Nmini mill z axis backlash books

Cnc mini mill conversion kit hardware make magazine. Z axis large amount of backlash, mostly due to rack and pinion instead of leadscrew design. The gib eliminates twist on the central zaxis slide bar. Weve likely all seen projects where antibacklash nuts are fabricatedbought for a printers zaxis motion, but id love input on those with experience in beforeafter builds as to whether an antibacklash nut on a zaxis is really necessary. Installing delrin anti backlash nuts on my harbor freight 44991 mill. The fruits of this will be a later article in the works entitled adventures in cadcam. Jul 22, 2012 z10 z10 z10 z10 some move up some move down. Backlash adjustment upgrade sherline cnc ready mills did not initially incorporate the. I cannot get the backlash on my x3 less than about 8 divs on the scale, this prompted me to go dro which is all i use now and never look at the dials anymore. Place this object over them and slot it in the nut trap of the xaxis motor mount and xaxis idler.

This one uses an addition to the mill stop bracket to engage a 1 travel indicator mounted to the mill head. There is a lot of sloop in the z axis feed on the grizzly mini mill. Zaxis huge slack beginning a conversion welcome to the mycncuk forums. Once it set, i drilled and tapped the four screw holes that secure the pulley see the updated z axis below. Weve likely all seen projects where anti backlash nuts are fabricatedbought for a printers z axis motion, but id love input on those with experience in beforeafter builds as to whether an anti backlash nut on a z axis is really necessary. Mill x and y axis backlash upgrade sherline products.

X2 cnc mini mill z axis height mod summary this mod allows you to lower the milling head of a x2 cnc mill so that you can work close to the table. The additional rotary milling axis on these machines allows them to complete many types of complex parts in a single setup, but these machines have gained a reputation for being difficult to program. At any time you can push the button for the x, y or z axis to return the readout for that axis to zero. This is in preparation of implementing al bassetts bludro wireless module to connect to the touchdro software. I was looking at the specs in the book for my machine, and it shows the backlash setting for the x axis. An easy way to reduce the minimills zaxis backlash. This is a simple project, and makes the mill much nicer to use.

A source of much consternation among mini mill owners is the z axis drive mechanism. These screws position the zaxis gib in the same manner as the xaxis tapered gib explained in the first mill setup article. I had to swap the z axis limit since the cheap one was to bouncy, and the honeywell switch just fit. The gibs are adjusted properly for fair tension on the knobs. Dec 09, 2015 this post will focus on the physical mill setup. It is 18mm tall, so it only has about half the threads on the rod when the bed is home but it still travels with the bed all the way down and seems to stay tight to the bed. Apr 19, 2015 after browsing some threads i see guys are installing the z axis dro on the headcolumn instead of the quill.

I heard that putting a shim behind the rack on the column would help by causing it to mesh tighter with the pinion gear in the head. I think it was 4 yrs ago at the toy show they had a import i think big hmc that was boring out something along the lines of a 3d bore with a rigid boring bar and the x and y were moving in unison with the revolution of the spindle c to make whatever bore a feller could ever want. Install z mount block into top portion of column as shown. Rotate hex bolts as to loosen them from block, thus causing them to grip inside of column. Buy products related to mini cnc machine products and see what customers say about mini cnc machine products on free delivery possible on eligible purchases. Some notes on setting up the taig milling machine v2. The x and y axis leadscrews are 16 threads per inch.

In fact the scale divisions on the quill adjuster knob are stated to be 0. The fine adjustment has lots of backlash that cant. The b axis head is used as a milling spindle or a turningboring toolholder, thus enabling the machine to complete all milling and turning with one setup. X2 mini mill backlash, and parts supply etc model engineer.

