Sherline 4400, and so ordered the X, Y and Z bits from Tim. I plan to just switch the headstock back and forth until I get bored or need 10K on the spindle.
Thayer
GeneK,
Did you use the stock Sherline steppers for the conversion ? If so , how well do they work ? I was told with the replacement screws being 4 tpi vs stock 20 tpi that the I might have torque issues and have to go to a better stepper setup to achieve max IPM settings. Which A2Z claims is around 90-100 ipm rapids.
Anyways I might just bite the bullet , and get the z column, some reduction steppers assemblies, a new controller and spindle control , maybe even a new spindle motor ( something with a little more power ). Not sure yet. I am thinking of doing this so I have a extra machine at my disposal. But I am not sure if its worth the cost ( around $3400 is what I ll have in the entire machine when I am done ).
If your happy with your steppers ( if they are stock ) then I might just run my machine the way it is and see how it goes. I am using it more for a small business light light light production of parts.
Thanks
I haven't run anything yet, as I am still waiting on some of the components. Motor wise, I have a set of 282 oz-in. steppers from Keling, KL23H276-30-8B, essentially the same as the machine they show in the video milling the foot scan. Will be running Mach 3 through a Gecko G540.
Thayer
I think I ll be ordering the z column very soon.
I did since I had no mill parts to start with.
I have the full A2Z setup. 4 TPI leadscrews, and running the small Sherline steppers.
So far, the software has been giving me issues, so I haven't been doing alot of machining. The leadscrews seem to be top notch, and no measurable backlash. The leadscrews are so coarse of a thread that moving the table by hand is fairly easy without the motors mounted.. I would recommend using larger steppers, but the Sherline units seem to work ok if speeds aren't too aggressive.
The Z axis is massive, and seemed to add lots of rigidity to the whole package.. much nicer than the Sherline 2000 Z axis..
I run both the A2Z headstock spacer, and the smaller Sherline spacer behind the spindle assembly for larger projects.. thats why I have to reduce my rapids to 200mm/min, or I may miss steps.. Bigger mill means heavier projects!
Good to hear. I was hoping I wouldnt be stuck with the stock sherline steppers. But I think I am going to go with a reduction drive setup anyways. What are you using for software ? I am going to go with Mach 3 I believe.
I've got Mach 3 loaded and waiting at this point.
The problem is the loss of gear reduction when moving from a 20 TPI screw to a 4 TPI screw. If you only have 1/5 the reduction you only have 1/5 the torque. Even factoring in the increased efficiency of the Kerk screws it is easy to see that the loss of the gear reduction is a problem.I would recommend using larger steppers, but the Sherline units seem to work ok if speeds aren't too aggressive.
Moving up to 'big' steppers would not quite work either as with the same drive voltage the larger steppers will only provide increased torque at very low RPMs. (Comparing a 166 oz-in to a 270 oz-in motor.) I'm guessing that a reduction of 2.5:1 or so would help termendously (along with a move advanced stepper driver, and a little bigger motors.)
Jeff Birt
Upgraded steppers would also include a more powerful driver as well.. I should have said that.. but wouldn't large steppers (with adequate power) be fine without any reduction? The coarser leadscrews means much lower motor RPM's for the same table movement.. which gives much more holding torque.
I am looking at having Jeff do my setup for my Sherline. But I have to order the Z column first , so that should be here sometime soon. After that I just have to decide what I really want to do with the machine.
I would like to add spindle speed control and flood coolant control. A probe would be cool too.......
OK, expanding on that logic a bit...A 2 pitch screw would be better than a 4 pitch screw which would be better than a 20 pitch screw. So why do manufacturers waste all that time making higher pitch screws and reduction units?The coarser leadscrews means much lower motor RPM's for the same table movement.. which gives much more holding torque.
Remember that power is the product of torque and speed. If you reduce the speed with a gear reduction by 20:1 you get 20 times less speed but twenty times more torque. (But the same power.)
You also have to account not just for moving the table but for developing enough torque to push the metal past your bit.
Jeff Birt