Just got my sieg x1 (harbor freight 45178)

[simpleton]

Just got my mill from the local harbor freight, and boy is it a mess. I've started the process of breaking it down and cleaning it up, but its gonna take a while. One thing I have noticed is that the motor seems to hesitate and jerk a lot at medium to low speed. YOu can even here it at top speed, just not as bad. Thinking it was just sand and crap in the gear box, I pulled the motor out and it still does it when the motor is spinning free. I pulled the brushes and made sure they were clean and dry(they were) but it just won't run smooth. Is this one of the "features" of a cheap chinese mill, or did I just end up with an extra special mill?

Boat drinks.


Simpleton

[Pres]

Wow, that's too bad. My X1 only required cleaning off of
all the shipping grease.
You might want to let the motor run for 6-8hrs, under no load, to let the brushes "seat in".
I did that right away so I don't know how it would have performed without a 'run-in'..
Good luck,
Pres
p.s. LMS is excellent on tooling for it.

[simpleton]

Well, its dead.

I pulled the motor out of the gear box, and turned it on to let it run and see if the brushes would break in. It ran for about 10 miniutes, then blew the fuse. replaced the fuse with the spare, and it blew as soon as I turned it on. Oh well, I'll exchange it tomorrow. The annoying part is that I spent hours tearing everything apart and cleaning that red grease and sand out from everywhere. Made a terrible mess in my kitchen.

The good news is that this will buy time for the rest of my parts to arrive. I have compnets on the way to finish the interface and driver boards I bought from Phil over at http://pminmo.com/ (Thanks Phil!!!) I also have some endmills on the way from littlemachineshop.com. I still need to find collets, clamps, a vice, and I'm sure there is more I don't know that I need yet.


Simpleton

[Pres]

Too bad you cannot just exchange the motor instead of the whole machine. (HF might do it? Never hurts to ask

LMS has good collets (imho) and step clamp kit also.

Good luck,
Pres

[simpleton]

In a way I'm looking forward to looking at a second x1 in detail. I noticed when trying to set the gibbs that the ways that are cut into the base were off just a bit. I'm curious to see if the next one is the same. Oh and next time there is a mistake I won't make. Using brake cleaner to remove grease. It works quite well, but removes the paint as well. Oops.


Simpleton

[Pres]

An exchange seems best with that kind of problem.
It would be interesting for you to mic the difference, if any, in your new one.
I never used the stock base because I got the extended travel/base from LMS before getting the X1.
(actually, the LMS extended table kit is what prompted me to buy the X1, instead of an X2/X3)

While almost anything will remove the grease, exchanged with enough elbow grease, I had the best luck with Castrol SuperClean.

Good luck,
Pres

[MIKE JEFFERS]

in the control for the motor you'll find 2 trimmers (pots) tweak these gently
and your motor woe's should be over.
mike

[simpleton]

Well, the store does not have any more 45178's in stock, so it will be a week or two untill they can replace the one I have. They offered me the display they have, but would not give me any money back for the trade. And I have seen what kids do to it in the store.


Simpleton

[twocik]

Just noticed this is an old thread, delete me!

[Pres]

Just noticed this is an old thread, delete me!

Too bad! I thought we were finaly having some more X1 action.
(besides, your reply has alot of good links/comments in it)

Yeah, its an "old" thread but if you got the extended, 1 year, warranty then it's still good?

btw, is your machine working ok? Any problems?
Pres
--
You have 30 days to return it with no questions asked and a 90 day warranty that covers most things. *I bought the extended warranty and never used, but I could have drop it, spill water on it, whatever and they would replace it for free (no questions asked). *My motor was very noisy at first, but after I let it run for a little while it was fine. *I also added some white lithium grease, no problems after that. I bought a few gib plates from LMS and they were cut completely wrong. *I'm going to make my own from now on.


Here's a few things to look at


1. Electronic Digital Caliper, 6"

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=2983

2. Extended Y-Axis Travel Kit

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ory=1057823482

3. Long Table Kit

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=2642

4. *Starter Kit

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ory=1057823482

5. Collets

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ory=1062702310

&

6. Drawbar

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ory=1062702310


7. Vise

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...php?category=3




***CNC SETUP***

1. The controller/motor kit * * http://www.hobbycnc.com/hcncpropkg.php


2. 3 axis mount kit $250
http://www.cncfusion.com/micromill1.html

3. Box is $26

* http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/Pro...D4F4005B68617F

4. Transformer is $38

http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/Pro...DB8B80322DE17F

-------------------------

Software I used

1. TurboCNC

http://www.dakeng.com/turbocnc.html

2. Emachine free software

http://www.emachineshop.com/

3. Windows 95, 98 (DOS)
***************

[twocik]

Thank you, I have everything here in this thread. I figured I'd be posting more pictures and possibly some video, and didn't want to highjack anyones thread. The CNC is really the way togo hands down. With these links its really inexpensive and easy to put it together (well most of it). The controller board is probably the hardest part, and setting up the software, that's it really. PM me if you have any questions


X1 upgrades or extras