Hey, Casting Guys!

[HimyKabibble]

It seems to me, the X2 is probably about the most popular hobby mill. But, it has two really major shortcomings: Lack of rigidity, and it's *really* short on Y axis travel. The rigidity can be mitigated by beefing up the column attachment - in particular replacing the giant spring washer that holds the colum to the base with a stiff steel plate that clamps the edges of the column, and not the center. But the Y axis travel is a bigger kettle of fish. I would think there would be a good market for a replacement base, with a beefier column attachment, and a Y travel extended by a couple 3 inches or so. If course, a head spacer would be required as well, to make that extra travel useable. For anyone with experience doing castings, seems like this should be a pretty easy thing to make.

So why has nobody done it? I was able to buy a complete base assembly from LMS for $149, so an extended base should be easily do-able for no more than $100 for a machined casting, and would greatly improve the little X2. That, along with a 4500 RPM belt drive conversion would make for a pretty nice little machine for quite a bit less money than an X3.

Regards,
Ray L.

[mwood3]

I like that Idea, it also gives the opp. to customize the mill from the ground up...I would buy a set of castings if someone offered them... A Good extended base with a beefy attachment point and a head spacer would make a nice start for my build...

Any Takers?

[kanton]

Ray L.,

I would like a better base, but do we need a new casting?

For example if you build an adapter kit for a imported base you could end up with something like this: Benchtop Monster is Born - Harbor freight 44991 / 33686 Hybrid CNC Conversion!!! .

Or, to use the infamous CNCBridges example, you could use polymer concrete to end up with this: http://cncbridges.com/ .

What I would like is a CNC kit that would provide more X, Y and Z travel with a rigid Z axis and ballscrews at a reasonable price.

[HimyKabibble]

Originally Posted by kanton Ray L., I would like a better base, but do we need a new casting? For example if you build an adapter kit for a imported base you could end up with something like this: Benchtop Monster is Born - Harbor freight 44991 / 33686 Hybrid CNC Conversion!!! . Or, to use the infamous CNCBridges example, you could use polymer concrete to end up with this: http://cncbridges.com/ . What I would like is a CNC kit that would provide more X, Y and Z travel with a rigid Z axis and ballscrews at a reasonable price.

For most people, there's a big difference between a sub-$100 bolt-on base and a $300+ replacement for the whole bottom half of the machine that then requires custom work to make it all go together. For what that thing cost, he coulda *almost* bought an RF45 clone.

Regards,
Ray L.

[mwood3]

What im speaking of is a new base...that the column would bold directly up to, but with improved mounting...make it with extended travel, something inbetween stock and Hoss's freak and add a spacer to go with it...shouldnt be too hard to make that for $100 or less... Look at the one at littlemachineshop but think longer with a better mounting system. IDK how high of a volume they deal with but they offer theirs for $59.95.

Maybe thins would be a good project for LMS to look into?

[HimyKabibble]

Originally Posted by mwood3 What im speaking of is a new base...that the column would bold directly up to, but with improved mounting...make it with extended travel, something inbetween stock and Hoss's freak and add a spacer to go with it...shouldnt be too hard to make that for $100 or less...

Ummmm.... Isn't that exactly what I said???

Regards,
Ray L.

[mwood3]

Ummmm.... Isn't that exactly what I said???

yes it is just trying to clarify myself to all the others that seem to be confused as to what this thread was about^^

not trying to take over just showing support and mutual interest.

In fact I may speak with my brother this weekend about setting up a small foundry and look into casting a few prototypes. He works in aluminum cast as a profession, I know Cast Iron will be a lot different but his experince should still be helpful...

I dont really want to compete with anyone that is already setup for this so if anyone else is interested please say so

[ihavenofish]

ive not gon ahead with my casting plans yet, but it does seem like it would be a fairly easy task to use an existing base, modify it with wood part, then use that as a pattern.

costs ive been quoted dont suggest it would be super expensive in small volumes. you probably wont hit $100 stress relieved and machined unless you do it in high volume in china though. machining it yourself will cause a minor problem as well, because the sieg dovetails are 55 degrees, and every affordable cutter ive found (read:under $150) has been 60 degrees.

[HimyKabibble]

Originally Posted by ihavenofish ive not gon ahead with my casting plans yet, but it does seem like it would be a fairly easy task to use an existing base, modify it with wood part, then use that as a pattern. costs ive been quoted dont suggest it would be super expensive in small volumes. you probably wont hit $100 stress relieved and machined unless you do it in high volume in china though. machining it yourself will cause a minor problem as well, because the sieg dovetails are 55 degrees, and every affordable cutter ive found (read:under $150) has been 60 degrees.

You could do it with a 60 degree cutter - in two passes, tilting the work on one pass.

Regards,
Ray L.

[mwood3]

Ok, I can work around that but it will also add a bit of cost...just offer them with lips machined parallell to each other...one on each side, then we can buy some linear rails from ebay or automation overstock and drill and tap a few holes... :P I know that is out on a limb. Im sure there is some way to make this work...give me the weekend to look into it.

[ihavenofish]

Originally Posted by mwood3 Ok, I can work around that but it will also add a bit of cost...just offer them with lips machined parallell to each other...one on each side, then we can buy some linear rails from ebay or automation overstock and drill and tap a few holes... :P I know that is out on a limb. Im sure there is some way to make this work...give me the weekend to look into it.

well, if you started getting into that, then why not just make a whole new machine instead of cloning all the x2 design flaws?

you could probably make just as easily a "new" basic frame that was compatible with the x2 head casting and some of the other parts you might want to use.

[mwood3]

well, if you started getting into that, then why not just make a whole new machine instead of cloning all the x2 design flaws? you could probably make just as easily a "new" basic frame that was compatible with the x2 head casting and some of the other parts you might want to use.

All that is very true, this is an ugly can of worm here :P

I think your original idea is what would work...

I wonder what someone would charge to cut the ways on a raw casting...

My thoughts are... one person to cast it, another to machine it... in a high volume situation this would be more cost effective i think.