NM-200s2 delivered

[JoeBean]

Our NM-200 series 2 was delivered about a week and a half ago. I would have posted something earlier but I haven't been very well lately - I recently got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease of some unknown sort, kidney failure, and now possibly heart failure. Sucks when you're 31.

At any rate, we have unboxed it and started dismantling, as I mentioned I'd be doing earlier. It looks like ours is the first off the line - what I believe is the serial # (it's none too clear) shows 0001.

The shipper had somehow damaged a couple of boards in the crate that they shipped the mill itself in. But nothing inside was damaged. Despite the weakness of the Chinese mystery wood the crate is made out of (I'm guessing maple - you should see the crazy size of the growth rings on this stuff, they must be feeding it dog food) everything was well packaged so it could survive some banging around.

Speaking of the shipper the guy that got here had an ridiculously undersized liftgate and wanted to compensate by "bouncing" the crates out by raising & lowering the lift gate quickly while I held the crates in. Yeah right - 1500lbs, I don't think so. Anyway, we got it out without crushing me (my main concern) or anyone else (miraculously).

One thing to note with removing from the crate & assembling it - you really will want a forklift, gantry crane, or equivalent. We did it with a shop crane, some VERY heavy duty skates, and some patience & ingenuity, but it was a PITA. The biggest problem comes from the fact that the pallet that the mill itself sits on is too low & too wide to fit any normal crane under/around. So you end up having to lift from an angle with the crane at full extension (which means the COG for the load is PAST the full extension point of the crane) and the crane will start to lift up without something to hold the rear end down. And, of course, you'll need a crane that at full extension can handle more 3/4 ton (weight of mill + compensation for COG being farther out) - I'd say 1 ton full extension minimum. We actually removed the electronics cabinet, spindle, and spindle column from the mill before lifting, slid it to the corner (to facilitate getting the crane as far over the load as possible) with come-alongs, and STILL had a heck of a time getting it up. As it rises it slides in under the actual lift point of the crane, and so you need some strong hands to keep it from getting out of control as it starts to slip.

Khai provided their new manual that he finished just before we received shipment, and it's quite thorough. It covers unboxing to assembly to configuring the software and everything's straight forward and well illustrated (though there are a few spelling mistakes - but what do you expect for a first draft hot-off-the-presses?). The only thing really missing that I can think someone might want is a full fledged wiring diagram, though there are images of the elec. cabinet itemizing each piece, so if you can't figure it out from there you probably shouldn't be picking with it. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised with the level of detail.

Another note regarding the installation instructions - they recommend 36" from the rear of the ELECTRICAL cabinet to the rear wall, but that seems excessive. For testing (and, assuming we keep it, for final installation) I think we'll be significantly less than that. The rear of the electrical cabinet is actually 13" out passed the center of the rear mount holes on the base, and in order to open the door to the electrical cabinet you need about another 18", so 31" FROM THE HOLE in the base should suffice (about 28" from the back of the base, or 18" from the rear of the electrical cabinet). I don't see any obvious reason to go more than that. It's even possible to swing the electrical cabinet open to get at the connections fairly easily with that amount of spacing. Perhaps they meant 36" from the rear of the base so that the electrical cabinet could complete swing open to 90 degrees, but the diagram specifically shows the measurement from the elec. cab. and specs 36" clearance.

The quality of the mill & accessories themselves are actually a fair bit better than I had expected, too. The castings look quite nice, and while I haven't had the table off yet I have had the way covers off and most everything else apart and everything's clean and looking good. The table & ways arrived well lubricated and everything was rust-free. I expect to have to do some alignment & configuration but that's to be expected.

The electronics in particular are neatly installed & arranged. Someone put some time and care into what they did there. I've worked on a number of much more expensive pieces of industrial equipment that were FAR AND AWAY less tidy and well organized than this unit. The ventilation was adequate & filtered, although one hole on the left side of the electrical cabinet where a cover with the computer connections goes is slightly larger than the cover over it, and so I'll have to silicone the 1/16" or so gap to keep dust out. I might build an enclosure to hold 3M furnace filters instead of the thin filters that are there now. I've installed Filtrete filters in a number of other industrial settings and they work quite well, and last a long time.

The cord connector was certainly adequate for the application as well - I know some have mentioned that theirs were undersized and flimsy, but this one wasn't. Perhaps they've changed what they're using?

