My little mill :)

[Memran]

Little update

I've had a play with 24v supplying my motors and they are able to move 2-3 times faster. A good start I think, but the powersupply itself keeps cutting out. I guess its got an over current protection or something. I'll be on the lookout for something a bit more powerful. Maybe more volts too?

I'll try to pre-drill instead of straight plunging whenever I can from now on. It should be a big difference.

Kind of sad that I found myself looking at bigger mills, before I've even made anything useful with the X1... oh well...

I'm certainly learning plenty from this 'experiment' though

Something I've discovered is that the little threaded blocks that the lead screws go through do not appear to be aligned particularly well. When the lead screw is out far, it spins freely, but when its screwed in it gets stiffer the closer it brings the bearing block to the threaded block. I have attempted to align it, but the retaining bolts don't allow much movement. This is the case on all 3 axis.

[digits]

Originally Posted by Memran Little update I've had a play with 24v supplying my motors and they are able to move 2-3 times faster. A good start I think, but the powersupply itself keeps cutting out. I guess its got an over current protection or something. I'll be on the lookout for something a bit more powerful. Maybe more volts too? I'll try to pre-drill instead of straight plunging whenever I can from now on. It should be a big difference. Kind of sad that I found myself looking at bigger mills, before I've even made anything useful with the X1... oh well... I'm certainly learning plenty from this 'experiment' though Something I've discovered is that the little threaded blocks that the lead screws go through do not appear to be aligned particularly well. When the lead screw is out far, it spins freely, but when its screwed in it gets stiffer the closer it brings the bearing block to the threaded block. I have attempted to align it, but the retaining bolts don't allow much movement. This is the case on all 3 axis.

Which version of the X-1 do you have? I have the Super X1-L, and I think its size and travels lulled me into thinking it was more solid than it really is - having seen the original short table version, I do appreciate how lightweight it really is!

The sad thing is that the X-2 looks a lot sturdier but actually has less travel - the Y travel is particularly bad IMHO. I did quite a bit of looking at other mills before deciding to build a bigger one myself, and there is nothing with the Super-X1L's travels under 100kg!

Just take things easy and it'll perform pretty well!

Cheers.

[mwye0627]

Originally Posted by Memran Little update I've had a play with 24v supplying my motors and they are able to move 2-3 times faster. A good start I think, but the powersupply itself keeps cutting out. I guess its got an over current protection or something. I'll be on the lookout for something a bit more powerful. Maybe more volts too? I'll try to pre-drill instead of straight plunging whenever I can from now on. It should be a big difference. Kind of sad that I found myself looking at bigger mills, before I've even made anything useful with the X1... oh well... I'm certainly learning plenty from this 'experiment' though Something I've discovered is that the little threaded blocks that the lead screws go through do not appear to be aligned particularly well. When the lead screw is out far, it spins freely, but when its screwed in it gets stiffer the closer it brings the bearing block to the threaded block. I have attempted to align it, but the retaining bolts don't allow much movement. This is the case on all 3 axis.

Hi,

I've read where many people have found they can eliminate/reduce the
binding of the lead screw by screwing the lead screw in to where the
bearing block (handle) is close to the threaded block and then loosen the
2 - M8 allen bolts that hold the bearing block to the table. Then retighten
the 2 - M8 bolts. That should help to align the bearing block and the
lead screw to the threaded block.

Mike

[Memran]

Yes I have the Super X1 L It was the Y travel that seemed to be the limiting factor on a few of the small machines I looked at.

I've done as you said, Mike, and it did help - thanks. Motor "rapids" now reaching 15mm/s X, 10mm/s Y, 4mm/s Z @ 24v volts. This is an increase from 5,5,2.

My 24v supply is a bit of a bodge, until I find a good supply at a good price The unit was continually tripping as its only rated 1A continuous. I've connected a pair of lead-acid 12v batteries in series with each other, and in parallel with the power supply. Any large current needed can be pulled from the batteries, while the unit can recharge them slowly. Its not ideal, but its only temporary

I've been reading that someone increased rigidity of the X1's column and head by filling them with concrete to increase mass!

[Memran]

I've now built myself a 32v PSU and have increased rapid speeds to 20x, 15y, 5z mm/s

I have also taken a 12v output to feed a computer case fan housed in my driver box. I'm not sure the fan is necessary but it was simple enough to do and is somewhat reassuring.

[ckm]

Originally Posted by Memran Well I got all 3 axis working and made ran a bit of gcode i wrote on some scrap MDF. All working nice, expcept huge backlash on Z All in all, I'm disappointed with the abilities of this machine. On aluminium, I've had to reduce the amount and speed it cuts so much that even simple parts take hours. I guess I need to somehow make it more rigid. Don't know how yet.

You might do what I did, fill the base with polymer concrete (which is basically epoxy + sand). Also fill the column with rebar and epoxy/polymer concrete. All of that, plus my Z-axis mount, tripled the weight of the machine.

See my build thread here for some other ideas.

Chris.