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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,669

    Default Milling machine "Bling: haha

    On Sunday arvo I was doing a bit of cleaning up in the shed. Eventually I found some wooden gear knobs that my Dad made back in the 1990's They were basically turning practice for him on his wood lathe (although he did make me a really nice one which I fitted to the car I was rebuilding at the time) so they are all different to each other.
    As there is a little bit of sentimental value there, I decided to fit them to the mill to "bling" it up a bit. So I fitted them to the motor clamp nut levers and the spindle feed lever. Looks pretty good and a lot more comfortable than the old round knobs. I had to machine up a couple of threaded brass inserts which I epoxied into the knobs
    I also remembered I had a couple more and it turned out they s
    crewed straight onto the spindle brake lever and the pulley dog clutch lever . They look a bit out of proportion but fit the hand nice.
    The wood was from some really old, long dead Mulga, that Dad picked up in mid western NSW somewhere. I think past a place called "Woop Woop" lol
    I still have to make a plug of some type for the knob on the brake lever.
    Peter

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Thats cool!

    You'll think of your dad every time you use the mill.

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ipswich QLD
    Age
    68
    Posts
    1,996

    Default

    Looks classy

    Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Kingswood
    Posts
    930

    Default

    Peter,
    Love the bling.

    In a couple of photos one can see a cable entry on the top housing directly above the spindle pulley.

    I 'assume' this is a speed transducer of some sort.

    Have you described this speed pickup and display previously ?
    If not, would you be able to provide a brief description ?
    Your example looks very neat, and I need to do something like this soon.

    Keep well,
    John.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,669

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by electrosteam View Post
    Peter,

    In a couple of photos one can see a cable entry on the top housing directly above the spindle pulley.

    I 'assume' this is a speed transducer of some sort.

    Have you described this speed pickup and display previously ?
    If not, would you be able to provide a brief description ?
    Your example looks very neat, and I need to do something like this soon.

    Keep well,
    John.
    Gday John.Yes it is the sensor for a digital Tacho. I machined a shallow counter bore in the top of the pulley and glued the magnet in. However when I adjusted the height of the sensor I forgot that the pulley lifts up slightly when the machine is put into back gear. I remembered really quickly the first time I used the back gear after installing the sensor. Destroyed the end of the sensor, but I discovered that it still works. So after adjusting a little bit higher its seems to be working ok. Its reasonably accurate (when compared to the hand held tacho I have) but it only gives a direct speed when the machine is in direct drive. When in back gear I have to do some calcs to get an accurate speed . I've got the ratio written down so its not hard to do. The display is mounted in an old power supply case that I had and that is mounted on top of my control box. I cant find a picture atm. When I did the control box for the VFD I didn't think far enough ahead, so didn't allow for the inclusion of the tacho display. It was easier to mount it in a separate enclosure than rewire everything onto a bigger box. When I did the VFD on my lathe I did use a bigger box and incorporated the tacho display into it. Looks much nicer.
    Peter

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,669

    Default

    I found a picture of the control box with tacho.
    Peter
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Kingswood
    Posts
    930

    Default

    Peter,

    Thanks for that, your solution looks great, I will do something very similar.
    I have removed the back-gear belt from my machine, so no problem with allowing for gear ratio.
    But, I will allow adequate gap should someone (not me ) lift the pulley.

    Stay well,
    John.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,669

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by electrosteam View Post
    Peter,

    Thanks for that, your solution looks great, I will do something very similar.
    I have removed the back-gear belt from my machine, so no problem with allowing for gear ratio.
    But, I will allow adequate gap should someone (not me ) lift the pulley.

    Stay well,
    John.
    John.
    I'm assuming you have a VFD on yours? If so what is the lowest frequency the motor runs comfortably at?
    I have a 2.2Kw Teco with the speed of 1420 at 50Hz. Still running the original pulleys (its a step pulley head)
    I think (from memory) I have it set to 25hz as the lowest and for some ops the spindle speed is not slow enough which is why I've get the back gear etc in place.
    Just curious.
    Peter

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Kingswood
    Posts
    930

    Default

    I have a PowrTran 2.2 kW VFD on the 1500/3000 RPM 2 speed 240 V 50 Hz motor.
    I have run the VFD at 15 Hz at times, about 175 RPM on the slowest pulley.

    The belt came off when I was chasing noise.
    New bearings in the pulley support probably cured most of the noise.
    But, the belt was tracking a bit low, and had developed a small tear where is was contacting the pulley cheeks.

    As this is a CNC mill, very low speed will be seldom required.
    And, the noise level is significantly lower without the belt.
    If the requirement comes up, I would consider re-fitting it, but then I would have to sort out why is was tracking low.

    An annoying side-issue with not having the belt is that there is no way to lock the spindle when doing tool changes.
    Holding the brake on with one hand, and loosening the chuck with the other, risks dropping the tool onto the job/table.
    I get over this by always positioning a folded towel as a drop zone.
    When I install the speed pick-up, I will see if I can add a pulley lock pin.

    Keep well,
    John.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Charlestown NSW
    Age
    65
    Posts
    1,669

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by electrosteam View Post
    I have a PowrTran 2.2 kW VFD on the 1500/3000 RPM 2 speed 240 V 50 Hz motor.
    I have run the VFD at 15 Hz at times, about 175 RPM on the slowest pulley.

    The belt came off when I was chasing noise.
    New bearings in the pulley support probably cured most of the noise.
    But, the belt was tracking a bit low, and had developed a small tear where is was contacting the pulley cheeks.

    As this is a CNC mill, very low speed will be seldom required.
    And, the noise level is significantly lower without the belt.
    If the requirement comes up, I would consider re-fitting it, but then I would have to sort out why is was tracking low.

    An annoying side-issue with not having the belt is that there is no way to lock the spindle when doing tool changes.
    Holding the brake on with one hand, and loosening the chuck with the other, risks dropping the tool onto the job/table.
    I get over this by always positioning a folded towel as a drop zone.
    When I install the speed pick-up, I will see if I can add a pulley lock pin.

    Keep well,
    John.
    That explains it then.
    I put a new toothed belt and all new bearings through mine at the start of the year. Quietened it down a fair bit, especially when using the back gear. I also modified the lube system so that the parts that need oil actually get it now. Its a total loss system so drips oil from the bottom spindle bearing but I can live with that. Its not like I'm using it 8 hours/day 6 days a week. An extra bit of oil on the table is a good thing here anyway as any unprotected bare steel starts to rust overnight. I have to oil everything before I cover the machines up.
    regards
    Peter

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