ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Davek0974
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ThanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Davek0974
Link to seller?Quote:
Originally Posted by John S
http://www.cncmakers.com/cnc/control...s_for_Milling/Quote:
Originally Posted by scubatricky
;)
The old girl is now sporting a QC30 spindle with BT30 drawbar :)
Better tool position and one step nearer to an ATC.
Attachment 23806
Sadly my old mate John S is no longer with us but this was the place he got one from. Not sure they still have same model.Quote:
Originally Posted by scubatricky
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/gro...212162836.html
I've got one of these and it's been controlling my Shizuoka 3 axis machine for the last 6 months or so. It seems to do most stuff you'd want but the Chinglish is too strong to understand in many places - it's just machine translated. It's not a bad solution but there are some areas I've just given up on. There are only so many hundred hours you can spend trying to figure stuff out.
I'm going to remove it from my main CNC machine and use it instead on my Bridgeport conversion. For the main machine I've just bought a Centroid Acorn. Didn't think I'd go this way but I really don't fancy the investment of time required to implement Linuxcnc but the Newker controller isn't working out for me.
I found 2 companies that seem to sell the exact same product. As ever, it's not clear who designed it and who manufactures it but they are different entities.
Newker is the brand I bought. The 4 axis mid range product is the 990MDb (M means milling, T means turning). I bought mine in China when I was there and brought it back myself. I paid about £350. That's not bad value....
Newkye is the other place. The manuals are identical and so are the products, so not much to choose between them.
There are some videos of the machine and controller in use on my YT channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo5..._as=subscriber
Murray
If you fancy a stab at the Baidu Chinglish Challenge, follow the link to the manual.
Latest on this? I'm now looking for a 'CNC' Bridgeport type machine. Whilst I have Thor, Id like something more suitable for cutting harder metals.
Latest is that she is still munching metal :)
If asked, would i recommend anyone to convert?? The answer is no, the cost benefit is not there, I have spent probably around £8-9k on this now and at the end of the day its still a Bridgeport.
If you have the space, I would go for a VMC any time, even an old one. I do not have room or power for anything bigger so that was my reasoning to convert the Bridgy, but its not ideal - i can put the head out of tram easily, you still have to take "Bridgeport" style cuts so no hogging hard steel with big tools, you have to convert the knee to regain decent Z travel, it needs a servo drive spindle but that needs a lot of kW, and so on.
But it is capable of doing stunning things when compared to a manual machine :)
Thanks. My limit is 2.1m roof (perhaps another 150mm if I remove the sheet cover) and then power (60A if I upgrade my breaker, single phase).Quote:
Originally Posted by Davek0974
Finding a small VMC seems impossible ....
Would you say that the Universal 2S mill (or similar) has the same limitations?
And, what about something like this?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CNC-Milli...torefresh=true
Yes headroom is the other big issue with me too, 6'6" max :(
At least you have some power - i'm limited to 32A without major wiring :(
I'm not familiar with the Parkson you linked but it looks sturdy, 40 taper is good, speeds are a little slow so better suited to steel than aluminium cutting but depends what you need really - looks a heavy machine and without all the flexible head nod & tilt should be useful.
Seems a lot of money for an old dog. Can't imagine (m)any businesses paying that for it - if anything fails on it, the thing is scrap - you'd never get parts for it. I'd suggest it's not worth much more than the cost of delivery. A machine that is over 15-20 years old is pretty much scrap due to the controller and electronics being obsolete. No sensible business would waste their money on something that could die at any moment. But that's ideal for the likes of us who can fit modern hobby grade drivers, a Chinese controller etc and get machining.
Machines this size are usually cheaper than ones that will fit in a garage workshop. It's rather like Transit vans costing more than 7.5t lorries - they are easier to use, service, repair and store etc.
I got an "old" Shizuoka from ebay for £1k (weighs 3 tonnes). I probably paid over the odds for it but it was in really nice condition. I've found most of the bearings etc are actually standard sizes so it's been easy to service and the components are very nice quality. Cuts really nicely.
I'd wait for something in better shape and / or smaller.
Nice. Yours looks like a Bridgeport. Centroid too, lovely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
What do you think of these? Three on eBay, one is a scam, same pics as another. 1800 to 3000 gbp.
https://auction.newengland.co.uk/lot...ling-machine-2
Yes it’s a bit like a giant BP. Main downside is that it is a knee mill so has only 6” quill movement. Bed mills are better but tend to be called VMC and cost a lot more. I had a Chinese controller before the Centroid. Probably better overall but couldn’t understand the manual. With a modern controller and adaptive tool paths these machines can fairly fly.
I actually measured my roof height. 2340mm. An interact 2 is 2350 without drawbar.
It claims to be a "universal" machine but a true universal machine would have a table that pivots. It's actually a heavy horizontal mill with a Bridgeport vertical (quill) head. The table feeds will be mechanical and hard to convert to servo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
Better to get an old-ish pukka CNC machine and upgrade the controls. You'd have your work cut out converting those to CNC. Imagine trying to change them over to ballscrews - or the backlash if you didn't.
Thanks, if I can find a machine that fits under my roof, Ill go for it. Willing to pay decent money for a good machine that I can work with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
Anything here worth looking at?
http://www.traceymachinery.co.uk/milling.htm
The low profile machine seems reasonable however they have no ballscrews etc, so possibly not worth doing.
