Grizzly G0704 Cnc Conversion

If your purpose is to reduce chatter, then this is the way I do it. Just clamp a piece of something heavy to the work. There is a lot of material sticking out of the vice in your picture above, so yes, I would add some mass.

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Thanks. Had not thought of just adding mass to the piece. I was thinking of clamping it to the table. Your approach sure seems more feasible.
 
Well, two weeks later and time for an update.

It turns out I wasn't ready to powder coat. I thought I was until I started test fitting pieces in my little toaster oven, and found they didn't fit. I had "back to the old drawing board" moment that lasted four or five days until I figured out how to do it, and some unavoidable junk that took up time.

Anyway, everything that gets painted is now painted.
All_Painted_parts.JPG

There are four vertical (more or less) pieces of blue rod in the background. Those are holding up the replacement rack I had to build for the toaster oven. The built in rack wouldn't get high enough. And yeah, those are fishing lures on the right. It's a busy bench.

I bought the powder coat gun in about '05 but only did a couple of little things. I had to relearn, and some of these aren't a cosmetic "10". I'll deal with it. The 10 year old powder I bought at Sears still acted fine, it was my technique on some of them.

Now I think it's time to start taking the G0704 apart and start working on the real conversion.


Bob
 
Has anybody here done the phase 3 conversion?

There's something I need to do with the Y axis ball screw/nut combination and I could use some advice. There's an issue with the Y-axis ballnut mount we make and the Linear Motion ballnut. The problem is that the ballnut overhangs the edges of the mount, and Hoss recommends they be ground away with an angle grinder. There's a similar issue on the X-axis, and Hoss had the Linear Motion guys do it so that the x-axis ballscrew was modified when I bought it.

I was thinking of using the mill to remove the extra material before I take it apart. I have carbide end mills. The ball nut is hardened steel, so it will be tough, but I think a carbide half inch end mill would take that off, a few thou at a time.

The disadvantage to using the angle grinder is I'll have to work outside (where it's about 90 to 100 heat index all day) and there's no way to hold the work out there (no vises, benches, etc.). It will take quite a bit of setup to be able to do it. Plus, I'll need to completely wrap up everything in blue painters tape - ballscrew, nuts, everything except the two little areas I'm grinding so I can keep the metal dust from finding a home deep inside the ballscrews where it will eventually ruin them. Not to mention I've never used an angle grinder before - although I've got to cross that bridge some time. I need to work outside to keep the dust from contaminating all the tools inside the shop!

I honestly don't know if it's "fair use" to show this pic clipped from Hoss' DVD, so I'm going to post it and moderators feel free to take it down (or tell me to) if it's not OK.

Yaxis-trim.jpg

You can see the straight vertical edge on the right ground away, cutting into one of the screw holes, and you can see what it originally looked like originally.

Does it make sense to try to mill that away with the G0704 itself? Can the carbide end mills cut the hardened steel, or do I need something more exotic? I know there's a lot of meanings for "hardened steel" and carbide, so it's a tricky question.

Especially, if you did this conversion, what did you do?


Bob
 
The first thing I would try is a file. If you can file it, you should be able to cut it. Keep the feed rate up so the tool is cutting not rubbing.

Taping up everything is a good idea if you need to grind. Anchor the part to something, even if you have to take your vice outside and bolt it to a piece of plywood. Set up so you can work in a comfortable position so you are not over reaching or in an awkward position.

Just as a side note, I grind in my shop all the time. I just make sure the sparks are not flying towards precision tools or something flammable, they are pretty directional and drop out pretty quick. Normally aimed out the door where possible.
 
The first thing I would try is a file. If you can file it, you should be able to cut it. Keep the feed rate up so the tool is cutting not rubbing.

Taping up everything is a good idea if you need to grind. Anchor the part to something, even if you have to take your vice outside and bolt it to a piece of plywood. Set up so you can work in a comfortable position so you are not over reaching or in an awkward position.

Just as a side note, I grind in my shop all the time. I just make sure the sparks are not flying towards precision tools or something flammable, they are pretty directional and drop out pretty quick. Normally aimed out the door where possible.

Thanks for this, Jim.

