Newbie- Question regarding the prepping of a new X3 mill.

[RiZ]

I'm a newbie to the vast world of mills/lathes etc, so bare with me!

I'm looking into investing in a small hobby mill, taking my very limited metal working knowledge to the next level. I've decided on picking up an X3/SX3.
Now i've being doing a little research into the unpacking and prep of the machine, and was wondering... When cleaning and prepping the mill, is it really required that you remove, disassemble, and clean up the entire spindle assembly?

Being someone that is fairly new to all this, and knowing how precise this particular setup needs to be, it worries me that something may go wrong in the re-assembly and i'll be left with a problem...

Thanks for the advice ahead of time!

Kev

[Toolrunner]

The answer to all your prayers actually exists:

"X3 Preparation Guide (6Mb) - A Picture Story Book to guide you on each step of preparing the X3 Mill for use. Download free of charge."

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalo...-X3-Small-Mill

And then when you want to upgrade the X3 into a 3-axis CNC mill, have a look at the Promica conversion kit from Australia, you don't have to design anything or source anything, its all there and its like assembling Ikea furniture but for a machine tool. Really well made. About USD2700.
http://www.promica.com.au/

[RiZ]

Thanks for the response Toolrunner!

I actually was browsing through that website in my travels last night, and came across that conversion kit. Definitely something i'm going to look into, as it looks like the quality is really there. However, a kit that allows you to retain manual control would be ideal!

My original question actually came after reading through that exact prep guide. I was under that assumption from other guides, that all you really needed to do was clean the machine of all packing grease, grease, and run the break in... So the spindle isn't properly prepped before shipping, or??

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi RiZ. Welcome to the Zone!

No, you don't HAVE to tear apart the bearings. It IS a good idea if you are going to hi-speed the spindle, because sometimes Chinese machines come with inferior grease in there, but most users have no problems running machine without repacking bearings.

Although the Promica is a nice albeit expensive kit, I disagree with their choice of motors. I feel they are using too small of motors, especially on the Z axis.

Here's what I recommend for the (s) X3 electronics:

http://crevicereamer.com/Page_16.html

You might also want to read this basic CNC info:

Http://crevicereamer.com/Page_2.html

CR.

[RiZ]

Crevice Reamer, thanks for the reply!

I had a read through your pages the other day and it was quite helpful. I learned quite a bit from it! The gecko G540 seems like a great idea being a sort of packaged deal, but it seems like it's a weaker setup then say the G203V... Is the G203V just overkill for this sort of setup, or is your choice based on ease of setup??

Also, I also noticed you are updating your X3 page, any ideas of when it will be completed? I look forward to seeing more!

Thanks again

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi RiZ.

I can't even guess how long it's going to take. There's an awful lot of info going to go on there and I'm still learning web software. A few minutes ago, I lost 3 hours of work on a page. Now have to do it all over again. I can only say I'm working on it every day.

If you have the money and the time/competence, The G203Vs are a slightly better way to go. I'm running G203Vs on my SX3. If the G540 had been available back then though, I would have jumped all over it and saved a bunch of money, time and effort.

With the right motors, the G540 is FAR from weak. Jeff Davis quit testing his G540/906 X3 when rapids reached 180 IPM on all axes. It CAN go faster.

Tomorrow, I will update the X3 page with my G203V electronics recommendations.

CR.

[RiZ]

Thanks CR, as my knowledge in electronics is QUITE limited, I think i'll stick with looking into the G540 for now.

I look forward to seeing your updates!

RiZ