MORE HP for PCNC

[johnh]

Depending on your approach and expectations this could work. I think that what you do with the extra power has a lot to do with it. If you use it to increase your MRR by increasing spindle speed and feedrate then, all other things being equal (Cutter dia, DOC, chip load, number of teeth), you will probably be quite satisfied with the performance of the machine. However if you try to increase your MRR by keeping spindle speed and feedrate the same and increasing cutter size and DOC, you will add a lot of stress and will likely not be pleased by the results.

It would be a good exercise to spend a bit of time with a good feed and speed calculator before deciding on how much HP you need (FSWizard online is good). The amount of HP you can put into a cut will also depend on the available feedrate. Assuming a Series 3 upgrade and no spindle speed limit (assume 25000 in the calculator, it will in most cases be sfm limited), at 110 ipm with a 3/8" cutter, it is hard to find a cut that makes sense on a Tormach that goes much over 3 HP.

bob

Exactly, here is an intelligent response. but Like it was mentioned before, nothing ventured nothing gained.

jh

[johnh]

If you have something negative and off topic to say, PM it. People came here to read about adding horsepower, not filter through pages of nonsense.

EXACTLY GENTLEMEN!

jh

[SCzEngrgGroup]

it was a bit clunky, funny. tried HSMX and found it clunky? I would prefer something other than VisualMill but it was the cheapest with SW plugin and I had already been running the stand alone version.

I think you need to spend a bit more time with HSMXpress. It is very easy to use, and incredibly powerful - much more so than any other CAM I've used. Once you setup templates, you can generate part programs in a small fraction of the time it takes to do the same job in VisualMill. More important, I can guarantee you, properly used, it will DRAMATICALLY reduce your run times compared to the very poor code that VisualMill creates. Making good use of 2D Adaptive roughing with suitable (i.e. - VERY FAST) feeds and speeds, can reduce your roughing time by as much as a factor of 3, while also increasing tool life. You'll get more out of HSMXpress than you will out of a motor "upgrade", and all it will cost you is a little time to learn it.

Regards,
Ray L.

[pickled]

Yeah I thought that what rowbare detailed made sense too. I just love reading all the highly "emotional" responses though...it is pretty amazing the level of ownership that folks have for the status quo. Hey it is your machine to work with so do what makes sense for you. I think what you are thinking of doing is a pretty slick concept that we could all potentially learn from. If anything you will have the first "SVT" style Tormach to experiment with. How cool is that?

[johnh]

I'll have to try HSMX again, I thought AutoCad bought them up?

[johnh]

A metaphor for the poetic among us

series 1 PCNC


my Gasser PCNC

[johnh]

$170, brand new.


drawn up in SW


in the machine model assy.


hunting for GT2 sprockets and hubs now

[johnh]

Yeah I thought that what rowbare detailed made sense too. I just love reading all the highly "emotional" responses though...it is pretty amazing the level of ownership that folks have for the status quo. Hey it is your machine to work with so do what makes sense for you. I think what you are thinking of doing is a pretty slick concept that we could all potentially learn from. If anything you will have the first "SVT" style Tormach to experiment with. How cool is that?

Pretty Cool.

Give me a couple of months, buried under a ton of work but this is the fun project.

jh

[pickled]

Nice! Any chance that you could chrome the fan housing on that motor?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I'll have to try HSMX again, I thought AutoCad bought them up?

Yes, HSMWorks is now owned by Autodesk. But nothing has changed. It's still the same great product, still the same great support. Best of all, it's still free!

Regards,
Ray L.

[mountaindew]

A metaphor for the poetic among us

series 1 PCNC


my Gasser PCNC

Now were back to having fun, much better to burn tires not cam cd's

+1 on the chrome.
Little bling ads to the personality of the machine!
md

[daniellyall]

a comment on single phase to 3 phase vfd, vsd or what ever, the machine I run is on a VSD that could have single or 3 phase in when doing big cuts when it was drawing through single phase the VSD ran up very very fast on amp draw. the shed got converted to 3 phase and blow me down I can do bigger and deeper cuts know that it has 3 phase on it and the draw is very low high it was getting up to 5 amp now 1 to 2 amp

just my 3 cents for ya

one other thing in NZ single phase is 240 3 phase is 460

[tmarks11]

...now that it has 3 phase on it and the draw is very low high it was getting up to 5 amp now 1 to 2 amp....one other thing in NZ single phase is 240 3 phase is 460

240 V, single phase: P=5 amps(240V)/(746 W/hp) = 1.6 HP
480V, 3 phase: P=1.73(1.5 amps)(460V)/(746W/hp) = 1.6 HP

yep, that checks. Nothing magical going on.

[daniellyall]

yer it was just a comment on something I saw that made a improvement to the motor I through it might be something use full to know

you math gives me a understanding why it`s better thanks for that

[johnh]

design is coming along,
sprockets ordered, belt spec'd
Cylinder on hand

[johnh]

On my knee mill I can really gouge out some material with no sweat. Mill is very stiff.
So here is one for the thinkers our there.

It occurred to me that I could add some stiffness and damping relatively easily and inexpensively by filling the castings with epoxy coated river rock pebbles, or coarse sand for that matter.

Let the flaming conjecture and or seasoned veteran engineer sage wisdom begin!

Yeah, I'm serious.

[pickled]

Man you are moving right along on this one. What you are thinking is probably a lot smarter than pouring expanding foam into the casting, but let's keep with the theme here and keep the topic on track OK? In that spirit this is the route that I would go with....

HardBlok Water Jacket Filler - Increase Horsepower For High Performance Engines.

I mean I'm thinking laterally here about getting more HP right?

[tmarks11]

...stiffness and damping relatively easily and inexpensively by filling the castings with epoxy coated river rock pebbles, or coarse sand for that matter.

There is a whole forum section here discussing epoxy machine builds, some of which is applicable to dampening machines by filling cavities. Lots of discussion of the optimum mixture of resin and aggregate sizes to maximize dampening.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/epoxy-granite/

[mountaindew]

This is looking like a project now! yea
I had considered mentioning the fill column and or base with epoxy and a dense rock idea! Would have to form around the screws. I looked at this a while back and it didn't seam like you could get all that much in there. And I wondered what would work best for a material, like a non shrink grout used in structural steel column bases or an epoxy like material they talk about in other threads on this forum.
Anyway I concluded the ways, gibs, spindle and spindle head would be the parts that need attention first then move on to what I see as marginal gains in stiffness.
Everything makes some difference and would not hurt if done right. "Opinion from the cheap seats Im not bankrolling project"
Keep us updated!
md

[rowbare]

On my knee mill I can really gouge out some material with no sweat. Mill is very stiff.
So here is one for the thinkers our there.

It occurred to me that I could add some stiffness and damping relatively easily and inexpensively by filling the castings with epoxy coated river rock pebbles, or coarse sand for that matter.

Let the flaming conjecture and or seasoned veteran engineer sage wisdom begin!

Yeah, I'm serious.

Did you see Bob Warfield's post where he did just that to his IH mill? CNCCookbook: Epoxy Granite Fill

You want to get some small material in there too though otherwise you are wasting $$$ epoxy. You need about 5 sizes of aggregate in there down to rock dust to get good filling. The EG guys seem to be aiming for 9-10% epoxy finding 8% to be a bit weak. However for a machine fill I am sure that 8% would work well.

bob