Tried the file and it kind of skates over the edge, so I think that means it time to try the grinder. I bought a Horrible Freight angle grinder just for this. (If that doesn't inspire confidence, I don't know what will.


Bob
 
I completed the phase one cnc conversion about 8 months ago. I quickly decided I wasn't happy with the backlash with the stock screws and ordered the ballscrew/nut set from automation technology and all the bearings etc. (I ended up with the double nut set). I simply used an angle grinder per Hoss's instructions for the ballnut. I removed the balls and plastic guides from the nut simply because i wanted to ensure I didn't overheat or melt any of the insides so the grinding went pretty quickly. I initially tried really shallow cuts with a carbide end mill and it just didn't work well on the hardened steel casing. maybe it would be do-able with a big knee mill, but not on a G0704 or LMS Mill. Once you complete the project, you realize it isn't that difficult, just time consuming and a little confusing until you've "been there done that". The same with the belt drive conversion. Hoss's plans unfortunately don't include a "step one, step two etc process" instruction layout which would simplify things. When you first look at the files, it's a bit daunting and confusing (at least it was for me), but once to study things a bit not too bad. He's great about promptly answering questions if you have them. Oh and for those who plan on a belt drive conversion, upgrade to some good AC bearings while you're tearing stuff apart anyway. I was able to find the pulleys, belts and bearings on Amazon. Mine ran much, much cooler than with the stock bearings.
 
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Just as a side note, I grind in my shop all the time. I just make sure the sparks are not flying towards precision tools or something flammable, they are pretty directional and drop out pretty quick. Normally aimed out the door where possible.

I learned my lesson a couple of years ago when sparks hit a whole roll of fuse (like for small cannons and such) I had hanging on the pegboard behind my vice. scared the crap out of me. Luckily I keep a small fire extinguisher in my shop. One of those things that happen and you can only hang your head, feel foolish and be glad the house didn't burn down. A lesson so basic that I shouldn't have needed it to be demonstrated. Duh!
 
I completed the phase one cnc conversion about 8 months ago. I quickly decided I wasn't happy with the backlash with the stock screws and ordered the ballscrew/nut set from automation technology and all the bearings etc. (I ended up with the double nut set). I simply used an angle grinder per Hoss's instructions for the ballnut. I removed the balls and plastic guides from the nut simply because i wanted to ensure I didn't overheat or melt any of the insides so the grinding went pretty quickly. I initially tried really shallow cuts with a carbide end mill and it just didn't work well on the hardened steel casing. maybe it would be do-able with a big knee mill, but not on a G0704 or LMS Mill. Once you complete the project, you realize it isn't that difficult, just time consuming and a little confusing until you've "been there done that". The same with the belt drive conversion. Hoss's plans unfortunately don't include a "step one, step two etc process" instruction layout which would simplify things. When you first look at the files, it's a bit daunting and confusing (at least it was for me), but once to study things a bit not too bad. He's great about promptly answering questions if you have them. Oh and for those who plan on a belt drive conversion, upgrade to some good AC bearings while you're tearing stuff apart anyway. I was able to find the pulleys, belts and bearings on Amazon. Mine ran much, much cooler than with the stock bearings.

Thanks. I'm in the process of setting things up to do it. Right now, I'm trying to get anything done I might possibly need the Grizzly for before I take it apart. Nothing worse than needing it when it's a pile of parts. I'm sure this will all make more sense after it's done. Everything always makes more sense the second time.

Did you make the ballnut removal tool Hoss made to remove it without chasing ball bearings around the shop? If so, out of what? In the videos, it looks like a plastic or 3D-printed thing.
 
Did you make the ballnut removal tool Hoss made to remove it without chasing ball bearings around the shop? If so, out of what? In the videos, it looks like a plastic or 3D-printed thing.

I have a 3d printer so I printed one. Quick, simple and it worked great. In the past when building a CNC router, I simply used a piece of paper towel tubing cut to size (slit it length ways to adjust the diameter). Just get it close and wrap a piece of duct tape around it. I've seen posts where others have measured and headed to the local home improvement store and found a piece of pvc tubing or wood dowel sized close enough to work also It doesn't have to be a perfect fit to hold the ball bearings in place for removal/install.
 
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