- Joined
- Feb 7, 2014
- Messages
- 350
I wasn’t really sure where this should go. It’s a Beginner CNC project with a Chinese mill… So I’ll stick it here.
Three years ago I started converting my Seig X2 to CNC. The first try had a lopsided z axis, so I switched to a different design. The second one had ball screws, but it wasn’t obvious before actually having screws in hand that the bottom of the table and saddle needed to be milled. It’s hard to mill something when the table is not there. The final functional design uses stock screws and tight gibs with big slow motors. Scraping the ways would help, if I had the straight edges and surface plate to do it. It works… slow, but it works.
The first project came as a result of needing a better way to grind tools. I plan to build the tool grinder in “Milling – A Complete Course” On reading the book I became inspired to do all of the projects (except for the angle plate that I have no casting for). Like many self taught engineers and maintenance people, I have always used a vice for my little doodads. The idea of learning the ins and outs of the blocks and bolts got me started at the beginning of the book. I built a 3D T-nut, put it through cam and was not pleased with the result. So I hand coded the tool paths. After crashing a few pieces of scrap wood, I was ready to mill a T-nut. All right, not very impressive for the old timers, but it’s pretty cool to see the mill actually do something on its own.
So I’m milling steel and chips are coming of nicely when there is a flash and a second later a long rolling rumble. Afternoon Florida lightning storm. The motors stop turning, followed by the computer resetting itself. The computer now resets itself at random times, making CNC under program control a bit of a joke. So I finished the T-nuts using the MDI interface.
Next project is the boring head, which I will re-purpose into an over the top ball cutter.
![IMG_0988[1].JPG](https://www.hobby-machinist.com/data/attachments/39/39288-fc334379c961dc1c786004af641deeab.jpg "IMG_0988[1].JPG")
![IMG_0987[1].JPG](https://www.hobby-machinist.com/data/attachments/39/39289-1b24e4677b60abdd58522c33f2aa6972.jpg "IMG_0987[1].JPG")
![IMG_0989[1].JPG](https://www.hobby-machinist.com/data/attachments/39/39290-b81fc9b92048d509ea9f79b27a05558e.jpg "IMG_0989[1].JPG")
Three years ago I started converting my Seig X2 to CNC. The first try had a lopsided z axis, so I switched to a different design. The second one had ball screws, but it wasn’t obvious before actually having screws in hand that the bottom of the table and saddle needed to be milled. It’s hard to mill something when the table is not there. The final functional design uses stock screws and tight gibs with big slow motors. Scraping the ways would help, if I had the straight edges and surface plate to do it. It works… slow, but it works.
The first project came as a result of needing a better way to grind tools. I plan to build the tool grinder in “Milling – A Complete Course” On reading the book I became inspired to do all of the projects (except for the angle plate that I have no casting for). Like many self taught engineers and maintenance people, I have always used a vice for my little doodads. The idea of learning the ins and outs of the blocks and bolts got me started at the beginning of the book. I built a 3D T-nut, put it through cam and was not pleased with the result. So I hand coded the tool paths. After crashing a few pieces of scrap wood, I was ready to mill a T-nut. All right, not very impressive for the old timers, but it’s pretty cool to see the mill actually do something on its own.
So I’m milling steel and chips are coming of nicely when there is a flash and a second later a long rolling rumble. Afternoon Florida lightning storm. The motors stop turning, followed by the computer resetting itself. The computer now resets itself at random times, making CNC under program control a bit of a joke. So I finished the T-nuts using the MDI interface.
Next project is the boring head, which I will re-purpose into an over the top ball cutter.
