Build Thread- Clot's X2 conversion project

[Clot]

Hi all, over the past few months I have been working away on my X2 conversion, all the while gathering many tips and tricks from this site. Its time to post up the results and hopefully give back something to the community.

This started out as a stock X2. I then added a Steele belt drive kit, a CNC-Fusion ball screw kit, motors and drivers from Kelling, and finally an enclosure and coolant system. Along the way I have removed all the now unnecessary manual controls, fabricated limit switch brackets, increased the Y travel in the CNC-Fusion kit, added splash covers for the motors, added a splash cover for the Z screw, and changed the mounting of the rubber way-covers for improved travel and reduced risk of pinching. The computer is mounted under the table and the screen and keyboard are on an old adjustable CRT monitor arm.



The enclosure is 1m x 0.6m x 0.6m. Following inspiration from Hoss I built a contoured table out of wood, added a lip around the edge, fitted the 4 aluminium uprights and then used epoxy resin with glass fibre matt to seal it all. Then I fitted the back and side acrylic panels which are just screwed and sealed to the 4 uprights. The front "door" actually just hooks over the top of the two front uprights. I wanted something that could be completely removed so I just lift it on and off as necessary. The table has blocks under the feet of the mill and all the other faces angle down to the drain.



Here you can see the Y motor splash guard and way-cover mounting. The enclosure table detail can also be seen. The epoxy is a little rippled but it cured very hard and there are no leaks. If you look carefully you can a 10mm drain hole in the front face of the mill table. There is one at each end and they let the coolant drain out of the T-slots.



The drain is a regular kitchen plumbing fitting which I recessed into the table before coating it all with Epoxy. I found a strainer at the hardware store which sits nicely in the drain and catches the large chips.



The coolant system has a 15L reservoir and a 2L filter box. I purchased the reservoir, fabricated a stainless steel lid to mount the motor and cut a recess for the filter box to hang in. The pump is from a local machine supply store.



The drain pipe comes into the filter box and the coolant is strained by some Scotch-Brite scouring pads before it flows out through 5mm holes into the main reservoir. The pads are zip-tied in place. You may recognise the source of the filter box...



The filter box lid slides down the drain pipe and clips in position to prevent contamination of the coolant.



Here you can see the Steele belt drive, coolant hose and tap, and the Z ball screw shield on the CNC-Fusion kit.



The Y limit switches are under mounted to the underside of the base casting. The X limits behind the table under the way-cover and a protective bracket. The Z limits are on the R/H side of the column behind the ball screw.

So all in all it is now a pretty good setup. I've learnt heaps and am getting more and more confident with my machining. Thanks to all who have inspired this build and I hope it is a useful source of ideas.

[Oldboy]

Thanks for posting. I have not ben able to do much of anything since June work injury.
Except move my mouse and hunt & peck my computer key board with my left hand & watch TV. I have alot of projects in waiting.
I like your cooling system. Have you thought of having a few .25 holes with the scotch brite glue on the bottom to let most of the coolant drain slow out of the pan?

[Clot]

Thats another way of looking at the problem. My first thought was to try and get the solids to accumulate in the filter box hence the holes 3/4 up the side walls. after about 10 hours of machining there was a thin layer of chips in the bottom so I think that draining through the bottom may not work as well plus it would be much harder to clean out. This way I can remove the filter box and dump the chips without having to drain the whole system. And being a standard ice cream container its easy to modify/improve plus I get to eat the "by product" that comes with the container before I put it to good use with the mill.

[fretsman]

Excellent job, thanks for sharing.

May I ask for a little more detail of the steps in the construction of the epoxy "floor"? What epoxy did you use as well?

Thanks so much,
Dave

[Oldboy]

The small holes in the bottom were to let the coolant drain after you turn off the system. That way you would see mostly metal shavings in the tub.
And you could dump them easy. With out draining alot of coolant out of the tub. You keep the main holes as you have for when its running.

[Clot]

Oldboy: Ah, gotcha. Good point, currently my filter box is always 3/4 full with coolant. Could be a good improvement there I think.

Fretsman: Floor construction details:

I started with a sheet of 25mm MDF, 1m x 0.6m (GREY). I then figured where I wanted the mill to sit and screwed two rails that sit directly under the feet of the mill base casting (ORANGE). These are about 60mm x 400mm, 30mm thick. I drilled mounting bolt holes right through these rails and the MDF sheet and did a test fit. Then I got some thin hardboard and cut three pieces to go between and either side of the rails (CYAN) .These sit up 30mm high at the back of the table and slope down towards the front ending flush with the front of the two rails. Under the hardboard I stuck some spacers to make it reasonably solid. Next step was a ramp at the front of the table (MAGENTA). Then I screwed the aluminium angle uprights in position, added the surrounded lip (GREEN), fitted the drain at one end, and epoxyed over the whole lot.



The pic is a quick model I drew up to explain the construction.

The epoxy was "421 Epoxy Resin" by Altex. The can says "Altex 421 Epoxy is a high quality general purpose system designed for various marine applications such as sheathing timber surfaces, making exotic composites, ir timber saturation and encapsulation". It is a 2 pot resin. I used one litre to prime, coat and then spot fix some thin areas. I added the black pigmant to give it a uniform colour.

I recessed the uprights into the surrounding lip (GREEN) to give a smooth inside face for the acrylic panels to seal against.

[Crevice Reamer]

Nicely done Clot! Great Pics! Good work!

CR.

[fretsman]

Well thank you so much for the excellent explanation/description, it's very much appreciated.

I'm working on an enclosure and I'm looking at my options for the "floor" as I'm interested in setting up to run coolant.

Again, thank you very much for your help-

Dave

[voltsandbolts]

Great job! Have you noticed the coolant effecting the lubrication on the X & Y ways at all?

[Clot]

Well the coolant certainly does get everywhere but I'm not sure if it a problem that it gets into the ways. I just keep lubing every so often. I'm using Rocol Ultracut Clear:

http://www.rocol.com.au/index.php?op...=72&Itemid=155

[daedalus]

Great work! Im just about to start on an enclosure for my X3, and your approach looks a lot more economical then the custom welded pan i was getting quotes for. When you tanked the table was it just painted with several coats of epoxy, or did you have to reinforce with fiberglass?

[Clot]

1. Sealer coat of epoxy, allow to cure.
2. Cut glass cloth to shape (I draped it across the table and notched it to fit snuggly)
3. Apply epoxy over the cloth ensuring it sits down reasonably flat and tight into the corners
4. Optional: Touch up any thin areas (depends on your laminating skills)
5. Optional: Brush on a finish coat to get a noce smooth working surface.

I did steps 4 and 5 plus added the aluminium cap to the front edge of the table as this is where I end up resting my tools, vice etc and I felt it was likely to get damaged over time.

Have dropped spanners etc while working on the mill and they just bounce off the table - its really nice and hard.

The glass reinforcement I used was more like a fabric than a matt. It was woven (the strands had a uniform orientation). I'm not sure what it was called, the composites guy I dealt with recommended it and the end result is nice. He also recommended epoxy rather than laminating resin to get a more chemical resistant and durable surface. Again, no complaints so far.