11-24-2012, 02:10 PM
Well, finely an update. I didn't get any pictures of the un-boxing as we went at it fast and furious. The first business was cleaning the shipping grease off of all of the bare surfaces. At first glance the new mill looked exactly like the old one but there are some subtle differences. The color blue is a lighter shade and not done as well. More overspray and dings and chips. The metal on the table has small pits, the ground surface is good and flat so it must be in the casting.
Once clean the next step was to install the right side gas spring. When drilling the first hole it was immediatly obvious that the casting was much harder than the old mill. It was dulling my bit after only 1 or 2 holes. The old mill drilled like butter.
Next I mounted the z-axis motor drive. No drama with the motor mount, all of the bolts lined up fine. More drilling and tapping holes for the control box and main box. The install went so much faster than the first time I did this on the old mill. No fab required.
I decided to install the x-axis drive next. I did mod the limit switch, routing the wire cord out the side of the box instead of the bottom. I also ground some of the casting to provide clearance for the gear that mounts to the mill. I am now fully powered up.
I hooked up the plug to confirm the motor runs and the spindle is turning the correct direction but I still plan on adding an e-switch before doing any actual machining. I also still need to mount the DRO scales which was the project I was working on when disaster struck
Dan
Once clean the next step was to install the right side gas spring. When drilling the first hole it was immediatly obvious that the casting was much harder than the old mill. It was dulling my bit after only 1 or 2 holes. The old mill drilled like butter.
Next I mounted the z-axis motor drive. No drama with the motor mount, all of the bolts lined up fine. More drilling and tapping holes for the control box and main box. The install went so much faster than the first time I did this on the old mill. No fab required.
I decided to install the x-axis drive next. I did mod the limit switch, routing the wire cord out the side of the box instead of the bottom. I also ground some of the casting to provide clearance for the gear that mounts to the mill. I am now fully powered up.
I hooked up the plug to confirm the motor runs and the spindle is turning the correct direction but I still plan on adding an e-switch before doing any actual machining. I also still need to mount the DRO scales which was the project I was working on when disaster struck
Dan
Collecting tools for 30 years.