Hi Charlie.
Thanks for the post as I am sure many forum members are thinking the same as "is CNC mill conversion worth it." ?
So iIf I may throw in my 10 cents worth.then here i go.
My Weiss mill was first modified for a power feed on the X axis only, then due to physical restraints I fitted a power feed to the Z axis.I must mention here that both of these conversions were very doable and the Weiss mill with the solid Z column IE
a positive feed screw was almost a given. I understand alot of hobbyist own a Sieg type mill with a rack and pinion?
type Z axis movement. but not to worry, Richard UK has done an excellent job on a full CNC mill with this type of head and
fitted a ball lead screw powered by a stepper. So it?s all doable, and i am sure he will assist if you ask as he says ?"just yell out".
Richard was the instigator for me to go the "full Monty" to convert my mill to CNC incl a 4th axis.
As i already had a stepper indexing head ( again using a Nema motor) the A 4th axis was a no brainier.
So this left only the Y axis, again not difficult, a stepper motor slung under the X axis table mounted on the side of the mill bed and drives the Y axis via a belt.and pulleys.
After much shopping around i decided on the purchase of a CNC control box, i opted for the DDCS v 2.1?
and basically built a control unit to power everything up from there.
I will gladly send photos as and when.
The choice of controller I admit had a few teething problems but the support from the suppliers engineering staff has been?
amazing and having there own web site and Facebook, I receive regularly new updates that can be easily installed.
by a USB stick.They have now introduced a v 3.1, but all the upgrades are suitable for V 2.1 and v 3.1.
So back to charlies is it worth it question.
IMHO YES.
Of course there are those that still prefer the manual use of a mill, nothing wrong in that, but i have a different outlook
on my hobby, why work hard when you can work smart.
The first job I did on my mill after CNC conversion was to cut scrolls on some new soft jaws, , not impossible manually
but very tricky to do.
Very rarely do i use the mill manually, only for a quickie fix it type job.
I have attached a video of milling in some finger grooves on a knob, again easy to do manually with a dividing head
but the grooves actually "roll around" the circumference, that?s difficult if approached manually.
If members need any help then i am also available.
John Lindo
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John
John Lindo