One thing to note, though, is that they have a 240V outlet on the computer connection panel for power to a monitor, but the receptacle they use is only allowed in PERMANENT connections in Canada for 120V - ie. it's a regular receptacle, typically referred to as NEMA 5-15. They do have warnings in the manual about it but you need to be careful. Most LCD monitors today can automatically switch between 120/240V and won't be damaged, and you likely won't get in too much trouble as long as you don't get an electrical inspector over looking at what you've got, but it can cause problems/fires/etc if you plug something else in there. Personally I'll be replacing it with a twist-lock & alter the power cord to the monitor as req'd.

There were a few loose connections that I've found which obviously rattled loose in shipping. One of the connections at the terminal block for the light (inside the light mount) was loose, and one of the terminals for the X axis was loose. I'm going to tear everything down & reassemble anyway, so it's no big deal, but for anyone just wanting to plug-and-play make sure you check all the connections, especially the terminal blocks in the elec. cabinet. Maybe some Loctite 222 to prevent it from coming loose again with vibration.

Everything appears to be here, though I haven't had a chance to do a thorough inventory. We are waiting on the 4th axis but we knew that we would as they're a bit late getting finished. We've moved the unit to a temporary site. We're not sure what we're going to do with it. It mostly depends on my prognosis - hopefully it'll be good and we'll keep it around. In any case, at the moment at least it's gives something interesting to pick at.

That's all I can think of now. I'll try to get some pics and some more info later as I get the opportunity. All in all, we're well pleased with the purchase.

[webgeek]

Hi JoeBean - I'm sorry to hear about your illness and hope they are able to halt it's progress and repair the damage.

I found your post immensely helpful, thanks for the great detail! I think you might have ordered my NM-200 right out from under me, I was about to buy one and it was suddenly purchased and gone. Instead I ended up getting an NM-200s2 but with the original taller column from a custom order where the financing fell through. Not sure if I'm happy about the taller column or not - we'll see.

Your comments about moving it scare me to death - that's already a big concern of mine. This is what I was planning on using:
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-f...ane-35915.html
Is it going to work? Seems pretty good size but now I'm not so sure. The other concern I have is that the manual shows the machine as 100" tall (which seems VERY tall) but the site says it's only 75" tall. Now that you have a machine, which is it? 100" won't even fit in my garage while 75" should be fine.

Thanks in advance!

-Mike

[fourwheeler]

Hope everything goes well for you health wise.

Nice write up so far.

[ihavenofish]

Hi JoeBean - I'm sorry to hear about your illness and hope they are able to halt it's progress and repair the damage.

I found your post immensely helpful, thanks for the great detail! I think you might have ordered my NM-200 right out from under me, I was about to buy one and it was suddenly purchased and gone. Instead I ended up getting an NM-200s2 but with the original taller column from a custom order where the financing fell through. Not sure if I'm happy about the taller column or not - we'll see.
-Mike

taller column can be good if you generally use big vises and tall workpieces. if you have short and flat stuff mounted to the table, it might be a bit more annoying.

[ihavenofish]

Our NM-200 series 2 was delivered about a week and a half ago. I would have posted something earlier but I haven't been very well lately - I recently got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease of some unknown sort, kidney failure, and now possibly heart failure. Sucks when you're 31.

eek. im not a fan of mystery auto immune diseases. i have one, but luckily it only likes to kill "less essential" organs like adrenals. *eats some cortef pills*. yuck, chalky.

hope things work out well.

would like to see pics of this new machine too!

[JoeBean]

Thanks everyone for your concern.

I think you might have ordered my NM-200 right out from under me, I was about to buy one and it was suddenly purchased and gone. Instead I ended up getting an NM-200s2

Actually I think you misread - I've got a series 2, not an original. I specifically waited for it because I had some concerns about the S1. So I think you'll be pleased with yours, at least quality-wise.

Your comments about moving it scare me to death - that's already a big concern of mine. This is what I was planning on using:
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-f...ane-35915.html
Is it going to work?

That's basically what I used, though mine was a bit heavier I believe (judging from the specs - I've never used the HF). I'll say this - if I were to do it again I would NOT use a shop crane. I would have bought/built a gantry crane, such as http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...6723_200356723<ON EDIT I notice that's only rated for 1000lbs, which is too light - you'll need 1500lbs min, so this> But the problem was I'm on an island and there are NO dealers here that have them stocked, to get them in would have taken weeks, and I wasn't feeling up to building one.

The problem, as outlined above, is the fact that the you have the mill mounted on a pallet that's too low for the legs to go under and too wide for the legs to go around. So you're stuck doing this:


I'd definitely suggest trying to get a gantry crane or a forklift. If you do use a shop crane be careful and have enough help available.

The other concern I have is that the manual shows the machine as 100" tall (which seems VERY tall) but the site says it's only 75" tall. Now that you have a machine, which is it?