I didnt realize zaxis backlash is a smaller issue than xy backlash. Details explaining how to select the right minilathe or minimill for you. Heres a link to a video of replacing the built in z axis dro in my pm1127m mill. Oct 15, 2005 the hydromat is a high production machine that takes days to change the setup but spits out lots o parts, hardly compares to a 3 axis toolroom mill. This method also gets rid of most of the backlash in the zaxis. When i change the direction of feed, mach3 first rotates an amount equal to this backlash. The input required are the 3d model of the part, the tool data and the plane yz or zx referring to. At first it was almost unnoticeable, but as time has gone on its gotten to the point where it drops half a millimetre. X2 cnc mini mill z axis height mod summary youtube. Here are some things you can do to minimize the problem. The zaxis coarse feed handles are on the right side of the spindle housing. While setting up for some circuitboard drilling, i finally noticed that the backlash far exceeded even my slovenly specs. Minimizing backlash on mini mills date issued 5october 2012 product 3900 tilting column hitorque mini mills.

To eliminate any backlash that may occur with a single m5 nut on the zaxis threaded rod, simply install 2 nuts separated by a spring. If the pinion gear shaft is held stationary, we can rotate the hand wheel a small amount. That would make it hard to use the minimill as a drill press. Main z axis column is attached to the base with 4 bolts, and mounted from the top, with a wide, proper mounting surface for much more rigidity over other models in this size range. Using flemings right hand to point in 3 different directions each by 90 degrees the middle finger is the spindle axis and in called the z axis so on a vertical mill the finger point upward and on a horizontal the middle finger points horizontally. The stepcraft 4th axis module has been configured on the machine.

Some mini mill users have improved the situation by shimming the rack and a few other tricks to get the backlash down to a few thousandths of an inch. The digital readout keeps track of total distance and reads it out to. I looked at fixing it, but it is going to be lots of work. Service bulletin 1008 minimizing backlash on mini mills. Pros and cons of various zaxis antibacklash upgrades. I updated my minimill with the addition of a caliperstyle measuring device on the z axis. Mill cnc zaxis backlash adjustment upgrade sherline products. In 1997 the old pointer style lock that adjusts backlash on the mill x and yaxis leadscrews was replaced with a star gear type lock to make adjustment easier.

A gib removal tool is included with each sherline lathe or mill. I was really not confident in the xaxis rack concept, but it does seem to work, so i have to say. I too got tired of hand cranking when boring a hole or when using a fly for cutter for cutting a radius. Aug 11, 2015 x2 cnc mini mill z axis height mod summary this mod allows you to lower the milling head of a x2 cnc mill so that you can work close to the table. It is 18mm tall, so it only has about half the threads on the rod when the bed is home but it still travels with the bed. Sep 15, 2003 like traditional turn mill machines, b axis machine tools provide control over the z x turning and c rotary milling axes. Feb 01, 2000 z feed dial indicator bracket for the mini mill. Here, cnc owners discuss how to achieve curves along the third dimension. The fine adjustment has lots of backlash that cant easily be removed. Pros and cons of various zaxis antibacklash upgrades page. Zaxis anti backlash for prusa i3 by tech2c thingiverse. I wanted to motorize the z axis and i was not concerned with maintaining the manual crank capability. Sherline mill 3axis digital readout, inch power milling.

This modification to the zaxis locking lever allows adjustable control over the zaxis backlash, making it possible to reduce it down to as little as. This is the fine feed backlash and can be compensated by my mach3 cnc software. Grizzly industrial g07047 x 27 1 hp milldrill with stand drill. Z axis drive gear box which in turn connects to the fine feed. I came across a digital tyre depth guage on ebay that i thought could perhaps be modified to provide a direct readout. Z axis adjustment there are many areas that can cause backlash on the z axis. Vertical mills with a 4th axis capability have an additional axis that rotates perpendicular to the spindle axis, usually in line with the xaxis. The most important thing to do has nothing to do with the backlash, but provides a good workaround. The head simply wont be able to drop down any more. A future instructable will be on converting this mill to cnc. Jul 12, 2009 the classic way of remembering the axes is as follows. Mill cnc zaxis backlash adjustment upgrade quantity.

