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  1. #41
    Registered spunky1974's Avatar
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    Polymer casting seems to be a growing trend for machines.......>>>article http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/vie...MDSite&catId=0



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    Gold Member acondit's Avatar
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    I to have placed an order for your base and z-axis kit.

    Alan

    Last edited by acondit; 10-30-2006 at 04:17 PM. Reason: spelling error


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    acondit, judging from entries on this forum it appears BEARINGMAN, yourself and I are at least three people who have ordered harlow's system.

    I'm looking forward to seeing some user pics. I'll do my part as soon as I enter the 21st century and buy a camera (and assuming I have the x2 base by then.)



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    Default Ballscrew?

    what type of screw is supplied, i think its just a std lead screw...? Is there an option to supply the base and z with ballscrews/nuts or is it possible to retrofit your design easily with off the shelf screws and nuts? What's your take on the neccessity of converting to ball screws, accuracy, backlash etc...?



  5. #45
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    Spunky - Thanks for that link. When I have more time I’ll elaborate some on P/C.

    Acondit – Thanks for the order.

    Nine_16 – 3 of many. We’ve had 2 order for use with routers. One’s building his own column and another is adapting a router to the Mini Mill column. “I’m looking forward to user pics” Me too. And videos. “assuming I have the x2 base by then”. We are a few days behind. Mostly because of being careful that it is the best it can be. I didn’t want to ship and then say. “Ah sh**, why didn’t I do it that way”. I want these to be the same as units shipped 3 years from now. Some changes listed below.

    1. Base mounting holes.
    2. Moved the Y backlash nut 1” forward and reversed the screws so they are easier to get to.
    3. Increased the Y screw length for future column that will give over 12” of Y.
    4. Made the base 1” thicker from 3” to 4” to give better hand clearance when squaring x to y
    5. Increased Y rail length to 19 7/8” from 15 7/8”
    6. Added additional mounting holes on back of base for a column we will offer in the future. (distant future)
    7. Added more re-bar in base, table and the plate that joins x & y.
    8. Maybe half dozen other little things that aren’t worth mentioning. 1’8” here, 1’4” there type stuff.

    Saris – Ballscrews? We have had several emails about ballscrews. This is my take. On a small machine you need as much resistance to the force of the bit as you can get. If you have a monster table that weighs 400 or more pounds then that adds to the resistance. If you have a small table then it will move easier. Ballscrews or so free they don’t offer any resistance. Our backlash nuts are tight. Our rails are tight. It takes a pretty strong hand to manually turn our screws and move the table. I like that. That’s exactly what I went for. Rather than having a table floating on THK’s and ballscrews you have a table that is tight to the rest of the machine and what ever you bolt it to. Besides, we’re talking a small cut area here so I’m not terribly concerned with ipm. My goal was 60ipm and I would have accepted 35ipm with 30v, 2.5a & 276oz.in. We ended up at 90ipm. Is there a ballscrew option? No. Retrofitting to ballscrews would be a no-brainer if someone wants to do it. We’ve had a few ask about ordering without any screws but then ordered with them anyway. “What's your take on the necessity of converting to ball screws, accuracy, backlash etc...?” Our nuts have no backlash. The leadscrew bearings have no backlash. If any backlash develops in either it can be adjusted out in minutes. Accuracy is dependent on the leadscrew, coupling and motor/controller. We use Keystone leadscrews. I believe they are rated .003 / foot and Nook is rated .001 or .002.


    thanks everyone,
    Harlow



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    Default 4th axis mounting

    Thanks for the quick reply harlow! I really like the design as I was looking for greater y axis capabilty from the stock X2 of a piddily 5.5". One question: what options are there for a 4th axis cnc that would work best with your design? I imagine anyone can build a platform on the end of the table, or incorporate a mount into the risers mounting, but is it possible to add generic mount inserts to the left end of the table? Or if thers a simpler option.... Thanks alot, also are u in the Los angeles area?



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    Harlow, you bet. No complaints here. You appear to be taking the steps necessary to ship a better product (even better than originally advertised.) Excellent and kudos'.



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    Do you still have the free shipping?



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    Saris – I would have liked to provide more than 8 5/8” of Y but didn’t think the stock column would handle it well. Even looked at various ways of bracing and strengthening the stock column. I am planning on filling the stock column to add mass and strength. Also looking at a way of strengthening the stock column to base mount. Instructions and probably DIY Kits will be available when we get to it.

    4th Axis – The table is pretty adaptable so I guess it would be a matter of personal choice or specific applications. It would be difficult to add generic mounts since there are so many methods of adding a fourth axis. My plan is to just attach the fourth axis to the T-Slots.

    We’re in La as in Louisiana, not Los Angeles.

