Need Help!- King PDM-30 Mill Retrofit

[shaffin]

Hello,

I am looking into retrofitting my KING PDM-30 Milling machine. I would like any experiences to be shared if anyone has successfully retrofitted one. I would also appreciate any pictures, kits used, feedback, etc.

This will be my first retrofit project so not sure what to expect, so any help is much appreciated. The information on this mill is provided here - Power Tools, Woodworking and Metalworking Machines by King Canada

Thanks,
Shaffin.

[Bubba]

Shaffin,
That is very similar to the RF-30 that I did several years ago. All parts where made by me after taking measurements. One thing I found was that measurements also varied from machine to machine so some of the drawings that I was able to collect would not fit exactly!
Have to run to a meeting now, but will post further later.

[shaffin]

Thank you, I would really appreciate that.

Shaffin.

[Bubba]

shaffin,
Back again. OK, here is a link to my crappy web site such as it is that may give some ideas on how I did it YMMV:}) http://bellsouthpwp.net/A/r/Arts_home_page/cnc/ I went for servos instead of steppers so I used XL belts and pulleys to give the necessary reduction. As it is, I can hit 100 IPM which scares the heck out of me wondering if it will stop and has the strength to snap a 5/8" endmill if it runs in the vice at G0 speed (yep, it sure did!) I used 5/8" 5TPI ballscrews with homemade zero backlash double nuts on the X and Y Axis. One thing I would change on the X axis is to move the servo out away from the end as I loose about 1-2" of travel as the servo mount cannot go between the end of the ways (run your table all the way to its limit and you will see what I mean. For the Z axis, I put a pulley on the fine downfeed shaft and move the Z that way. One thing I found that helped was to loosen the two screws on the fine downfeed housing and tap (gently) the housing towards the front of the head. This will take up a lot of the backlash in the system. I also replaced the windup spring on the pinion with a fixed thrust bearing to give me more clearance and it also positivity located the pinion for the rack drive. Minor, but it helped. I then rigged a counter weight to hold the quill UP against the rack teeth.
OH, by the way don't worry about loosing the hand wheels. I thought I would want them for manual work, but if you go with ball screws, the system will back drive and will be useless. I have mine in a box somewhere in the shop and haven't seen them in about 10 years! The next best thing I did to the machine other than cncing was to replace the motor with a 3phase and vfd. Amongst other things, I was able to realign the motor/jackshaft pulleys and now with only one belt change between the motor and the jackshaft, have infinitely variable speeds from ~200 to 4000 RPM.

Hope this gives some ideas and let me know if I can help further.

[DJR]

I have done a pdm 30 , first you will need ball screws . stock screws have way too much backlash . The stepper mounts are pretty simple to make for the x and y axis. The z axis is a little harder . I used nema 34 steppers.

[shaffin]

do you have any step-by-step diagrams that can help and guide me through the process? sorry, but i have never ventured into something lke this.

thanks,
sam.

[DJR]

Hi sam. I will probably be upgrading to a larger milling machine . I would willing to sell the kit to retrofit the milling . Everything you need minus the electronics and motors . It includes x and y ballscrews . adapter to mount the screws to the base. Bearings and table end bearing support. Cnc motor mounts X,Y,Z . couplers , z axis belt and gears . limit and home switches with brakets .

Save alot of time just mount all these to your milling , bolt your motors and you are ready to go.

It was setup with nema 34 motors.

i can make a video if you want.

let me know if you are interested

[shaffin]

Originally Posted by DJR Hi sam. I will probably be upgrading to a larger milling machine . I would willing to sell the kit to retrofit the milling . Everything you need minus the electronics and motors . It includes x and y ballscrews . adapter to mount the screws to the base. Bearings and table end bearing support. Cnc motor mounts X,Y,Z . couplers , z axis belt and gears . limit and home switches with brakets . Save alot of time just mount all these to your milling , bolt your motors and you are ready to go. It was setup with nema 34 motors. i can make a video if you want. let me know if you are interested

Yep, I would be interested - can you send me an email with what you had in mind price wise and if you can put together how to get the job done that would be great! My email is shaffin.bhanji@gmail.com.

Thanks,
Sam.