Neither . We haven't finished full assembly but we took measurements before disassembly (with the same height concerns as you, at least for this temporary location - the permanent location has 12' ceilings). Adding everything up, with the feet & spacers for the coolant base on, and the Z at full height, and the electrical connectors on top of the spindle connected, you're looking at about 86".

Hope that helps!

[JoeBean]

A few pics of the interior of the elec. cab:
Whole thing:

Top of cab:

Bottom of cab (w/computer & power supply - note they didn't skimp and use a no-name power supply - this is a decent 500W supply, more than adequate for the mobo it's driving):

[webgeek]

Hi Joe - sorry I wasn't clear. My machine is a series 2 as well, just has a custom taller column on it that a previous customer wanted and then their deal fell through and I picked it up for the base series 2 price.

Your diagram made clear what I thought you were talking about but hoped I misinterpreted. My problem is two fold - my ceiling is 96" and that's it. To make it worse, I have a large beam that runs through the ceiling that drops the height to just a little over 6 feet for about 14". This means I can't assemble the machine and wheel it into place assembled or use a forklift. Would it be possible to use two engine lifts, one on each side left and right to move it around? Seems like the legs would get under it pretty well in a case that that.

Thanks for the info on the height - makes me feel better that I've got enough clearance still - if not much.

Thanks again for the info and detailed posts!

Mike

[JoeBean]

Hi again!
I think you'd have a hard time manipulating it with 2 cranes. What would work, though, is if you had a support above the mill (eg. a structural beam, or something you rig up) that could take the load (approx. 1500lb) you could use a 2000lb cable hoist (typically called come-alongs up here) or chain hoist to lift the mill off the pallet, remove the pallet, insert some lumber to keep the height of the bottom of the base above the top of the crane's legs, and then drop it on the material. Come in with the crane and lift it up.

If you wanted to make something up yourself to connect the hoist to you could use 2 4x4 or 6x6 wood posts straight to the ground, with a double 2x8x8 or triple 2x6x8 "header" between them. Then support that structure to the ground in different directions to avoid tipping, and make sure you lift straight up. You only need it to go up 1/2" to get the pallet out because the mounting bolts will fall to the ground from the bottom of the pallet and you can pull the pallet out. But then you need to raise it to a height above the height of your legs on the crane, insert the lumber so you can get the crane around it, and lower the mill to the supports and bring the crane in.

Be aware that if you have to move the mill itself (the base, etc. aren't a problem) any distance at all over ashphalt you'll need a HEAVY support under the wheels, like a 2x6. We sank into ashphalt for the 4' travel we had to go despite having 3/4" plywood under it, and then 5/4" lumber started to cave/split. Also, don't forget that 1/2 ton liftpoint on that shop crane you were looking at will not safely support the weight here, so your lift point will be farther back towards the rear of the crane. As well, remember that if you have to "swing" the weight forward at all you're create a greater force on the lift arm and if you're not careful you can overload it.

Moving it around with the crane wasn't bad on concrete. Just keep it as low as possible and move slowly. Don't expect to push it up any incline - we did movie it up a 15 degree incline with the help of a couple come-alongs.

One final note: In the manual they mentioned using an "1 3/4" thick" steel pipe (obviously referring to diameter when they say "thick"), but if you do this make sure the schedule of the pipe is pretty high. See http://www.botlanta.org/converters/d...c/bending.html and http://www.crestwoodtubulars.com/pipe_schedule.html
Obviously since the pipe is partially supported in the center the calculations aren't 100% accurate but it'll give you an idea of what to expect. If the pipe starts to bend the chains can slip off, and even a slight U shape can cause the chains to slip. Personally, I used 1 3/4" steel bar, which didn't bend. I chose for shear convenience (ie. it was there). If I went with pipe I'd probably chosen sched. 160, but I tend to overdo things.

[JoeBean]

Ok...
I spent some time today inspecting the spindle & took some pics to go with it. Excuse the poor quality - I'm the least artistic person on the planet. Half way through today I figured out that the flower icon on the camera meant closeups (Doh!).

The base, on some 2x6s for support at the moment as this temporary location has a wood frame floor. The yellow on top is some way oil I leaked onto it (oops!).


The bottom of the mill body (ie. minus column, spindle, etc.). I was going to remove one of the accordion covers and take a pic but I forgot. I'll get around to it later anyway...


The electrical cabinet, this time showing the plates covering the holes in the side (through which the electrical connections are made). More in a bit...


The computer connections, including the aforementioned NEMA 5-15 plug that's actually carrying 240V.


