CNC Mill Retrofit with Masso G3 Touch

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I purchased a used Intelitek Benchman MX CNC mill and retrofit it with a Masso G3 Touch controller, AC servo motors, 1kw servo for the spindle motor, and added a custom power draw bar. I also did a host of other upgrades, including: making a custom front control panel and tool rack, wiring up a 4th and 5th axis trunion table, adding a hand-wheel pendant controller, mist coolant system, tool height setter, and wiring up a touch probe. I'm excited to use this upgraded machine in upcoming projects!
Links to components used:
Masso G3 Touch Controller: www.masso.com....
1KW AC Servo Motor, for spindle motor: amzn.to/3Ig2S7o
400W AC Servo Motors: amzn.to/3Tbr94X
Toolmakers 3" Vise: amzn.to/48CccNz
4 Channel 24V Relay Module: amzn.to/4bTD2nc
Terminal blocks: amzn.to/48vybWC
DB25 cable: amzn.to/400Dc5h
DB25 breakout boards: amzn.to/41lqvmI
22mm Momentary Push Button: amzn.to/49txFtz
12mm Momentary Push Button: amzn.to/3IkXfop
Mist coolant sprayer: amzn.to/3zOHAJW
Mist coolant: amzn.to/3GwTn3p
Handwheel pendant: www.aliexpress...
3D Touch probe: www.aliexpress...
Tool setter: www.aliexpress...
My website: www.id3ntitycr...
My design portfolio: www.id3ntitycr...

[@juansalgado6212]

Yet another masterpiece! It just occurred to me, you can make a whole business retrofitting these older machines.

[@Basement_CNC]

ill be the fist to buy one of these, they seem awesome

[@diyfiberlaser]

I do enjoy it…I’ve been lucky to always be able to sell the retrofitted machines for a profit, but not enough to justify the amount of work involved … and it seems too hard to find the stock machines at a decent price these days. I’m sure my videos raising awareness of them isn’t helping the current price point unfortunately.

[@theatomproject007]

​@@diyfiberlaser That's called "The McFarland effect". As soon as a KZbinr shows interest and value in an otherwise derelict item that said item becomes more expensive and harder to find.

[@monsieurb24]

for bigger machine it,s the same, you have ajusted the backlash , do you will check pitch error?? nice set-up , the controller it's your biggest bougth for this retrofit i suppose :) nest step foward it's upgrade 4,5 th for more rigidity, make chips make fun to ;)

[@gg48gg]

Hey your shop is awesome. What city are you located in? You mentioned potentially printing in your stainless control panel as opposed to laser etching it. How/with what would you do that?

[@diyfiberlaser]

I’m in the Chicago burbs. I bought this broken UV printer for cheap that Im trying to fix, if I can get it working that’s how I want to print the control panel graphics

[@gg48gg]

@@diyfiberlaser Roland?

[@ray-charc3131]

I don't like much this brand name controller, although it brings much convenience to people not needing to do much software and electronic stuffs. However, It only provides the touchscreen but people usually also needs some more, such as some commonlly used hard button switchs, keyboard, handwheel. Or, you need to build another cabinet to house all them as well as this controller cabinet.

[@The_Foolish_Fool]

You can rent forklifts from home depot?

[@diyfiberlaser]

It wasn't cheap, but it was convenient...they delivered it to my driveway, gave me a quick tutorial on how to operate it, then picked it up the next day.

[@xyzxyz6095]

Awesome work. Thank you for sharing. Be Blessed and Successful in all your actions. Salutations from France.

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

I can't believe you didn't laser cut the intake grille.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Future upgrade?

[@1320pass]

Dude, you're brilliant. I'm in awe of your skill. I have an Emco pc mill and lathe (both 55) that I want to "unPC"... I really like the stand alone Masso you used for your machines. Just wanted to drop a comment and subscribe. Thanks for taking the time to share your projects.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

You're getting good at this. Thanks for the video.

[@GnosisMan50]

Just a suggestion, when cutting holes in sheet metal using a hole saw, you need to run it quite slow, like 300 to 400rpm *with cutting oil* and not too much pressure. Otherwise, it wears out the saw prematurely and puts too much load on the cordless drill.

[@jeffkeen6943]

Thanks for the great content. Always great to watch!!! Cheers from downunder...

[@kubabuda]

14:34 You dont want to stop power tool when motor starts to smoke. Cooling fan is attached to rotor. Take it off the workpiece, let it free run for some time to cool itself down

[@thierrymelmet3813]

Good job man. 👍👍👍👍

[@jaro6985]

Great work.

[@nathaniellangston5130]

These machines are super cool. I haven't been able to find them for a reasonable price though. I can get Haas Mini Mills for the price I see these things going for around here. Are these auction buys?

[@diyfiberlaser]

Just FB Marketplace and eBay...if they are reasonably priced, they sell quickly.

[@slowsloth2519]

One day...

[@ChefBenni]

Did you really exchange the german / swiss ABB breakes for some chinese ones? 😅

[@diyfiberlaser]

I used the ones I could, and had to replace some with the proper size

[@devinmoodley4061]

Cool video! Any info on those servo motors (for the axis)? Tuning, software etc.

[@diyfiberlaser]

These are the servos: amzn.to/3Tbr94X I've never done any tuning, they've always worked well with the default settings

[@hansennsh]

Where did you buy the laser cutter head? Do you have a link or modelnr?

[@diyfiberlaser]

Raytools BT210s

[@modelmaker007]

Which servos and drives did you use for the axis? Thanks

[@diyfiberlaser]

Sorry, I forgot to add to the description: amzn.to/3Tbr94X

[@rampage5275]

I remember seeing this machine pop up on FB. Small world haha. Super cool machine and thanks for the vid!

[@jaro6985]

What was the price?

[@rampage5275]

@@jaro6985He posted the price in another comment so I'll share. It was 3500 I believe. Amazing deal considering equivalent Intelitek machines on ebay are listed for twice that.

[@midwestcyberpunk]

I might have missed it but how much did the new mill cost (without upgrades) ? I've been looking for one about this size

[@diyfiberlaser]

I paid $3500 for it. I might have been able to get it for cheaper if I waited, but I was eager to get it because of the great condition and rare options that it had. For me, it was worth every penny and the seller was a complete Saint, helping me get get it loaded on the trailer with my inadequate tools.

[@midwestcyberpunk]

​@@diyfiberlaser Not bad at all compared to a tormach pcnc or something.

[@garrettgerland4553]

How much was the retrofit cost

[@diyfiberlaser]

around $3k@@garrettgerland4553