Bridgeport Z axis?

[jjh122]

Does anyone have any plans for building a "Z" axis stepper mount? I have a two axis now, and was thinking of adding a third...
Thanks; John

[M96Jay]

I got on here looking for the same thing. I'm tired of manually setting the Z.

[mc-motorsports]

I bought the Elrod conversion. Nice, but expensive. I would also be interested if someone has a proven design they would share.

[chevdrgtrk]

I constructed a box for mine. The base is 1/2 plate aluminum, the sides are 1/8 aluminum welded to the base with 6 pieces of round stock (also welded to the base) drilled and tapped to secure the cover. When I called to get a price on this pre-made, it was $1,300. I think I have about $50 in mine including pulleys and a belt. My setup drives the table.

[jjh122]

MC, What was the price for the Elrod unit? I went to the website and there wasn't a price listed....
Chev, can you post some pics of your conversion?
Thanks; John

[WagonWheel]

I do not mean to speak for mc but if it helps I did the Z elrod conversion last year. It was $6384.00 from EMI. It is possible to just buy the mechanical parts from elrod, but then you need to source the rest of the components. I did the conversion myself and must say it is not for the faint of heart.

[mc-motorsports]

Originally Posted by jjh122 MC, What was the price for the Elrod unit? I went to the website and there wasn't a price listed.... Chev, can you post some pics of your conversion? Thanks; John

I think $1900? Somewhere right around there. It came with the ballscrew, quill-nut (part that attaches to the quill) aluminum housing is cast, motor mount, nuts bolts, all that good stuff, just add a motor and belt, that was the price for a series 1 bridgeport 2 year ago. I think there is someone who sells them? Found thier website a couple years ago, they sell them for list price so I went directly through elrod thinking if something was wrong I was not dealing with a middle-man if I was paying full price either way.

[mc-motorsports]

Originally Posted by WagonWheel I do not mean to speak for mc but if it helps I did the Z elrod conversion last year. It was $6384.00 from EMI. It is possible to just buy the mechanical parts from elrod, but then you need to source the rest of the components. I did the conversion myself and must say it is not for the faint of heart.

What all did that include? I was just taling about the Z axis hard parts, minus motor is what I mean.
MC

[WagonWheel]

Sorry for the confusion and getting the thread off track. The price I mentioned was for duplicating the Bridgeport series 1 Z conversion using the Elrod unit. I talked to Elrod at first and his mechanical conversion only was $1700.00 and something if I remember correctly.

The additional parts include: new servo axis motor with pulley and belt, motor mount bracket, motor and encoder cables, newer style Z drive card, axsbob card, cabinet wiring harness and instructions, scale and scale adapter cable, 3 axis software and manual. It also included a couple of hours of support which was very helpful in tuning.

Just a heads up: Elrod did not provide an installation tool with his kit now for his conversion. It is simple to make if you have a lathe that will hold decent tolerances. He does provide a drawing with dimensions.

[boaterri]

I have been pricing components for a J-1 Bridgeport conversion too. Here is what Elrod quoted:
x-y bracket $1166
Ballscrews $1756
Ballscrew Yoke $ 431
Limit Switch Kit $ 607

Micro-Kinetics has similar products for a bunch less and they have a knee drive bracket. The only problem with the Elrod and M-K brackets is that they are drilled for a NEMA 43 motor. Most people are using NEMA 34s.

Hope this helps,

Rick

[jjh122]

OK, I've been looking at the Elrod and the Micro Kinetics "Z" conversions and I'm thinking that it shouldn't be too hard to come up with something myself(ourselves) and build one instead of spending the big bucks buying one already made..... A couple of questions first..... Does anyone have any comments on driving the knee instead of the quill? I know it's heavy, but with all the weight pushing down, I don't think a ballscrew is needed... as there won't be any backlash as there would be when changing directions.... I personally don't like the idea, but I'm keeping my options open..
Second.... Where does the quill mounted version bolt up to? I can't find anywhere on the front of the head to even make an attempt to bolt anything to, except the four bolts that hold the head onto the column....
Any comments?
John

[mc-motorsports]

WHOA! Those ballscrews are too expensive! http://www.icai-online.com/product.php?productid=17070 is what I have and I just made some mold inserts with .002" tolerances and held them to .001" no problem.