Turning a Cheap Mini Mill into a Capable CNC Machine

[@johnvybiral7220]

Nice work, young man! I'm a retired machinist, and did the same conversion on the same mini-mill, a little over 3 years ago. My conversion was a whole lot easier though, thanks to the brilliant design of a Texas gentleman named Bruce Nelson and his mini-company, Heavy Metal CNC. Mr. Nelson designed and sold a conversion kit that only required the 6 CNC machined aluminium blocks in his kit to adapt off-the shelf ball screw assemblies to the mini-mill. No machining of the ball-screw assemblies was required. No stand-offs were required. A truly brilliant design! Sadly, Mr. Nelson passed away in December of 2021, and with it, his company. Still, I would like to offer a few tips regarding this mini-mill that I've learned since doing this conversion 3+ years ago: 1 - Replace the Y-axis and Z-axis "accordian-style" way covers with cheap plastic food storage bags from your local super-market. A single 1-gallon bag covers both the Z-axis and Y-axis (rear) ways MUCH BETTER than the original covers! I attach them to the machine's head-stock and the Y-axis saddle using Niobium magnets. For the Y-axis (front) ways/ball-screw, use a single 1-quart plastic bag and the original hardware instead of magnets. The X-axis ways and ball-screw are covered by the table, at least, with Mr. Nelson's design. 2 - Cover the Z-axis ball-screw with the cheap plastic, flexible, split tubing that is used to organize computer cables. It's easy to install with zip ties, and they keep the Z-axis ball screw clean! 3 - Invest in a 14" x 6" fixture plate from Saunders Machine Works, $170. On many set-ups, I can use just (3) 6mm. SHCS's to locate my work-piece accurately and squarely. Using CAD and the down-loaded file of the SMW fixture plate, I can know where the corner of the work-piece is relative to the machine's X-Y home position. This means I don't have to use an edge finder or a dial test indicator to find the corner of of a work-piece and set X0, Y0. I program it from the machine's home X0Y0. Just set Z0 and go! Of course, this won't work with all set-ups, but for me, quite a lot! 5- Buy some cheap "Halo" LED's and mount them around your machine's spindle. Like the way covers, mine are attached using Niobium magnets. They shine directly on the cutter, not in your eyes. They run on 12 volts DC, so are safe to use, even with steel chips flying around. I think they were about $10. 6 - The belt drive kit from LittleMachineShop.com ($150) is just SO MUCH more quiet than geared spindle motor drive, and nearly doubles the top spindle speed from 2500 to 4600 RPM. If anybody is using the SMC5-5-N-N 5-axis CNC controller, I've learned a few programming tips that are not even mentioned in the Chinglish "manual". Happy to share! saundersmachineworks.com/collections/smw-fixture-plates www.superbrightleds.com

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Thank you for the advice! I definitely want to upgrade the way covers as I plan on making a flood coolant system for it at some point soon

[@ikemkrueger]

Heavy Metal CNC seems to be out of business.

[@twilightgang4828]

@@ikemkrueger Did you even read the comment Lol?

[@fredwalter519]

Since Mr Nelson won't lose any sales if people make their own CNC conversion kits, can you share photos of his kit, so people can use it as inspiration for their own CNC conversion kit?

[@johnvybiral7220]

@@fredwalter519 OK. I will take photos of everything, today.

[@xnadave]

Well done! I spent $2k designing and building a 1m x 1.25m CNC router from scratch. (Could've bought a kit for less.) I've used it to make approximately $50 worth of wood parts for home projects. I didn't really have a purpose in mind; it was just a fun thing to make.

