12z Version 2.0

Hey Tim,

Yea, 'pendant' was the word I was looking for but all I could think of was the 'dongle thingie on the end of the cord'. ;)

But...that's an expensive option just to get power feed on all three axis. :eek:
 
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But...that's an expensive option just to get power feed on all three axis. :eek:

Just shorten that to "But that's an expensive option" and you hit the nail on the head. You can spend a LOT of money on one of these mills without any difficulty, easily more than the mill cost. I have to remind myself daily its a manual mill its a manual mill.

The other day my McMasterCarr shopping cart...I started off needing just a $12 PG cord grip and the next thing you know my shopping cart had $800 of stuff in it. I said whoa hold on here and trimmed it back to $275. The main item was a $220 steel electrical enclosure, 20x20x8 and that was the cheaper enclosure. You can easily spend $330-$500 just on an enclosure. The delete list...cable carrier $180 very cool but is it really needed? No. I started off thinking about adding a better 10k pot for the VFD and pretty soon I had a pile of stuff in my cart to build a CNC like swiveling pendant. Meanwhile I'm daydreaming about flood coolant and a machine enclosure. lol

I fear its only the looming lathe purchase that is keeping spending on the mill in check. If I had a brain I'd hit the emergency stop on all machine spending and just save for a Haas MiniMill2.
 
Yup, hope this one meets your expectations over the first one. I was wondering how you were going to adapt the second power power feed for the Y axis. It's much different than a BP but didn't want to say anything & wait & see. I'm curious to what your solution will be.

Yes that 2nd power feed purchase was a DOH on my part.
 
The main item was a $220 steel electrical enclosure, 20x20x8 and that was the cheaper enclosure. You can easily spend $330-$500 just on an enclosure.
Take a look art Platt Electrical. They are a good source of Hoffman enclosures. Of course, if you want something that has a quality hinged door, NEMA 4 rating, nobody is selling that cheap.
 
Automation Direct is another good source for enclosures.
 
Hey guys thanks yes I looked at Platt and AD, the issue is the depth of this dang VFD drive. I needed 8.5 inches of depth minimum which gets you into some pretty expensive enclosures. I considered mounting it sideways in a shallower panel but that seemed sloppy, I know that it would irritate me until I ripped it all apart and purchased the proper depth enclosure. lol Hey do me a favor and see my electrical thread I just started in the electrical forum thanks!
 
Hey coolidge,

I just received my panel from Automation Direct. 8" deep by 12"x14" for a lot less than 200 bucks. I'm going to bolt the VFD directly to the back of the box which gives me plenty of clearance (about an inch) at the front. Just FYI...

DSCN4328.jpg
 
Bill is that 8 inches with the door or without? With that cable that attaches to the front of the Danfoss on the 12z I need 8.5 inches minimum. Here's the one I ordered from McMasterCarr, total depth including door about 9.1 inches, its 20x20 inches NEMA 3R 14 gauge steel. Of course now it looks like I will be getting rid of that cable so I should have plenty of room. This thing must be rated Explosion Proof, McMasterCarr says it weighs 50 lbs and charged me $42 in shipping. :burned up:
 
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Here's a progress report in pictures, this is it for tonight tomorrow I'll have to go raid Platt Electric for a few things.

I got the PG16 cord grip in for the Leeson motor, the plated brass version was only $12 so I opted for it vs plastic.



I had this cord grip pointing straight up which would be ideal for the power cord moving up/down, but that probably wasn't kosher if a liquid ran down the cord. On the other hand its completely sealed so I may turn the box around and point it up anyway.



I installed the motor with some stainless bolts...I can't help myself I like stainless steel.



I dub this electrical enclosure the New Jersey, yeah you could mount gun turrets on it. Its a bit larger than it looked online.



I also drilled, tapped, installed the VFD. It looks like I can control on/off, forward/reverse, and spindle speed via the VFD with a box of buttons and switches mounted to the side of the head or on a pendant.
 
Bill is that 8 inches with the door or without? With that cable that attaches to the front of the Danfoss on the 12z I need 8.5 inches minimum. Here's the one I ordered from McMasterCarr, total depth including door about 9.1 inches, its 20x20 inches NEMA 3R 14 gauge steel. Of course now it looks like I will be getting rid of that cable so I should have plenty of room. This thing must be rated Explosion Proof, McMasterCarr says it weighs 50 lbs and charged me $42 in shipping. :burned up:

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Sorry, brain lockup! The VFD for the 1340 is what I was thinking of which is smaller front to back. I've no plans to put an enclosure on the mill.
 
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