New Sieg / Grizzly X3 owner - obligatory questions

[Neil_J]

I ordered a new Sieg X3 / G0463 from Grizzly last week. Like most new owners I have a few specific questions... Any help will be greatly appreciated. In return I will be posting a sweet CNC setup in the weeks to come

1. I have a set of Globe servo motors from my old Sherline CNC. They are rated for 60 oz. in. @ 1000 RPM continuous (500 oz. in. stall) when geared down 2.8:1 with a timing belt. Would this give enough torque to drive the X and Y axes (w/ 5mm pitch ballscrews)? Or would I need stronger motors?
2. Assuming I could afford some strong fast motors, what's the fastest feedrate I could get out of the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively?
3. Has anyone added homing switches to their X3 yet, and if so where exactly are they mounted?
4. I had a few questions on selecting a vise in another thread... Hopefully they will be answered there, but if anyone else wanted to chime in on X3 vise selection here, please do.
5. I'll be taking the mill apart completely to make sure everything was assembled properly.. I found an excellent document on how to disassemble it that I will be using. While I'm in there, would it be worth it to swap the spindle bearings with ones of better quality? Or are the stock ones good enough?

Thanks in advance,

Neil

[tauntdesigns]

Howdy Neil,

I can't really help you with the servo set-up, I used steppers (425 oz/in for x & y, 640 oz/in for z). Here's a link to a servo x3 video I saw the other day.
It's ALIVE!..... uh almost. (x3)

I haven't done my home switches yet.

I got a 5 inch vise from enco for mine. It's kinda big (tall) even without the swivel base. I may buy the 4 inch vise later. My thinking was to get a vise that was not bigger then my smallest axis travel (I don't know why ).

Later, Jack

[Greolt]

G'day Neil

I know nothing of those servo motors so will not display my ignorance by commenting on the first two questions.

I have home switches on the X and Y axis. "Photo Interrupters" which have the advantage of good accuracy and repeatability.

Also of very small size. This means I was able to mount them right under the table in a very protected position.

They both are fixed on to the respective ball nut mounts. Very protected from coolant and swarf.

Being one switch per axis is an advantage (less wiring and inputs) and tabs placed to activate them at each end of travel.

Below a couple of pics to help with description.

With the Vise all I will say is don't get the cheapest you can.

I think the bearings in the spindle are adequate, however I have read that the grease used is not the best and would benefit from being repacked with a quality bearing grease.

Greg

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[Neil_J]

Originally Posted by tauntdesigns I used steppers (425 oz/in for x & y, 640 oz/in for z)

So I've seen that most people are using steppers around 425-500 oz/in on the X/Y axis, but is that continuous hold or peak torque? And either way, would you have a datasheet for your steppers, so that I could compare it to my Globe motors?

I got a 5 inch vise from enco for mine. It's kinda big (tall) even without the swivel base. I may buy the 4 inch vise later.

hmm decisions... You have me leaning towards buying another 4 inch. Sounds like it would be the most versatile. I'll always have CNC tooling plate and a step-block kit for the big stuff I guess.

[Neil_J]

Originally Posted by Greolt I have home switches on the X and Y axis. "Photo Interrupters" which have the advantage of good accuracy and repeatability. Also of very small size. This means I was able to mount them right under the table in a very protected position. They both are fixed on to the respective ball nut mounts. Very protected from coolant and swarf. Being one switch per axis is an advantage (less wiring and inputs) and tabs placed to activate them at each end of travel.

VERY nice setup I've heard with the right electronics (Omron signal amplifier), you can get repeatability of 0.0002" with those. I was always under the impression that they would get coolant and chips all over them, but it seems you've found a way around that. Looks like I'm going to be implementing the same setup. Thanks again for sharing the information.

With the Vise all I will say is don't get the cheapest you can.