Converting an x2 minimill to cnc the halfbaked maker. Earl, if you are still interested in a z axis power feed, i built one for my rungfu table mill that works great. Z axis 1x kl34h295438a, 906 ozin z axis has the stock pullys not the cr option. Need help with backlash adjustment on minimill y axis. These are about the best for the money in their size class, you get cast iron construction and a z axis that can travel the full range without losing register in the xy. After browsing some threads i see guys are installing the z axis dro on the headcolumn instead of the quill. The z axis coarse feed handles are on the right side of the spindle housing. I havent gotten around to picking up a drill chuck for the tailstock. The zaxis backlash adjusting nut on the saddle was as snug as it usually is. I am in a period of intense cadcam study, learning the ropes of the bobcadcam program, as well as a few other programs, and studying general cam principles to boot. I suspected this could be the case, since two of the screws supplied by cnc fusion were too long, indicating that the holes in my mill were not drilled as deep as expected i hacksawed a bit off the end of each screw, which worked. However, the head wont be as easy to raise without the spring and it will come crashing down if you let go of the quickcourse adjustment wheel. The back lash on my mill after i had adjusted everything was still over 14 of a turn of the fine feed knob. Then used the tailstock of the mill to press the two together and provide alignment.

Some of you may have a very similar mill with a crank on the left side. The legs and stretchers were made using the 4th axis on. I decided to motorize the z axis as soon as possible. There were a few things i wanted to add, like limit switches and add a rubber chip guard for the zaxis way and ball screw, and some things that needed checking, like tramming the column and measuring backlash. The axis of motion that is parallel to the spindle axis is always the z axis. The z axis adjustment on my x1 mill is not very accurate. So, youve got one of these mini mills from harbor freight, or one of the other 8 places you can get one these days.

In this video i show the amount of backlash in the vertical direction as it is measured by the caliper. You are currently viewing as a guest, to get involved and enjoy the very best of what this forum has to offer, simply become a member. The x and y axis leadscrews are 16 threads per inch tpi. Mill cnc zaxis backlash adjustment upgrade sherline. I dont do any fancy 3d milling, so it takes a lot of zaxis backlash to get my attention. They seem to have stopped making cnc routers, and simply ignore my support emails. Check out ians amazing work making miniature furniture on the mill it mini. Cutter and backlash compensation on the milling machine duration. Reducing x axis backlash on a rf30 mill drill, version 1.

Z axis which axis is which depends on the orientation of the spindle. This was accomplished by preloading the bearings, modifying the take up nut, preventing any slip in the gib, and aligning the leadscrew. The hydromat is a high production machine that takes days to change the setup but spits out lots o parts, hardly compares to a 3 axis toolroom mill. A source of much consternation among minimill owners is the zaxis drive mechanism. There are downsides to this, in that more power is required to move the head up and down.

Cnc fusion sells conversion kits to convert sieg x1, x2, or x3 mills to cnc. Cnc x2 mill conversion diy book scanner halfbaked projects. This is a necessary modification if youre doing any kind of precision work with your cnc mini mill dont cheap out when modifying your mini mill. Sieg x2 minimill aka harbor freight 44991, grizzly g8689. How about lathe help and howtos were prototyping a benchtop cnc vertical mill using the digispeedxl interface card for mach, dart controls and kb electronics kbickbmm 90vdc motor controllers, 1. Mar 07, 2014 earl, if you are still interested in a z axis power feed, i built one for my rungfu table mill that works great.

I wanted to motorize the z axis and i was not concerned. So i measured the mounting holes on the mill, and compared them to the mounting holes on the z axis assembly. After many years running full sized machines for a living i was reluctant to buy a mini mill for home use. Feb 23, 2015 to eliminate any backlash that may occur with a single m5 nut on the z axis threaded rod, simply install 2 nuts separated by a spring. With the advent of cnc computer control there has been an increased demand for reduced backlash settings. Cnc machines, stepper motors, mills, lathes, routers, and software. Im a thirty year machinist who knows how to take care of a machine. Either the quill or the knee of a vertical spindle mill will move when a z axis command is executed. In this video i show the amount of backlash in the. Lathes have a backlash adjustment on the knuckle, how do you adjust the mill. Like traditional turnmill machines, baxis machine tools provide control over the zx turning and c. Cnc milling machines from microkinetics microkinetics. I was checking the backlash and it appears the y axis backlash is set too high. Its made up of a dayton 90volt gearmotor with 71 rpm final output rpm.

