Bridgeport Manual to CNC conversion...

**Davek0974** · 10-07-2018

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 :)

**Chaz** · 10-07-2018

Originally Posted by Davek0974

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).

Finding a small VMC seems impossible ....

**Chaz** · 10-07-2018

Would you say that the Universal 2S mill (or similar) has the same limitations?

**Chaz** · 10-07-2018

And, what about something like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CNC-Milli...torefresh=true

**Davek0974** · 10-07-2018

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.

**Muzzer** · 11-07-2018

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.

**Chaz** · 11-07-2018

Originally Posted by Muzzer

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.

**Muzzer** · 11-07-2018

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.

**Chaz** · 11-07-2018

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

**Muzzer** · 11-07-2018

Originally Posted by Chaz

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

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.

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.