Bridgeport Manual to CNC conversion...

[Davek0974]

USB Issues solved - it works well without the hub and just having two extensions, i have ordered another extension and some clip-on ferrite blocks to suppress any interference.

Also, at last - the adaptor I have mucking about with for the last couple of months is finally done Admittedly it took so long as i was building the machine to make it and figuring out how to operate it but in the end, after ironing out all (so far) of the bugs in tooling, offsets, post-processing etc it really only took a couple of hours.

It's also the first part designed in Fusion 360, that was a learning curve!

It fits the mill snugly and as long as the high-speed spindle motor fits ok, should work beautifully, still got some jobs to clear before i can strip that down though.

Total cost in Z axis travel is 22mm - not bad i thought - that leaves me about 95mm to play with but on a small spindle with tiny tooling that should be ok i think.

Thanks for all help guys

[Davek0974]

I have a tapping head, TapMatic SPD5 - http://www.tapmatic.co.uk/products/p_12.php

It's a self-reversing unit in mint condition.

But it was for a manual machine - you feed in to a quill depth stop, the thread pulls the tap down which disengages the clutch then you pull up which engages reverse and the tap screws out. You need to pull up slightly more than the thread pitch in order to keep reverse engaged.

Now, I don't have rigid tapping, probably never will on this machine, so is it possible to create the feeds/retracts to use this device in CNC or not?

Or, other options?

[komatias]

I have a tapping head, TapMatic SPD5 - http://www.tapmatic.co.uk/products/p_12.php

It's a self-reversing unit in mint condition.

But it was for a manual machine - you feed in to a quill depth stop, the thread pulls the tap down which disengages the clutch then you pull up which engages reverse and the tap screws out. You need to pull up slightly more than the thread pitch in order to keep reverse engaged.

Now, I don't have rigid tapping, probably never will on this machine, so is it possible to create the feeds/retracts to use this device in CNC or not?

Or, other options?

Yes you can, but you need to figure out the depth you are going to end with. I had trouble with Vertex job.

Personally I prefer the tread milling approach. Quicker and cleaner.

[Davek0974]

I have a lot of M6 holes to thread - can you thread-mill that small?

[m_c]

I have a lot of M6 holes to thread - can you thread-mill that small?

Cutwel list cutters down to M3, but you might need to sit down when reading the price.
The most basic 1mm pitch cutter has a list price of 60.66 (Order code - L1211310)

[komatias]

Yes it is possible.

I bought a single form one to do my grid of M12's from here: http://www.drill-service.co.uk/Produ...20000&Tool=799

You would use the 6mm one with a max cutting OD of 4.8 so you can get into the 5mm pilot holes.

If you want to go quicker, you can get the multipitch endmills that can make the thread in a single pass but they do become more expensive.

Have a look on NYCCNC's videos for how to set it all up in Fusion 360.

Regards

[Davek0974]

Ouch! thats a bit spendy for a thread :)

Just found a Torch video and they have a similar head to my Tapmatic - theirs is Procunier but the action is the same it seems.

The only benefit they have is that its all pre-programmed canned cycle stuff. I don't have that luxury but at least it proves it can work.

I will have a look at the specs on the head for tap-travel below the stop point and see if i can come up with a method of programming :) From memory it was 5mm below the stop point to where the feed disengaged so for a 10mm deep thread you would stop feeding at 5mm, wait for the clutch to disengage then feed out.

[Davek0974]

Hmm, thought i could get smart and do it in Fusion360 which comes up with this code...
(1)
(T1 D=6. CR=0. - ZMIN=-10. - RIGHT HAND TAP)
G90 G94 G91.1 G40 G49 G17
G21
G28 G91 Z0.
G90


(DRILL2)
M5
M9
T1 M6
S1000 M3
G54
M7
G0 X-5. Y0.
G43 Z15. H1
Z5.
M29 S1000
G98 G84 X-5. Y0. Z-10. R4. F1000.
G80
Z15.


M9
G28 G91 Z0.
M30

This should be a M6 thread 10mm deep with a 4 second pause, But it seems Mach3 does not recognise G84 so thats out, whatever G84 really is :)

[Boyan Silyavski]

ebay , 1 and 2 . I have been looking to grab a couple . 5$ instead of 50$. What you say? I think these are ideal for various inside threads