Z axis 200mm ballscrew with anti backlash ballnut filtted with 90mm travel this reduces weight. It consists of a rack and pinion arrangement for coarse adjustment which can also be driven by a worm gear for fine adjustment. However, climb milling requires a very rigid milling machine with virtually no backlash. I was really not confident in the x axis rack concept, but it does seem to work, so i have to say. Vertical mills with a 4th axis capability have an additional axis that rotates perpendicular to the spindle axis, usually in line with the x axis. I ran the z axis with a drill a few times to smooth it out so it doesnt bind and so it moves freely. However both axis have bad backlash in the knuckles. Place this object over them and slot it in the nut trap of the x axis motor mount and x axis idler.

You will also need to drill two holes into the central column of the mill to install the zaxis ball screw hardware. I was checking the backlash and it appears the yaxis backlash is set too high. At first it was almost unnoticeable, but as time has gone on its gotten to the point where it drops half a millimetre every time it lifts the spindle. Those 11 axis only do one thing, kind of like a screw machine 6 spindles and 2 or three cross slides per spindle thats like 18 axis. Ball nose milling cutter radius compensation in z axis for cnc dragoi mircea viorel manufacturing engineering department transilvania university of brasov. I redesigned the z axis ballscrew mount out of neccesity. I think it was 4 yrs ago at the toy show they had a import i think big hmc that was boring out something along the lines of a 3d bore with a rigid boring bar and the x and y were moving in unison with the revolution of the spindle c to make whatever bore a feller could ever. The x axis mounting plate also had to be modified to clear the limit switches by removing some material from the mount so it would sail over the switches. I have a 1 and 2 spacer that can be added when setting it up to get longer movements. The trainee, myself, started with experience in the 2 and 3 axis world of computer numerical control also known as cnc machining centers and moved to the new world of 5 axis computer numerical control machining centers. Zaxis large amount of backlash, mostly due to rack and pinion instead of leadscrew design. Need help with backlash adjustment on minimill y axis practical. There are many areas that can cause backlash on the z axis.

I got a grbl shield as part of my cnc kit from shapeoko and i am having some issues with my z axis and am wondering if the shield is the culprit. The mach3 setup will be simpler if you have taken steps to eliminate backlash from the hardware first using things like ball screws, antibacklash couplings and other methods first. As the intention is to convert this machine to cnc, the current z axis feed has to go. Then i saw some later installed a digital caliper type gauge on the quill which is where im. I decided to build a miniature milling machine for machining plastic parts, creating wax. I have a growing issue with the z axis on my cnc router. Dec 12, 2009 i suspected this could be the case, since two of the screws supplied by cnc fusion were too long, indicating that the holes in my mill were not drilled as deep as expected i hacksawed a bit off the end of each screw, which worked. Zaxis adjustment there are many areas that can cause backlash on the zaxis.

The enclosure was the biggest part of the job and something i would do very differently today. I was able to measure the backlash of each axis to be at most 0. Checked the backlash, x and z were perfect, y was too high. Do not expect to eliminate all, or even most of the backlash. Accessories for both lathe and mill, accessories for clockmakers, and books and videos.

Ball nose milling cutter radius compensation in z axis for cnc. There is a ton of stuff you can buy when converting a mill to cnc. Howto make acetaldelrin antibacklash nuts and an alternate method of table removal as we ve. Which for these hand crank dovetail column bench mills doesnt make much sense to me. Coding curves along the zaxis on a cnc threedimensional coding is a special challenge. Ian has made a super little sub table on his manual mill and the machine is now up and running making tassle moulds.