IH CNC build up

[Runner4404spd]

I just uncrated my second IH manual mill and will be starting on the conversion soon. I have bought the IH cnc kit and will be assembling it step by step per the instructions would it be worth posting pics as i go as well as some mods that i will do along the way?

one thing about the new IH mill is when i showed up there is no oil on the site glass and it has leaked all over the table. i think i have found the root cause of this based on my first IH mill and will fix that along with doing the conversion and adding a VFD drive and a 3Hp motor.

[Runner4404spd]

ok forget it, i didn't get the head to stop leaking. the leaking is a persisten drip that runs down and around the quill. does anyone have any idea how to fix this? i'm honestly thing that i am going to pull the spindle again to try and find where its actually leaking from. maybe there is a crack in the casting. what worries me is that both the new IH mill and the original IH mill heads leak.

[LUCKY13]

Well, I hope you get past this. I sure would like to see your thought on the new mill compaired to the old mill. One thing is for sure, you dont want to try ATF if it cant hold fluid already. The ATF will leak easier.

This is very odd for it to be leaking when not even running. The first thing that comes to mind is pin holes in the casting. If it was only when running high speed I would thing a pressure build up from the foaming. Could a seal be getting pushed out or out of place from pressure build up? Then it would leak even when it was just setting.


I am very close to being able to order a mill for my son. I just cant make up my mind on what to buy though. I guess a lot will come down to the budget when it happens. But as of right now there is four different machines that are being considered.


Anyway, I would very much like to see pics of your install & mods on the new mill. And if you take the old head apart maybe you can post pics of this also. There has got to be something letting it leak.



Jess

[IHCNC]

Hi Runner;
Even though the your second mill from IH has a leaking spindle it was one of the first shipments of the new design shipped to you in 2006 and Aaron had some spindle leak issues with them, we will honor any parts problem you might have. Many changes have taken place on the mills since yours was manufactured in 2006, mainly in the head. We at IH are always thankful for any suggestion to better our products and because of the lessens learned from the early new mill design that you have we have improved our mills greatly. Although your mill has sat around in your shop for almost a year it still should have oil in it. Send me an email and I'll make sure you get what you need to fix the problem.

[Runner4404spd]

thanks guys. can you tell me what the differences are between the new mill head and the one that i have? my original IH mill works just fine so i have no doubt in this one working just as well if not better, but all these need some tweaking.

one thing i did notice is that this mill does not have ground ways. so i will be lapping it per the procedure that aaron had outlined.

[LUCKY13]

Runner you saying your old mill does not have ground ways, or the new one?

Jess

[Runner4404spd]

my old mill has rudimentary scraped ways. through use these have become pretty flat and smooth. the new mill (which after speaking with Gene, is one of the last ones that Aaron imported) has partially ground ways and partially milled ways. i am told this will in no way affectg the performance of the cnc kit.

also i finally tracked down my oil leak problem. there is a pin hole in the seal holder casting. i don't know if this is intentional, maybe used to lubricate the spindle bearings? but mine was too big and basically flowing oil. in any case i have disassemble and greased the spindle, epoxied the hole and RTV'd the seal holder to the head. this should end my leaking issue. i will keep you guys posted.

[LUCKY13]

Runner, the new mill, even though it was one of the last ones Aaron imported does it still have the bigger head mount?

What about the series of the mill? Aaron used to offer a Industrial Duty setup. Is this what you got or just a regulor duty? And what was the diff between the two (regulor Duty & Industial) ? Is the Industrial duty still offered?


I am fixin to buy my son a new mill. Sense the new owners took over IH there just dont seem to much info on the website any more. Aaron was real good about putting everything out front with info about the differnt setups,ability & cost. Thats the kinda people I like to deal with.


I would appriciate any info & thoughts on this new mill. I guess I am a bit worried about a purchase and I find myself looking more towards the Tormach just because I feel I know what I would be getting & what I could expect after the sale. I also know exactly what upgrades & addons will cost me latter if I was to go adding things like 4th axis & such, and exactly what the performance will be. These kinda things seems to be a secret on the IH now, and leave me with doute and supisions. I dont mean to sound negative, but I do like to know what I am getting into.


