Buying CNC kits stuff tonight. Need some help.

[cjdavis618]

I have an X2 mill and I'm ready to buy the Xylotex kit with a CNC fusion complete 3 axis ballscrew kit.

The leadscrews that CNC fusion have are .200

Would I be better off with the 425oz motors or the 269oz?

[askman]

270oz is plenty strong enough and give you better performance (higher speed) due to flatter torque curve.

mine is running it on all 3 axis without issues on my x2. on x3, I did get bigger motors, but I am running higher voltage drivers.

[hoss2006]

Askman is right, 269's are plenty of motor for the X2.
I get 65 IPM on the X axis on mine with the Xylotex board at 24 Volts.
I did use 495 oz/in for the Z axis but mine is a unique situation, not necessary
for the standard X2.
The Xylotex ships with 1/8 microstepping as default, a little weaker but smoother.
it's easy to change the jumpers for full,half or 1/4 step modes.
I took the jumpers off of some old bad cdrom drives to add to the xylotex board.
It doesn't have the extra ones you'd need.

[MarkWink]

-my X2 runs 282s with the CNC Fusion (3 axis ballscrews), an Ebay controller (mechatronics) and KCAM.

The motors are fine, the X2 is the problem - build quality - a little too light weight (wish I did the X3)

[cjdavis618]

Thanks for the help guys. My Mill is actually the lathe mill combo from Grizzly. g0516

To complete the build I will need to do one of 3 things.

Order of preference.

Buy a new HF X2 and retrofit
Buy a Superx3 from Grizzly
Buy the base and use my X2 head from the lathe mill.

I already have the grizzly DRO system mounted on the lathe and find that I would like the combo to stay together. Buy the time I pay LMS for the base and shipping, I could add another $200 and have a complete HF mill to modify and if something goes horribly wrong; still have one to use and work with.

Now, on that thought, based on what I read from this site and the CNC fusion kit site. I ordered the Xylotex kit with the 425 oz steppers. That is because the website said that the CNC fusion kit was .200 pitch and the Xylotex kit said for leadscrews that were 10tpi or less, the 425s would provide better output.

I ended up selling my old house and have a little play money here so I can do whatever. Should I just buy the X3 and get it over with? I read that it has a tapping feature and some other very nice things, but how practical will they be if using cnc?


Hoss, thanks for your input. Your build is the inspiration to even get started down this path.

[acondit]

If you have the room and the money, I would say definitely choose the X3 over the X2. I have an X2 and a RF30. I am toying with selling both and getting an X3 myself.

Alan

[cjdavis618]

Alright then.

I have just now ordered my Super X3 from grizzly. As soon as I get it in, I will start the process on retrofit.

Do you know of any places that plans might be available for the retrofit brackets, etc. If not, I will get the CNC fusion deluxe kit and be done with it.


Thanks
Chris

[acondit]

Originally Posted by cjdavis618 Alright then. I have just now ordered my Super X3 from grizzly. As soon as I get it in, I will start the process on retrofit. Do you know of any places that plans might be available for the retrofit brackets, etc. If not, I will get the CNC fusion deluxe kit and be done with it. Thanks Chris

Chris,

Tony Jeffree converted an X3 to CNC and wrote an article about it with pictures and drawings.
http://www.jeffree.co.uk/pages/x3-to-cnc.html

It looks like one could follow his lead. However, the CNCFusion kit looks good also. I guess it depends on your goals and objectives. The CNCFusion kit would be faster if you want to get cutting under computer control. However, doing it yourself will help develop your machining skills, which is helpful in designing parts to be cut under CNC control.

Alan

[cjdavis618]

well, I spoke to soon. Grizzly e-mailed me and said that the sx3 was on backorder until Sept 14th. That is just my luck I guess. lol.

I'm looking for other vendors. I see Travers.com has them but I have heard they strip out all the accessories. And they are more expensive than grizzly.

[skmetal7]

do u really need the tilting head and tapping functon the sx3 offers? you wont if you cnc it.

[cjdavis618]

That's what I was asking.

I may at some point use the features. I do like the tach and the quill DRO for the super. And that is enough to make me buy that over the regular x3.

I may not need any of the extra stuff. But when did need become a factor of hobby cnc?

[cjdavis618]

Well, since I can't find anyone that has the x3 in stock and I really want a bigger floor mill anyway... I bought my second x2 today. I want to do some small cnc work in the short term and decided it was worth it for me to outfit another x2, then once my shop is complete in the next few weeks, I will by my floor mill. I will be getting the g3617 from grizzly so I can do heavier materials.

I ended up getting some r8 tooling at an auction recently and since I was going to have to buy a table for around $225 from LMS, I decided just to keep the lathe/mill intact and buy a new complete x2 from HF. It can use the r8 tooling where my grizzly is an MT3 mill. So I have the best of both worlds I guess.

So at this point, I have the Xylotex 4 axis kit and the CNC fusion complete set heading my way.

Have any of you guys used the "Newfangled" plugin wizard in Mach 3? It looks pretty thorough and well written.