Yes, got to be worth waiting for the right one. Buy in haste, repent at leisure etc. If you buy a heavy old dog you will be stuck with a money / effort pit.
The Shizuoka didn't sell for the starting price so I contacted the seller and suggested something more workable and he went with it.
I've seen people make a hole in the roof to make room for a taller machine.....
Rented house :-( Otherwise Id have no problem 'fixing' the roof.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
As John says, converting a Bridgeport isn't really the best way to go. I'm also part way through doing one myself (I was doing it when I had the accident with the mouse on ebay) and their construction is nothing like a pukka machine. Having said that, there are quite a few BP-type CNC machines that were made as CNC from new, not just the Interact type. Get one of those with ballscrews, servos etc and fit a modern controller.
Thanks, how do I know which ones these are? I dont have the experience / knowledge? Is anything previously 'cnced' worth looking at?Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
I would say if it's been fitted with servos and a CNC controller from new, it's got to be a good candidate. Could be worn out of course but a lot of the work will have been done for you even then. If you spot one of these with an old controller, it may be a good price and not hard to update. The X and Y servos (and belt drive covers) are easy to spot. If it's only 2 axis, you can do the Z axis yourself.
Thanks, have seen a DIY solution for Z where the machines are 2 axis only. One of these (bridgeport or clone), worth looking at then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
Ive got Thor for aluminium but would like something for steels or larger work area.
This is perfect but cant get a response from the seller - https://london.craigslist.co.uk/tld/...611374089.html
Generally on a quill machine the Z axis is done by driving the quill through a yoke attached where the feed stop used to be.
Have a look at what I've been doing - some CAD models here https://mightyshiz.blogspot.com/2018...on-z-axis.html
Thanks, appreciate sharing this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
That looks pretty nice. Seems remarkably cheap. If it is all there, sounds ideal. Even if it's not working it might be worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaz
Id buy this but its too tall and probably needs more power than I can provide.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bridgepor....c100005.m1851
Nice to have full enclosure! When you run full coolant and decent toolpaths, you get stuff everywhere.
There is also a Taiwanese VMC on ebay similar price, possibly better quality and condition, less well known.
You would run these off a VFD. Usually only the spindle needs 3 phase and you can run the coolant off single phase with a motor run cap to create the 3rd phase. The other stuff in the cabinet can usually be rewired for single phase without too much buggerage. And if you need to restrict the max power draw, you can change the VFD parameters or worst case get another VFD where you can do that. If you are drawing 10HP you will be shifting some serious swarf, so dialling it back to a few kW won't be a big issue.
Yep. Are you talking of this machine? I cant find any specs for it ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRYAX-B5A...kAAOSwivNbO2fMQuote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
There is also this, no specs that I can find - https://www.gumtree.com/p/other-powe...26159?srn=true
I was talking of this but now I look again it's the size of a bus. https://ebay.co.uk/itm/DAH-LIH-MCV-1....c100005.m1851
The second one looks like a classical Bridgeport based machine but a proper CNC system from new. Might be OK but has only 5" quill movement and no enclosure(!).
Quite a few nice looking VMCs on Craigslist around the £5-6k. Didn't know Craigslist had become so established over here. It's the default marketplace over in Canada / US - must keep an eye on it now I'm back in UK.....
That Tyrax looks pretty nice but as a non-runner the price seems a bit high. Perhaps you should offer half of that and see if they bite. They obviously don't think it's worth fixing it themselves...
The Centroid controller should be OK to work with. The issues are likely to be with the spindle and drive (at least). Could be a risk hence don't offer too much. Who's going to pay £3k for it?
Yep, but many scams on there ..... perhaps most.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
It does seem high however the machine looks fairly new. There are 2 bids on it already (lets assume they are real) ..... suppose Id pay £3K for it if the spindle wasnt too difficult (expensive) to fix or replace. Even putting on a smaller spindle if possible will work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Muzzer
Might not be the same machine but they are large.
Anyone want to co rent some workshop space in West London?
https://www.aptint.com/en/used-secon...0-z-560mm_3157
I was looking at those machines too ;) theres some good stuff on there at present.
The worst part with a BP conversion is the Z axis/quill drive - it has to be canted out in front of the quill and all the force must go through a single bolt into the quill - that bolt was never made to take anything more than a quill-stop :)
As the screw is driving the quill from one side there is a lot of axial twist moment on the screw which is not good, they work but i don't know how long for.
At the end of the day with a BP you take a machine worth maybe £3k, spend £8k on it and its worth maybe £3k - there is no return value here.
That's why I fitted a 1604 ballscrew on mine where the old quill stop / feed trip rod went. That reduces the overhang by a factor of 2 or so. Also makes for a more compact installation. Having said that, there are many professional installations that seem to last, as long as the bolt doesn't work loose.Quote:
Originally Posted by Davek0974
There's an Ozzie guy who did the same thing as me although his is sort of upside down compared to mine. Worked out nicely. This vid shows the way he did it:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=RsUnoXgF...Nr5wQ&index=21
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4CXcWXZj...Nr5wQ&index=19
When you change your leadscrews over to ballscrews on a BP you get to realise how much spring there is in the yoke (in the saddle, holds the leadscrew nuts) and bearing brackets, even if you were to eliminate the backlash. Puts all the bollocks willy waving about "holding tenths" into perspective. In comparison, my Shiz is rock solid.