[@hanswoast7]

The machinist way of simple woodworking :)

[@instanoodles]

As a retired machinist your videos are driving me towards picking up a mini lathe and mill. They are far more capable than I was expecting, thanks! With some carbine tooling you probably could have gotten away with milling the flange, just lots of fairly light cuts.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

I’ve so far been very impressed with the quality of work they can produce! Good call on the carbide tooling, I should pick some up and test out how far I can push the mill

[@adambundy2639]

I believe youll get a lot of aluminium pick up on the tool with the coating the tool has in the video. Carbide is definitely the way forward ​@Someone_Should_Make_That

[@Basement_CNC]

​@@Someone_Should_Make_That just for any future problems you might face .... A "optocupling-board" or "level shifter" is a 5$ part from Amazon that converts 3.3V to 5V or whatever voltage you need Also sick build, good to see something actually affordable

[@mariebaxter473]

Nice to see young guys doing these jobs , and not getting too worried about day too day errors , I tell myself its the sign of a great engineer , LOL

[@weiwang9622]

Those balls are ordered. They come with bigger ones and smaller ones alternating to reduce internal resistance. They should also come with preload tension to further reduce backlash. Make sure you reassemble them right. Good luck.

[@makealready]

.004” Backlash is to be expected from single nut ball screws. It’s the reason double nuts were created. Most cnc software should be able to adjust for backlash, I’ve used backlash compensation in both Mach3 and LinuxCNC.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Sounds like I definitely need to look into other firmware for the controller. Thanks for the tip!

[@1pcfred]

@@Someone_Should_Make_That it is said that backlash is best removed mechanically. You're very close now. A commercial shop wouldn't expect better than a few thousandths accuracy out of a cutting machine. When you want better than that parts need to be hardened and then ground. Just how it is done, for reasons.

[@HuskyMachining]

Really?? because I recently bought a few $20 ball screws from Amazon and they had less than 0.0004" of backlash in the nut and I thought that was kinda too high. I think OP backlash might be coming more form the gibs.

[@HavenInTheWood]

Impressive video! Since buying my mini mill, I have watched numerous videos like this, but this video is the most impressive CNC upgrade for the mini mill!

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Really appreciate that! Thank you!

[@kusler67]

As someone with a similar mill, you can double nut the ballscrews to reduce backlash. Also when you upgrade the steppers, you can get an ac servo for the spindle and really get cooking. Oh and also coolant will prevent chip welding with aluminum. Great work on this bad boy!

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Thank you! A flood coolant system is for sure a high priority item at the moment, just need to figure out the enclosure design

[@collegejacke]

Hi, I have also cheap ballscrews and discovered that there are normal groove ball bearings with no spacer in between instead of angular contact ball bearings wich makes the nut to tighten the ballscrew in the bearing block kinda useless because it just presses the two inner rings of the bearings together.

[@swealer]

Awesome Project and nice video!! You earned yourself a awesome brownie recipe! Ingredients: -1 Cup unsalted butter -2 Cups granulated sugar -4 large eggs -1 teaspoon vanilla extract -1/2 cup all-purpose flour -1/2 cup cocoa powder -1/4 teaspoon salt -1 Cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional) Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C) and grease a baking pan. 2. Melt 1 cup butter, mix with 2 cups sugar. 3. Add 4 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla; mix well. 4. Sift in 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, and1/5 tsp Salt; Stir. 5. Optional: add 1 cup nuts or chocolate chips. 6. Pour into the pan, bake 25-30 mins. 7. Cool completely, Cut into squares, and enjoy your brownies!

[@fatso8437]

There is a "green" ingredient missing 🤣

[@swealer]

@@fatso8437 nah, if you really need that on the ingredient list then better dont put the magic touch in there :)

[@GridIndustries]

Dude, I love your style and sense of humor. Get out regular content and your channel will explode. You're already getting the views.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Really appreciate the vote of confidence! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you!

[@stefandebruijn3167]

Always nice to see so many people using the firmware that I helped build. Good job!

[@greasymemes]

are you John cnc?

[@CncObsession]

I remember the excitement of the first moves on my cnc build. Congratulations. It takes persistence.