This is the seal on the rear door of the electrical cabinet. Note that it shifted after being applied. I'll be adding a new, thicker seal to ensure dust stays out. But it's something to look for. This was the only defect in the seal FWIW. Also, you can note the aforementioned slight gap between the alum. plate with the electrical connections exiting the cabinet & the hole in the cab. As I mentioned I'll be siliconing there. You really would be surprised how much dirt/debris gets into a cabinet when dust is in the air.


The column, with the Z ways, motor, etc. visible:


The rear of the column. The labelling in marker I added for future reference. Note, though, the wiring in the rear. The electrical cabinet mounts to 2 black bars (one is visible here) with screws as hinges on one side and pins holding the other. You pull the pins & swing it open to get to the connections at the rear of the cabinet. There are 11 connections at the rear - X, Y, Z axis motors, X,Y,Z limit switches, spindle motor power, E-stop, Spindle motor feedback, light & coolant pump.


The spindle motor unit:


The motor as it's mounted in the unit:


Terrible quality picture, but this shows that one of the screws that hold the metal shroud around the actual cast housing of the spindle had the drive mashed up a little bit. I included this (and some other pics below) because I want to be as thorough as possible so people get an idea of exactly what to expect - including any defects, even if insignificant like this. For reference, though, the whole shroud is held on with these 2 small flathead screws, 2 cap screws by the spindle nose, and friction of the slip fit of the shroud over the spindle unit. I was actually surprised once I realized what was keeping it on. It's a pretty good fit.


Spindle motor being removed:


Spindle motor removed:


This is looking down into the hole that the spindle was removed from. Note the drive belt. More on that later


The de-shrouded spindle motor casing, for reference:


Here the plates that the spindle motor & spindle itself rest in on the top-end of the spindle casing have been removed. At the right is the spindle.


This shows the spindle nose. The 3 outer screws hold the spindle mount onto the column. I was surprised, actually, given that nothing else (save tension from the belt) is holding it in place. The inner 3 screws mount the plate to the spindle


Spindle being removed:


And here it is:


This is a look down the spindle bore of the casing:


Here with that mount plate removed you can see the bearings on one end. Unfortunately I didn't have time to try an hot oil bath to see if I could get the spindle fully disassembled. Obviously if it doesn't come apart it'll need to be pressed apart, which I won't be doing until absolutely necessary. Come to think of it before I bathe it I'll have to make sure that I can get to all the bearings to regrease if it doesn't slip apart.


Here you see a little thread of steel that was left on from the machining process. It seems that after they threaded the smaller diameter they came back in to make a small flat right below where that "thread" is, and a loop of metal was left on.


Slight bits of metal left in the 3 small inside holes of the spindle (mentioned above):


Here are a couple interesting pics. It seems that during manufacture they started drilling those 3 holes for the spindle mounting but the 3rd hole didn't work, so they offset it radially and did it again.



The belt, with markings:


This is the pulley on the motor. It looks like someone bunged up the hole in the pulley a little bit pressing/tapping it on. It was fairly tight & had to be pressed out, but it came out with only about 300 pounds of force on my press:



It looks like someone hit the spring retainer plate with something and banged it up pretty bad. I was worried at first but rotating the spring a little bit allowed it to rest on all (relatively) flat surfaces to keep even pressure on the bearing. That said, I will probably be replacing this ASAP.



Last but not least the bearing (the one visible). It's C&U 6205 RZ, so chinese bearings. The other markings are 12A02 & 020. I expected as much. I can't say I'm confident in them. But we'll see how it goes over time.





Anyway, I'm still happy with the mill, and that's the main thing. I hope nobody takes the above knit-picking as criticism. I just want to be forward and divulge what I found so that hopefully it'll help others. Frankly, I went into this fully expecting to have to do a lot of work before the mill was usable. From what I've seen so far, though, I think it would have been fine to have hooked it up & started milling. That said, I'm glad I don't have to worry that something's lurking below.

[MichaelHenry]

Joe,

Sorry to hear about the health issues and I hope that they work out well for you.

The requirement for 3' of space behind the electrical panel sounds like an NEC code issue. For a commercial inspection where the shop might get inspected or if insurance might be at risk, it would be smart to find out whether or not the NEC (or your local electrical authority) considers that to be the case.

Mike

[ihavenofish]

Joe,

Sorry to hear about the health issues and I hope that they work out well for you.

The requirement for 3' of space behind the electrical panel sounds like an NEC code issue. For a commercial inspection where the shop might get inspected or if insurance might be at risk, it would be smart to find out whether or not the NEC (or your local electrical authority) considers that to be the case.

Mike

i think the space is need to OPEN the pane actually. it swings out from the machine. some other people have moved the cabinet to mount on a wall.