Beavermill conversion to CNC

hi andre
thanks for the explanation now i understand:naughty:
you should write a book on this for any others out there considering doing the same job:heehee::heehee:
keep up the great work
:smile:Tom

Great pic's Andre? Following your project with special intrests, soon no more good beavers to find on the second hand market anymore .... ;-)

Here we are again,
Last week has been busy and have not don as much as I wanted.
But now I've made the design for the Z axis bearing configuration.
As you can see on the drawing .
So tomorrow I can start the making of the parts.:dance:

How are you going to limit backlash in the bevel gears or is this just an adjustment drive?

Peter

Hello Peter,
On one side there will be the timing pulley and the other side is the ballscrew.
The bevel gears I have are helical bevel gears (the original BEAVER) and I will adjust them with spacers so that slack will be no more.
Kind regards .
Andre

Hello everyone,
Here are a series of pictures of how a component from the Z axis is machined.
This part is made of steel and it is one of the more complex parts I need.
The series pics are self explanatory.
And in the right order.

More photo's

Tip drawing the outline on the workpiece itself so you can see what ultimately the part will be.
Also as much material will be removed make sure that there is material left
to machine after the biggest piece is removed because the workpiece will deform by tensions in the material.

For the rounds I use a rotary table (my machine table is a rotary table ass well)

Tip use a rough mill where possible.
An for finishing I use an endmill.

Tip; always align the workpiece properly .

Tip; My way of making a part is not the only way there are many ways to get the result you want. This is only one of them.
The rest of the pictures are coming soon.
Kind regards,
Andre

Here are the latest photo's of this part

And even more photo's .

And then finished part.
Hope you have enjoyed yourself while watching the part growing.

I definitely.
Kind regards ,

Andrehttp://www.google.be/images/cleardot.gif

Now just wait for the next parts.

superb photos, but that is not a machine you are building ... it's a work of art!!

Looking great Andre !

hi andre
great pictures of build keep up the good work..
you have inspired me into buying a milling machine,just picked up a parkson 2n mill with lot of collets and cutters:yahoo:,machine was still wired up and working when i bought it.
have you ever heard of this make and are they any good??
it has a horizontal spindle as well as a vertical spindal could i fit a small lathe chuck to this to do small turning jobs??
as i am a novice to machining any help would be appreciated
:beer:Tom..

Hello Tom,
it looks like it is a good solid machine.(pictures???)
And if you have questions about how to make stuff just ask if we can help we will do so if possible.
Kind regards ,
Andre

hi andre
here are some pictures of my parkson mill don't have it wired up yet.
.Attachment 1774Attachment 1773Attachment 1772Attachment 1771Attachment 1770Attachment 1769Attachment 1768Attachment 1767Attachment 1766
cheers Tom..

That looks good Tom now you can start your own build log if you rebuild this one.
Ps: The next set pictures from my beavermill will come soon.
Kind regards,
Andre

Cant wait !

Hello here we are again.
After a number of other urgent matters I had to make do, I can focus my attention back to the beaver mill.
The first thing I did was the existing ball crew adjusted to the new situation,
Starting with the removal of the hardened layer on the lathe.http://www.google.be/images/cleardot.gif

http://www.google.be/images/cleardot.gif

After removing the hard layer I put on a steady rest (A support that is clamped to the bed of a lathe,
used when machining a long workpiece. Sometimes
called a center rest.).
And then I flipped the piece and cut the rest matriaal
off.
But first I have the chuck jaws to suit the ball screw,I have a number of different sizes of washers to put between the jaws to support them during turning .I turn them to the right dimension in this case 40 mm so I will not damage the part. After cutting off the exes material I make a new center whit a center drill.

Then I removed the steady rest and the finished part and Put On Some tread for the nut and make a groove for a circlips I am using a caliper to measure the tread

Next thing we did is making the key way and two flat sides ,
I always measuring key ways rectangular pockets with precise gauge blocks

Now we make the nut.
As you can see, you can use a ball bearing for centering the workpiece.

After turning we are going to mill.

Later on we have made several small parts but we do not have pictures of everything because they are simple parts to make.

We have adjusted the part of the base to the ball screw so they can be mounted together.http://www.google.be/images/cleardot.gif

Now we have turned the timing wheels and put in some key ways

Here some pictures from the small axis made of stainless steel

Here some pictures of all the parts.

We have also worked on the engine mount

A while ago I ordered servo motors and drives from Zapp Automation
with 1600 watt and 6 Nm torqeu (Permanent magnet synchronous AC servo motor of sine-wave drive.)

I also ordered at ONECNC a cam package I chose the ONECNC XR4 millAdvantage so I hope the beaver mill will be operational as soon as posible
so we can make some chips I am looking forward to it.

Nice job Andre.
I wish these software sellers would list the price, just spent 10 wasted minutes trying to see how expensive the onecnc package you bought was, talk about the run around.
Not that I could aford it just like to know these things!


Peter

Peter,
Entry level is listed at about a grand but I think you can get them down to the £750 mark but it's only 2 1/2D and no 4th axis.

Hello Peter.

If you would like to know the price you are advised to contact ONECNC and they will gladly help you out.
Kind regards.
Andre

Thanks for the info John.
Andre, thanks but not what I was getting at, I would like to know if it was worth looking at or is it out of my price bracket which it certainly is.
For a hobby and retirement the low hundreds can still be to pricey!
I much prefer free and lots of time learning, time I have money I dont.
Peter