Msc Milling Machine

Cathead,
Glad to hear I can run a VFD, I was thinking I may have to go to a RPC. I got it off the trailer today and positioned where it's going to sit in the shop. I did it by myself which didn't go to bad, just took my time and planned the moves carefully.

I didn't get any manuals or schematics with the mill so I may need some help identifying which set of motor leads to use when I hook up the VFD. I did take a few pictures of the ordeal and will post some in a few days. Just glad to have it sitting on my shop floor.

I was checking EBay for VFD's and was wondering what horsepower rating you used?
Thanks


My mill has a 2HP motor and I used a 3HP TECO FM50 VFD. I have wired up a Chinese VFD unit but the instruction
book leaves a bit to be desired so went with the TECO. They can be had quite cheaply though so maybe worth consideration.
The hard part comes with the programming because the Chinese units are written in a dialect of english some call "Chinglish".

I'm glad to hear you have the mill on firm footing. I remember when I unloaded my mill off the trailer by myself. I knew one rafter
probably wouldn't support the mill so laid a log between 3 rafters and lifted against that. It worked out fine.

Your motor will have 6 wires coming out of it I would think. Three are for low speed and three are for high speed. If in
doubt, you can use an ohm meter or continuity tester to determine which wires belong to which speed. I taped off the
high speed wires and ran the 3 low speed wires to the VFD. Your mill speed can be determined quite easily by using
the frequency reading on the VFD. Sixty cycles would result in the speed your belt chart reads. Thirty cycles would
be half the belt speed and 120 cycles would be twice the belt speed ETC so quite easy to know what speed your mill is
turning.

Hopefully this is useful information for you.

Cathead
 
VERY glad to hear that your MSC mill is good! The trouble with Chinese stuff in general is QUALITY CONTROL!!! A friend ordered a JET lathe,and found the carriage was CLEAR FULL OF CHIPS!! I wonder if that sabotage was committed by a factory worker who was disgruntled. He decided to send the lathe back,and get a better model. The next was o.k..

There are so many stories about castings full of sand,etc..

I have had my step pulley(I won't risk a variable speed head on my OWN mill!) Those things have a million parts in them. Even Bridgies develop trouble from plastic bushings(I think). Since 1986 my mill has been great. I had its brother at the shop too. It is still going strong,and has had a LOT more use than my mill at home. Too bad mine is single phase,a VFD would do a lot to eliminate belt changes. But,I made that choice in 1986.
 
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Just wondering why ied want the front of the table .001 higher than the back ?.
 
It is standard to let the table be a little higher in front to be slightly pressed down under the pressure of cutting tools,as I already mentioned above. about .0015" is standard for this model machine,which is a pretty flexible(bendy) machine.

Check my first post in this thread.

P.S.: The same applies to drill press tables. They will bend down under pressure of a decent size drill bit.
 
Question for you guys familiar with MSC knee mills - I have one in my shop and it's acting up at low speeds. I want to see if I can repair and replace anything that's mucked-up but don't want to take it apart without a little more information about it (other people use the mill so I can't put it out of commission for too long).

Is there a manual for this mill that anyone knows of? I'm striking out finding one online. Or any other advice would be appreciated - I've worked in shops for about 8 years, but haven't taken a mill apart to fix it up yet.
 
VERY glad to hear that your MSC mill is good! The trouble with Chinese stuff in general is QUALITY CONTROL!!! A friend ordered a JET lathe,and found the carriage was CLEAR FULL OF CHIPS!! I wonder if that sabotage was committed by a factory worker who was disgruntled. He decided to send the lathe back,and get a better model. The next was o.k..

There are so many stories about castings full of sand,etc..

I have had my step pulley(I won't risk a variable speed head on my OWN mill!) Those things have a million parts in them. Even Bridgies develop trouble from plastic bushings(I think). Since 1986 my mill has been great. I had its brother at the shop too. It is still going strong,and has had a LOT more use than my mill at home. Too bad mine is single phase,a VFD would do a lot to eliminate belt changes. But,I made that choice in 1986.

Variable Pitch Sheave drive, also commonly known as a Reeves Drive. Mechanical variable speed device with 2 sliding sheave parts that are prone to wear, I once owned a Clausing lathe with one for the spindle drive, replaced or repaired twice in twenty years and I ran this lathe 20-30 hours per week.
In typical hobbyist use they should last the life of the machine owner however, when worn they vibrate a good deal and are very noisy, not a bad system in it's day.
 
Question for you guys familiar with MSC knee mills - I have one in my shop and it's acting up at low speeds. I want to see if I can repair and replace anything that's mucked-up but don't want to take it apart without a little more information about it (other people use the mill so I can't put it out of commission for too long).

Is there a manual for this mill that anyone knows of? I'm striking out finding one online. Or any other advice would be appreciated - I've worked in shops for about 8 years, but haven't taken a mill apart to fix it up yet.
The MSC mill I'm sure is a Bridgeport clone of a 2J mill. Look for a manual for a 2J Bridgeport mill or go to Grizzy's website and match up your mill with one of theirs a down load their manual. Could be a good place to buy parts from, too without going thru MSC. BTW- have you called MSC and see what they have to offer? As for a fix, I believe Wreck has pretty much pin pointed the possible problem.
 
Wreck Wreck,of course my Hardinge HLVH also has the variable pitch pulley drive on it. After cleaning the surfaces of the pulleys,and installing a new Hardinge belt,the HLVH runs so smooth I can balance a penny atop the headstock,and run the lathe through all the speeds,both in high and low speed range,without the penny falling over.

A problem I have found in Asian variable pitch pulley drives is their belts are not completely even in width every where,causing an un wanted vibration that gets worse in the higher speeds.
 
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