Newbie- Series 1 2J head CNC retrofit.

[roady89]

I just picked this jewel up and got the go ahead to try and convert it to a 3 axis CNC mill. I have Mach, BobCad and would like to use those with it simply because I am familiar with them.

Are there any kits available....either just a bolt on deal or motor, controller package? What size motors would this thing need? This is my first mill so be gentle.

[jholland1]

Much less work and expense to purchase knee mill with built in ball screws in 2 or 3 axes. Your BP series I with 2J looks good. Resale value of a tight manual mill usually exceeds cnc knee mill with control issues. What part of country are you in?
jh

[roady89]

I am in North central Texas. I was curious about the color. Is that a stock color? The guy had several available and they were all Tan in color. It has an Anilam DRO that I will take off.

As far as I can tell it's in great shape and everything works smooth. It just needs a little TLC and a good cleaning and I'l put it to use until all the CNC components are in.

[jholland1]

BP manual mills were available in a variety of colors. Special editions such as 50th year had distinctive colors. The cnc mills were almost always tool grey. Keep us informed on conversion progress.

[scoomes]

for 20 +years I have used a retro packsge from Servo source called servoll if you are going to do circles I suggest that you install ball screws. its not hard to do just follow the directions from the manufacture.i used rockford ball screws they have a retro for bridgeport. dont put ball screws in the z because the weight of the table keeps them loaded all the time . it wouldnt hurt to replace the z with a stock screw and nut as long as you have it apart.check out servosource.com to see the good retro pkgs
Scott

[mc-motorsports]

First thing you will have to do is get those power feed off of there. Ebay may be a decent source for bearings and bearing blocks, but here is a website I use, these guys are great and have exploded views of the Series 1 and you just look at the print, scroll down and add to cart...
http://www.icai-online.com
Should you choose to, you can get a control box complete with Gecko drivers and either servo's or steppers from Low Cost CNC. Google them, I don't reccomend them as thier customer service SUCKS! They won't warranty thier own mistakes. After replaceing $500 worth of encoders and 2 Gecko drivers because Low Cost sent me mismatched parts, I am happy, but like I said, I fit the bill, long story, thier customer service sucks and the owner is full of S***.

Rockford ballscrews are about 20% less than any other ballscrew I have compared them to. You can get ground or rolled, ground be much more expensive, rolled works fine for me, I've made parts with .001" tolerances no problem. My personal belief is as long as the machine is repeatable, it's accurate. Things like tool deflection, backlash due to ballscrew bearings, encoder error, belts and pullys add to ballsrew mapping error and can be corrected in the CAD program or by using compensation, I'm only talking about .002".

The Z axis will be your biggest single expense. I used the Elrod retro, you can google him too. Very nice, very pricey. You can build your own, it's not that difficult. Just comes down to do you have more time or money?

Mach 3 is excellent, no complaints! When I built my last brigeport, I used Mach and had my doubts initially, but I've learned to love it! Simple to use, powerful, I have 200 programs ready just a few mouse clicks away. The machine is the perfect short run/prototype machine. I used 1800in/lbs servo's and I can stall the spindle WAY before I lose position, granted it's only a 2 HP spindle. I rapid and can contour at 100 ipm which is more than enough for a 3K spindle.

Ask questions, save money by learning from our mistakes and good luck!
MC

[jeep534]

Originally Posted by jholland1 Much less work and expense to purchase knee mill with built in ball screws in 2 or 3 axes. Your BP series I with 2J looks good. Resale value of a tight manual mill usually exceeds cnc knee mill with control issues. What part of country are you in? jh

Jh Is correct a bridgeport Boss Machine (or similar) Is the way to go, especially the earlier stepper machines. all of the mounting of ballscrews, Limit switches servo's or steppers ect is already there. and it has a true z axis which there is no really good way to get a Z axis on a series 1 also why would anyone want an R8 spindle on a CNC machine ( donning flame retardent shorts)

It is nearly the same money but in the end you would have a working manual mill and a cnc'ed boss machine for the same money.
Happy Hunting
archie =) =) =)