-
Welcome back Guest! Did you know you can mentor other members here at H-M? If not, please check out our Relaunch of Hobby Machinist Mentoring Program!
z axis power feed
- Thread starter Earl
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2012
- Messages
- 940
For a quick setup I have been using a 14 mm socket, 3/8" adaptor and an old cordless drill to quickly raise and lower the head on my Grizzly G0619 mill.
The fact that they sell a replacement plastic ring gear for it on the same page makes you wonder about its quality.
Like bpratl, I use a 1/2" cordless drill with a castellated adapter (~$30) for my mill's knee, and it works great. No installation or modifications necessary.
Ken
Like bpratl, I use a 1/2" cordless drill with a castellated adapter (~$30) for my mill's knee, and it works great. No installation or modifications necessary.
Ken
Earl,
I have a Central Machinery(H/F?) 150 in/-lb on Z-axis of my B'port. I've used it for a couple of years with no problems. It was considerably more than $30 but well worth it to me. I had to install it tilted to the left to clear my Y-axis power feed. It works very well & knee can be raised precisely w/o resorting to the hand crank which is also installed. It saves a lot of hand cranking especially if you switch between collets & drill chuck or end mill holders for different operations. I appreciate it more than X & Y power feeds. I have two A-Song power feeds which I believe came from CDCO. The only problem I've had is a burned out Rapid-Travel switch. I still have rapid travel but it's on the dial potentiometer only. If you get one I'd recommend the 150 in-lb rather than 135.
I have a Central Machinery(H/F?) 150 in/-lb on Z-axis of my B'port. I've used it for a couple of years with no problems. It was considerably more than $30 but well worth it to me. I had to install it tilted to the left to clear my Y-axis power feed. It works very well & knee can be raised precisely w/o resorting to the hand crank which is also installed. It saves a lot of hand cranking especially if you switch between collets & drill chuck or end mill holders for different operations. I appreciate it more than X & Y power feeds. I have two A-Song power feeds which I believe came from CDCO. The only problem I've had is a burned out Rapid-Travel switch. I still have rapid travel but it's on the dial potentiometer only. If you get one I'd recommend the 150 in-lb rather than 135.
Thanks for the responses. I had a x axis power feed on my 1991 grizzly mill (dont remember the model) It had a plastic/nylon/synthetic gear that was driven by a metal worm, bronze, I believe. That plastic gear was sacrificial. I remember the machine jamming while I was talking on the phone. Tore up the plastic gear. Cost more for the shipping than the gear. 15 minutes after receiving the gear, the machine was back in operation.
I may give the cordless drill a try. Where does one go to find an adapter?
My mill (g0695) does not have a y power feed. Does anyone feel that a y power feed is all that usefull?
Earl
I may give the cordless drill a try. Where does one go to find an adapter?
My mill (g0695) does not have a y power feed. Does anyone feel that a y power feed is all that usefull?
Earl
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 2,220
I have a power knee feed on my Bridgeport Mill and I love it. Cranking the table by hand really sucks. I have an Enco import Z feed that has a brass/bronze gear in it. I love it.
I don't think that the y-feed is all that neccesary. I haven't ever wished I had one. The x-feed is a must have, IMO. The Z feed is a close second. I'll never go back to not having one. If money is an issue, the drill works. But, It's not nearly as nice as an attached Z feed, not even close. Enco has the power Z on sale right now and all this month for $350. If you wait around for a 20% off coupon and free shipping, it can be had for about $290. That's a good deal.
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2013
- Messages
- 1,821
I don't think it is as much about laziness as it is about finish if you are boring! At least for me.
I have a hardinge TM with two different size Vertical Heads (for now...), neither with power downfeed.
A power Z feed would allow some pretty sweet, even finishes when boring vertically.
How do you guys find your finishes to be with these Z - one feeds you have?
Bernie
I have a hardinge TM with two different size Vertical Heads (for now...), neither with power downfeed.
A power Z feed would allow some pretty sweet, even finishes when boring vertically.
How do you guys find your finishes to be with these Z - one feeds you have?
Bernie
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2011
- Messages
- 5,039
finish gomes out fine eith the power feed set at the proper feed rate.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2014
- Messages
- 53
Earl, if you are still interested in a Z axis power feed, I built one for my RungFu table mill that works great. I too got tired of hand cranking when boring a hole or when using a fly for cutter for cutting a radius. It's made up of a Dayton 90volt gearmotor with 71 rpm final output rpm. I remove the plastic chrome bearing retainer behind the hand wheel and made a new one from aluminum to which I attached a 2" timing belt pulley. The gearbox has a .875 pulley so there is another reduction in speed along with the worn drive built into the hand wheel assembly. I can a slow spindle feed rate at to where you cannot tell the spindle is feeding downward or fast enough to use it when doing a drilling operation. The plastic knob on the end of the spider is a friction clutch, tighten to feed and loosen to stop the feed and return to the up position. If I get back into it, I plan on replacing the drive pulley with a bidirectional over running sprage so I can still feed the spindle down by hand without having to loosen the drive belt. Between the motor and DC power supply I used molex connectors so I can unplug the motor from the power supply if I need to remove the unit for some reason. The finish obtained while boring is better than I ever expected. Attached are a few pictures showing what the unit looks like.
Pat