    Dropride – Free shipping offer is over. We currently have a fixed US 48 shipping costs of $45.00 on XYZ kit and $40.00 on XY kit. This is 10-25 dollars less than actual cost. Hope to get to an actual shipping calculator soon.

    later,
    Harlow
    http://cncbridges.com/



  10. #50
    Registered spunky1974's Avatar
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    Hey another link about the use of polymer concrete in machine tooling.....this one is a manufacturer that makes a machine that the price tag is heavier than...LOL http://www.bourn-koch.com/pages/cont...gineering.html
    By the way Harlow what type of polymer is the table ....? Is it a single part modified, two part additive modified, or a three part resin-catalyst-aggregate?



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    spunky1974. Table is 2 part Epoxy Modified with aggregate and about 160” of 3/8” rebar placed .0625” from top and above the bottom on outside edges.

    later,
    Harlow
    http://cncbridges.com/



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    Harlow, i'm planning on ordering the base with all 3axis setup next week. Is the 30 day delivery where your at right now or would it be longer?

    Thanks



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    Dropride. Orders placed now and 2 weeks ago will ship within the 30 day envelope stated on the site. It’s the first few weeks orders we were late on. Should be in good shape on production by middle of next week. All the little changes made are great. Will try to get more pics taken next week and point out what we changed and why. Still looks the same.

    Sorry for the delay replying. My DSL wend down yesterday. 6 hours on phone with Bellsouth tech. 4 hours just convincing them it was internal and not on my end. Now I’m told it will be 2 days to repair. Set up earthlink account as backup.

    thanks,
    Harlow
    http://cncbridges.com/



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    I'm new to CNC, but this machine looks exactly like what I'm looking for as far as work cube size (I make tiny prototypes, and sometimes large ones for sci fi models).

    I don't own an X2. Is there somewhere I can buy just the complete Z headstock and spindle assembly, and integrate it into your $439 package?

    Best,
    John Bear Ross
    Hellion Productions
    www.hellionproductions.com



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    Littlemachineshop.com sells the r8 motor head and the column for the x2...



  16. #56
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    John – Just to compliment saris reply. I’m going to have to give him something for all his help. Here’s his thread.

    LMS R8 Head / Controller - $249.00

    LMS Column Assembly - $79.00

    Contact me through the site if you need help.

    later,
    Harlow
    http://cncbridges.com/



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    Harlow, first of all let me say congratulations, I hope you're successful and make a boatload of money ! Your product is unique and interesting - always nice to see new ideas take shape.

    With that said, since I'll most likely end up as one of you future customers, I'd like to put my 2 cents in as far as the direction you're taking. Consider that you are in the business of selling what amounts to major components of a small milling machine to a unique class of customers.

    So who are your customers ?

    For the most part, it would be people who have ALREADY ventured into the world of small CnC'd milling machines. The only newbies I can think of who would attempt right off the bat building a machine from scratch, either are very brave or desperate I believe that most people probably go thru a progression in terms of mills - start with something small and cheap, setup the CNC, then learn the software and exactly how useful CNC milling is to them. Like me. After buying a Taig or a Sherline, or a mini-mill, we move on (assuming the wife lets us have the credit card again).

    So what do we move on to ? The next step up is either :
    A) And IH style mill
    B) a Tormach
    C) an attempt to CNC a bigger mill (Bridgeport or knee mill or Taiwan mill)
    and that's pretty much it for choices until you get above $10 Grand (I know, I've looked for more than a year now)

    What most of us here as customers would give our eyeteeth for, would be a decent sized mill base with a matching column and spindle - something we can use as a platform to add CNC and the other doo-dads (limit switches, etc) that we personally want, all for a good price. 'Decent-sized' has a lot of different meanings for the people here but for me, personally, I'd like to see a mill with about a 4 cubic foot envelope, say 24" X, 24" Y, and at least 12" Z, and a spindle that runs on either 110 or 220 single phase (If you have a dryer or kitchen range in your house, you can run this mill). With your polymer techniques, I think this is the HUGE OPPORTUNITY you should be looking at next.

    You need to do a poll here along these lines, ask people what they want in a mill and they'll tell you, and I highly doubt BUYING an enclosure is on many peiople's lists. If enclosures were a viable offering there would be a lot of people advertising them here on these pages. I see nothing. If I want an enclosure I'll built it myself, even a dope like me can put one together.

    If I were you, since you've already started with the mini-mill hardware, I would look at how to beef up the Z to make a better functioning machine, and then I would learn what I picked up from my customers in the next few months to build a machine that fits in that HUGE hole that all of us are looking at for machines between $2K and $10K. Most of DIY have picked up the skills to setup the CNC for our needs, finding electronics is a piece of cake compared to finding a suitable machine base. I think you mentioned about heading in this direction and then on to a gantry type offering. Please skip the intermediate time wasting steps and get on to a mill that fits this hole.

    I've got my check already filled out for you

    Best of luck.

