The Boxford 260VMC as you probably never seen it before!

[rnr107]

Hi All,
I bought a 260VMC a little while ago and converted it to Mach3. The problem was, The door of my workshop is only 65cm wide.
far too narrow to get the 260VMC thru it.... :(

I thought, no problem, I'll just take the mill out of its enclosure.... Nah! Boxford had the brilliant idea to cement the base and the back of the mill to the enclosure! Call Boxford, How do I get the mill out of the cabinet? ==>> Not possible sir!

Well, this was enough for me to give it a go.
1- move the table along the Y axis to both extreme position to expose the 5 M10 cap head screws. Take these off.
2- Place a scissor jack between the base of the mill (with a large piece of wood to protect and distribute the pressure) and the cabinet side.
3- start turning the screw a little bit at the time, slowly but surely! Crack!!! it's off! :-)



Now we have a 260VMC on the bench... :-) run a few test, run nicely!

Time to start the cleanup before doing anything serious with it...
First, full disassemble!







I'll add some pictures of the electronic if any interest... :)

Laurent

[Ricardoco]

Well i have more than a little interest, so post away i look forward to reading..

[i2i]

check the feel of the ballscrews, they are the weak link on that machine. Any notching or play they'll need to be replaced, i did one years ago and used ground 14x5mm pitch screws, also you'll need to sort out homing switches/sensors. Is your spindle R8, 30 int or coventry?

[i2i]

Well i have more than a little interest, so post away i look forward to reading..

Nice to see you back again.

[rnr107]

check the feel of the ballscrews, they are the weak link on that machine. Any notching or play they'll need to be replaced, i did one years ago and used ground 14x5mm pitch screws, also you'll need to sort out homing switches/sensors. Is your spindle R8, 30 int or coventry?

Hi i2i,
The spindle looks very much like the EasyChange itself but without the grove for the balls.
It was a pain to take off! See picture bellow:




Where did you get your ballscrew from? did the new ballnut attach to the existing holders or did you make some new ones?
My X axis has no play at all, the Z got some play between the nut holder and the nut but not between the nut and the screw... How does the nut hold onto the holder? Is it screw in? I don't seems to be able to tight it...
The Y axis got some play.

Something else, I find the spindle a bit stiff. Is it supose to spin freely? I mean if I take the gear on the top of the spindle in my hand and give it a good twist, is it supose to spin a few turns? Cause right not, I can turn it easly, but it won't spin multiple turns if you see what I mean... The cap head screw on the top is it used to load the bearings?



Laurent

[i2i]

i used a company called BXR Ballscrews in Bideford, ask for Gerry.

[i2i]

the ballnuts screw into the holders so they must be tight, and i would expect the cap head screw locates the easychange holder. Preload on the bearings would be from a clamp nut above the bearings, which by the sound if it may be too tight, it's hard to judge without seeing it.

[rnr107]

Well i have more than a little interest, so post away i look forward to reading..

Hi Ricardoco,
I'll post the electronic for you... :-) I followed your 260 build and I see you like all these electronic gagets! :-)

I2I,
I had a quick look at that ballscrew page, But they seems to have the type of nut I am looking for only in the rolled type of screw...

[rnr107]

Well i have more than a little interest, so post away i look forward to reading..

Here is the electronic...
Old stuff first:



Then the new stuff... I wanted to use rack mount 19" enclosure so it can be bolted underneath my bench, but could not find one big enough, so had to split spindle electronic in one box and steppers electronic in an other.



Got these nice rack mount enclosures from work. They've got extra holes on the front panel... I guess I will have to patch these at some point.

Laurent

[i2i]

extra holes = lights.......lol


if you're parting with the original electronics i would be interested.