Jess

[IHCNC]

Hi LUCKY13;
I'm Gene from Industrial Hobbies. There seems to be a little confusion on the mill that Runner440 has and what it is. We spoke to Runner this week and he can't wait to put the CNC Kit together. It is from the first run of Big Head Mills that Aaron received after the design change and was shipped to Runner in 2006. He just opened it up last week. It was made in early 2006. The ways are semi ground, a great improvement over the old ways, but not perfect. On our new mills the ways are near perfect and the fit, finish and tram has also been improved greatly. Take it out of the crate, lubricate it and use it. We have since sold countless numbers of these mills and with the response we are getting, almost everyone is more than pleased. As far as what Runner has is a Standard 3 Axis CNC Mill Kit. Yes there is a H/D version also available. These are both on the IH Website as before seeing that it is the same Website as it was before. The only difference is that we have added the Turnkey CNC Mill and the DRO Combo Manual Mills. Maybe it is a little hard to navigate our website, but it is still all there plus a little more. There is no secret to anything that we do or sell. The Complete Turnkey CNC Mill is less than $10,000 Plug And Play, also on the IH Website. The options available are on the site, but because of the variables we again don't list the prices. Because we custom build and test every CNC Mill, we need and use customer info to discuss and order this product. Only phone inquiries and orders are available for the Turnkey. We have delivered dozens of these mills and we like the personal side of the business to meet our customers and fulfill there every need. This is not a little purchase and everyone wants something a little different or special to fit their requirements. Therefore the personal contact is the only way we sell our Turnkey CNC Mills. We have over 500 satisfied customers and we do bend over back wards to keep them that way. Nothing is perfect, but we really work hard to get there. If you would like more info about our products just give us a call and we can have a chat about anything that we build or do. Again we apologize for the lack of a flashy website with all the bells and whistles, but seeing that we do it ourselves it isn't that bad, and we are working on a new website, but Mills come first. By the way, we talk to Aaron weekly and sometimes daily, and he is doing just great. We are open 7 days a week from 8:30 in the morning till
3Am at night. We answer the phones and or return messages 7 days a week also.

[Runner4404spd]

Lucky,

i haver spoken with Gene on numerous occasions and would not hesitate to buy another IH mill. i bought the kits because i like putting them together. ultimately next time i will be going with the Light industrial unit. liek Gene said, my mill is the very first batch with the larger slide on the z axis, there have been improvements since then. in terms of true CNC i hesitate about going with a stepper option, unless it has encoder feedback, which the tormach as far as i know doesn't have it.

I will be using my mill as a production generating peice of equipment. in fact i have 2 IH mills. one that is manual and will stay that way and the other will be cnc. as far as the website info, i think all the info that Aaron had on it is still there. if you have any specific questions feel free to emaik me directly and i'll pass you my phone number. again i have nothing but great things to say about Gene and the way they are running IH.

[ProGunOne]

We have over 500 satisfied customers and we do bend over back wards to keep them that way.

Amen to That!

Howdy Gene, Tommy : )

Runner4404spd, I would really enjoy reading and especially seeing your progression from the Manual IH to CNC conversion. I may inspire some of us manual guys to convert some day?

[LUCKY13]

Runner, I would like that very much. I am in no hurry, like stated, this would be a big purchase for me. And to be honest I cant offered to go down a road that does not work for me. So all info I can get will be a help. I am in a odd need as far as a mill, and I came very close to buying a Bidgeport. But room and the ability to move the mill with easy pushed me away for a Bridgy. Other mills I know I will come up against needing more than they can offer, but I have come to realize that I will have to do some comprimizing on some end or the other, to meat my needs,budget and room. There is just so much to consider that it gets overwelming very quick. Anyway I am in no hurry and will take a few weeks before I do anything. If you could PM me with info to contact you & when would be the best time for doing that it would be great.





IH

Thanks for all the replies guys. I agree the personal contact is probably a very good thing. There probably is not any two orders that are the same anyway. I must not have the right web links, or maybe not all of them or something because all I find is basic front page that leads to a few pieces like the manual mill, some DRO options, and then a retro CNC kit. So I must be missing something, or maybe just my links are old & dated & I need to remake them.

I can remember there being some production pages and such with a lot of info, like for example building work fixture plates & pinning the table to except them so you could have many differnt quick setups for the production you was doing. ANd other things such as the Industrail option and videos and such.

I will go back over the site, its a very good chance I am just over looking what I should be seeing (wouldnt be the first time). Do you have to be logged in, or a member to get to this other onfo? Dont worry about any flash, it doesnt mean a thing. The product & service is what counts.


Jess