I can't promise you I won't buy a cheap one My first big job is to make some pillow blocks to mount an engine to my ultralight airplane, and a few thou won't make a difference. I plan to buy a decent vise eventually, but I won't be able to afford it for at least a year. I've spent enough on the mill and airplane parts in the last few months


If you have any more pictures of your mill, please feel free to post them

[tmarks11]

Originally Posted by Neil_J If you have any more pictures of your mill, please feel free to post them

If you have some pictures of your airplane, feel free to post them.

[tauntdesigns]

Here's some links:

425 oz/in specs
http://www.kelinginc.net/KL23H286-20-08B.pdf

425 torque curve
http://www.kelinginc.net/KL23H286-20-8BT.pdf

640 oz/in specs
http://www.kelinginc.net/KL34H280-45-8A.pdf

Enco precision milling machine vises
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?P...PARTPG=INLMK32
I got the 5" (425-7250) without the swivel base. The 4" vise (425-7240) may be my next vise buy.

Good luck, Jack

[Neil_J]

Originally Posted by tauntdesigns Here's some links: 425 oz/in specs http://www.kelinginc.net/KL23H286-20-08B.pdf 425 torque curve http://www.kelinginc.net/KL23H286-20-8BT.pdf

So, your X/Y steppers, with a 5mm-pitch ballscrew:

425 oz. in @ 0 RPM (continuous holding torque)
127 oz. in @ 300 RPM continous, = 60 inches-per-minute
42 oz. in @ 900 RPM continuous, = 180 inches-per-minute

My Globe motors with 2.8:1 timing belt reduction make 60 oz.in. at 1000 RPM so they may be ok. Torque also goes up the slower they turn. I'll probably crunch some more numbers tonight.

Oh yea, one other question... Can this mill do really fast feedrates for G00 rapid movements? If so, how fast?

Enco precision milling machine vises http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?P...PARTPG=INLMK32 I got the 5" (425-7250) without the swivel base. The 4" vise (425-7240) may be my next vise buy.

How has the accuracy been with your 5" vice?

[neilw20]

Neil_J

My Super X3 factory CNC conversion 4 axis.
Standard steppers for factory conversion - someone will know what they are.

May rapids are 2500mm/min in X and Y
and 1450 in Z (cos I haven't fixed a resonance problem yet.)
A-Axis: I don't know how many degrees/minute. Haven't measure it.

For au$130 I boughjt a nice clamp kit in a red plastic hanging frame.
Takes up less space than a vice. I have a 4" tilt vice i use occasionally.

I visited Orlando 5 years ago. International Airport layout clear since google earth used to view it. Loved driving on the wrong side of the road.

[Neil_J]

Originally Posted by neilw20 May rapids are 2500mm/min in X and Y and 1450 in Z (cos I haven't fixed a resonance problem yet.) A-Axis: I don't know how many degrees/minute. Haven't measure it.

That's plenty fast for what I'm doing. In general, do you think the X3 made a good CNC conversion? How has the accuracy been?

I visited Orlando 5 years ago. International Airport layout clear since google earth used to view it. Loved driving on the wrong side of the road.

Hmm, next you'll be telling me we should be using the metric system bah! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I like it!

[neilw20]

Factory conversion limits Z travel. Longer strut required and refixing.
I'm fixing mine now.

Accuracy within specifications or better with a bit of fine tuning.
Compatibility of BOB can be a problem on some PC's.

Spindle speed control from CNC is unserviceable IMHO. They got it wrong.
If you have no tool changer this just means simpler programs and you push your own start button and select your own speed.

About time you guys started making low cost light aircraft out of plastic.
Rivets are a thing of the past, but going too hi tech is hitting a golf ball with a sledge hammer.

[Neil_J]

Originally Posted by neilw20 About time you guys started making low cost light aircraft out of plastic. Rivets are a thing of the past, but going too hi tech is hitting a golf ball with a sledge hammer.

Haha, my Ultralight's wings are made of plastic! (Dacron fabric to be exact). Got to love American ingenuity, right?

To pull this thread back on topic, I get my mill tomorrow It's about **** time too, I've been without one for too long.