    Matt



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    Matt – Thanks for your comments.

    I have to disagree that first timers would not attempt this build. Just from the correspondence with our customers it seems at least ½ are starting from scratch as newbies.

    What most of us here as customers would give our eyeteeth for, would be a decent sized mill base with a matching column and spindle - something we can use as a platform to add CNC and the other doo-dads (limit switches, etc)
    Honestly, when this was introduced I thought it was done. I was already on the next project. So many people emailed me wanting a column that I was convinced. Our column increases Y & Z and allows for cnc’d rotation at the head. It will be a while before we offer the column.

    Doo-dads – Ha. Thanks for making me laugh. Hadn’t heard that in a while. We made it very doo-dad capable the last few weeks. Since it is a real pain to drill and tap this stuff we added pre-tapped holes in a lot of places. Holes on all four sides of the base and table. We even added 2 holes on each side of the 2” spacer behind the head. Thought those would be handy for mounting air/water nozzles or maybe some bobble head dolls.

    I'd like to see a mill with about a 4 cubic foot envelope, say 24" X, 24" Y, and at least 12" Z. With your polymer techniques, I think this is the HUGE OPPORTUNITY you should be looking at next.
    Our next machine meets those specs and more. Hope to have it available by next summer. We actually looked at those specs and that machine type first. More than 3 years ago. This has been a long process. We didn’t just decide to do a mini mill base. It’s part of a plan that will develop over the next several years.

    You need to do a poll here along these lines, ask people what they want in a mill and they'll tell you, and I highly doubt BUYING an enclosure is on many peiople's lists. If enclosures were a viable offering there would be a lot of people advertising them here on these pages. I see nothing. If I want an enclosure I'll built it myself, even a dope like me can put one together.
    Well, even without a poll, they told me.

    As to buying an enclosure. We’re doing an enclosure to help make this CNC option a complete package. The enclosure we have coming is really nice. Besides, a nice enclosure makes work more efficient, neat and quieter. The only reason it will be a while is because we can’t produce them fast enough yet. Why is nobody selling generic enclosures you ask? Good question. Someone should. Build it yourself? I agree. We will offer plans and a hardware kit for it and encourage that route.

    If I were you, since you've already started with the mini-mill hardware, I would look at how to beef up the Z to make a better functioning machine, and then I would learn what I picked up from my customers in the next few months to build a machine that fits in that HUGE hole that all of us are looking at for machines between $2K and $10K. Most of DIY have picked up the skills to setup the CNC for our needs, finding electronics is a piece of cake compared to finding a suitable machine base. I think you mentioned about heading in this direction and then on to a gantry type offering. Please skip the intermediate time wasting steps and get on to a mill that fits this hole.
    You know, I keep hearing all this about the column. It’s a Mini Mill. It isn’t bad for what it cost. We do have solutions with a new column and looking at ways to beef up the original but it really isn’t that bad. I also looked into the X3 column and head over a month ago. It will be 3 more months before it comes in. The X3 column will fit on this base with an adapter mount. One of the changes we just made in the base was to provide a 4” x 4” x 8” mount area at the back that can be drilled and tapped like iron. It’s re-enforced with re-bar and steel plate that continues into the body of the base.

    Our next machine does fill the hole. It seems to me that the IH and Tormach also fill that hole. Those are both very nice machines. The IH has a 12" x 30" work area. I need more work area. Probably 26" x 50" and fully metal capable. On one offs, smaller work areas are fine but in manufacturing, a larger work area not only gives you the ability to do more at once but also gives you the ability to set up multiple jigs and fixtures and leave them in place. The difference in production would be huge.

    thanks,
    Harlow
    http://cncbridges.com/



  19. #59
    Gold Member acondit's Avatar
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    Nine 16,

    Sorry I just saw your post today 11/16. I have a digital camera and I'll try to post some pics when I get mine as well. If Harlow is still on schedule it should only be a couple more weeks.

    Alan

    Quote Originally Posted by nine 16 View Post
    acondit, judging from entries on this forum it appears BEARINGMAN, yourself and I are at least three people who have ordered harlow's system.

    I'm looking forward to seeing some user pics. I'll do my part as soon as I enter the 21st century and buy a camera (and assuming I have the x2 base by then.)




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    Default CNCBRIDGES.com

    Harlow, if you ever get a little time,(ha! ha!) we would like to see a little of what you have plans for in the future. Even a few sketches would be nice.

    I'm in no hurry for my base as money is tight for the rest of the machine, but I had to pull the trigger on this or I might have gone in another direction and been sorry later.

    Any one who thinks this isn't big enough, a Bridgeport would only have 9x42 and would take up a LOT more space in a crowded shop, and weigh a ton (or more). This is the best bang for the buck I've found anywhere, even used.

    Thanks for filling a big hole for this first timer.



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