ShopFox M1111 SX3 CNC Fusion Deluxe kit - extended length

[Stevenh111]

I tried to think of a longer title but gave up... ;-)

Thanks Michael!!

It came well packed in xmas or "valentines day" red bubble wrap.

I have been spending time reviewing the video on CNC Fusion, Priddy's, Scuba Steve's postings, man other's and of course the venerable Crevice Reamer's site page on extending the range of the SX3 and Geek's thread on this forum.

I had finished assembling the G540 driver controller, power supply, interfacing the Keling motors, a surplus dell 755 in a small case and Mach3, tuning, etc. about a month ago until I could get around to ordering the deluxe kit from Michael. The kit came two weeks to the day from ordering.

I asked for only the X and Y ball screws to be longer a la CR's specs since CR describes a way to increase the Z without the hassle of constructing new mounting, etc. using the standard Z length screw. We'll see how it works, I have little doubt at this time that it will be fine given his explanation.

The custom length ball screws will cost an additional $50 due to increased costs to Michael. Well worth it.

The mill I am converting is the ShopFox M1111 version of the SX3. The Deal I got from the local vender put it at the same price as Grizzly for me, the shipping was free plus I have a local person to work with in case of warranty problems etc. even though this conversion will most likely nuke any warranty.

The specs that ShopFox seems to require from the manufacturer appear to be relatively high for this mill. I found it to almost right on as to tram etc. and coated with regular grease instead of the red cosmoline. Much easier to wipe down.

I have manually milled out the spacers for CR's version using scrap 6061.

I have been photographing as I remember to and will post pictures as I have time if anyone is interested. I will also post a link at the CNC Fusion froum since I have been finding a lot of helpful posts there.

One thing I want to echo is that the G540EZ connectors are great! I had actually made something similar but when I found his fabrication I ordered them and am much happier with his PCB version than my hand wired version.

Lastly, Geko recommends that the Z NEMA34 stepper be wired in series. That way the resistor value is 3.1K (at least for my Keling motor). You keep the torque as well.

If anyone is interested I will start to post images, etc. as I can.

Stevenh111

[mattm55]

Heck yeah, were interested. Post those images and I'll subscribe too. I'm doing a Grizzly SX3 myself, just started and will post images and fill in gaps I've found in information.

Already great info from CR on dis-assembly, so I'll concentrate on adding CNCFusion kit, table, enclosure and electronics (G540 kit from Kelinginc)

Michael's working up my CNCFusion kit now with extended X/Y bs and including extra plates for spacer. I dread hacking the column with a grinder for the Y clearance so I may have to go visit an old friend with a BP )

Keep us posted,
Matt

[cornbinder23]

Welcome Steve!
Looking forward to seeing the pics as well.
CR's site is a great source of info too, I always wonder what ever happened to him as I rarely hear from him much any more.
The last project he was working on was a 3 step cnc conversion on his grizzly 10x22 in fact his last post was in my Lathe build thread last september. Hope he is well and just tooling around in his workshop with more ideas than time

I did a very crappy job documenting my SX3 build but hey I am having too much fun using it. just getting around to buttoning up my power drawbar set-up for it.

JTCUSTOMS

[mtblink]

Hi Steve,

I have been a visitor on the forums for years however this is my first post actually. I built up an X3 similar to what yours will be. I too need to give thanks to Crevice, Geek, CNCfusion, Homann & countless others. My build is similar to others with a few changes here an there, the rough outline is as follows:

- Harbor freight 93885
- CNC fusion deluxe kit / Crevice Reamer Z axis pulley option 18T & 14T
- G540 stepper controller
- EMC Linux machine control

That was smart purchasing the extended screws right off the bat. I just bought an extended 700mm worktable from littlemachineshop so I'm purchasing the extended X screw now. I was thinking of extending the Y axis at the same time. I'm dreading the necessary hand drilling/grinding operation in the colum so the screw can penetrate the column though. I'm wondering if it would be possible to simply add a 1.5" thick steel spacer (1 per side) between the column and the base and raise the whole column with the Z screw and stepper mount. As far as i can tell the spindle will still touch the table, the y screw will slide slide under the column and you get 1.5" more usable Z travel. I'm probably missing something though thats why I couldnt find anyone else doing it that way. Let me know what you think on this if you havent already drilled your column.

BTW the X3 build has been one of the most rewarding projects I've ever undertaken so enjoy it!

Brian

[mattm55]

Well, IMO I would not move the the Z up with spacers but it looks like CR hacked his with a grinder and drilling many holes. It worked for him.

I tested yesterday trying to cut carefully with a hack saw and seemed to work. OK, unless my arm falls off first then I can go to a machine shop with BP and get it milled nicely. I didn't notice anyone giving actual dimensions/drawings of what needs cutting and the screw clearance. I'll add that to my build if it's not out there.

Matt

[Stevenh111]

Matt, Brian, JT, and all.

Sorry I haven't updated for quite some time. I appreciate your postings.

I've been documenting the build, adapting parts, scratching my head, etc. and finally... It's alive!

I have noticed that the table in the y direction for the Shopfox version is built differently than the grizzly. I will post some images when I get a chance. I drilled the hole in the column for the y bs which helps but noticed that the base of the table actually extends in a way and is much thicker than stock so that I actually can/need to mill away the column above the bs hole.

Since the head comes no where near the base of the column dovetail and can still touch the table with only a collet that is no problem. I will probably remove the table (again....) and cut and grind the column since I really don't want to take the entire column off by removing the head, electronics etc to take it to a machine shop for milling.

More later... Synching it with Mach3 was entertaining, I only destroyed one felt tip pen learning to set z offsets... It was a fairly impressive mess before I got to the Estop. Since it was a red pen it looked pretty disgusting.

[Stevenh111]

quick over view pictures of the PS and driver box.
The home/limit switch lines (18Ga 2 conductor + shield wire) are fed through the back panel. I will surround the hole with a grommet to prevent the edges from cutting the insulation.
Used brass knurled knobs (Lowes) to attach the G540 saved time when removing and replacing the driver to attach leads to the on board terminals.

I used soft metal straps to secure the power supply to the case bottom and grounded all input power to the case as well. All shielded line and g540 lines were grounded to the v- on the power supply.

I attached any possible future lines sealed the ends with heatshrink, coiled them and tethered them out of the way.

The fuse is 15A inline with the input 115VAC line.

So far I have not needed an additional external fan. The PS internal fan cycles on and off as needed... We'll see what happens when the 90* summer days come.

[Stevenh111]

I could not get the motor shaft to reach the helical connector to the extended x ball screw using the full spacer. I may not be thinking about this right.

So I removed the thicker spacer and used only the thin one.

The mess is temporary... sort of... by degree and amount ........ sort of.

the other two images are the two types of micro switches I used for homing
the "normal" one is the Y. The one with the touch wire is for the X.

with Mach3 I used a combination of normally closed and normally open terminals on the switches depending on which axis. I'll explain more and why later when I get time.

Don't you hate it when your day job and life interfere with what you want to be doing?