[@dr.dosage635]

I'm not a retired machinist but this shit is awesome mate. Good job.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed!

[@Phiz787]

"Wait, this isnt the right demo..." Haha wonderful. Got my subscription!

[@SaltyPuglord]

"You can't leave. She won't let you!" -Dr. William Weir

[@forgeteverythingyouknow5413]

Just awesome... liked &subbed. You saved me a huge learning curve by sharing yours sir. Also, very enjoyable style and delivery (authentic).

[@someramdomguy99]

Do you have these plans released or a build list etc? This is a AMAZING PROJECT I would love to attempt

[@sacriptex5870]

Heroic work dude!! amazing to watch

[@DjDoGGoD]

I know the feeling @14.00... When I made my own CNC machine, the idea was to make it do PCBs, and the first use was to mill it's own PCBs, to replace the hand made one. :D great job!

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Nice to see I’m not alone! Thanks for watching!

[@n00ki]

I did exactly (alsmost) this conversion like 6 years ago. Only i 3d printed the parts in carbon fiber. Then i used the converted mill to make aluminium parts to replace most of the carbon fibre parts. My mill was blue though. I do recomend the belt conversion for the spindle.

[@definitivepepper]

Looks great! On the flat spots in your circle interpolated... circle. A lot of CAM software converts arcs to a series of segments. Check the arc filtering settings on whatever CAM software you're using. I use MasterCAM at work and if the arc filter tolerance is set too low it makes facets on our circular geometry like you're seeing. By tightening the tolerance you can create smaller and smaller segments until eventually you don't see facets anymore. It does cause the cutter path to take longer to compute though. Alternatively, you can dig into the settings and see if there's a way to force the software to favor using arcs instead of segments.

[@JoshPCsAndTech]

Just so you know even if the 3.3v logic voltage was too low for the stepper drivers, you could have gotten a 4-channel level shifter for very cheap to step those signals up to 5v!

[@wizrom3046]

I have built stuff with those cheap ballscrews and they have almost no backlash, definitely less than 1 thou. It think your couplings are the problem, they use rubber cushions that will comlress a tiny bit, so if your load is high (like tight gibs on a heavy machine) that will translate to a degree of rotation or more, and with 5mm lead on the screws that could be giving you 4 thou of backlash. You can test by loosening the gibs and then retesting the backlash.

[@janvn7446]

Nice job! To get rid of the backlash you can change out the bearings in the ball screw bearing blocks to annular contact bearings,C5 or C3 type, they usually ship with deep groove bearings.

[@gamerpaddy]

those blocks have a nut to preload them eliminating all backlash, this works on deep groove bearings too, they just dont like it and wear down much quicker. he could install some bigger balls into the ballscrew-nut. they are different grades

[@Harry-ff4vx]

Fun fact if you want to find out if something is gonna be hard and you can justify it grind it with an abrasive tool and if you get lots of bright white sparks that’s an indication of high carbon content so it’s probably a spring or tool steel and will be hard and possibly heat treated another way is stroke it with a file if the file skates across without biting in it’s gonna be pretty hard

[@danh9002]

Very cool project! I was thinking of doing the same thing... your video has inspired to do that.

[@alessandrosuppini943]

Awesome project, glad it all worked out in the end! Looking forward to seeing what you can create with it 👍

[@PleakeCrions]

6:12 YES! I hope I’m hearing what you’re saying but I would love to see a CNC lathe! I have been promised them by other KZbinrs but they are still in the process.

[@djl9731]

Thank God for The Algorithm! Awesome work. Wish I could do it....

[@cris_crafter]

I soon want to convert my Huvema HU450 mini Lathe to CNC on a tight budget. This is great to see. :D

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Sounds like an awesome project! Good luck! I definitely plan on converting my lathe in the future

[@JulianMakes]

Awesome result. Great video, im hoping to get a mill myself and to add cnc would be dreamy.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

I definitely recommend it! It’s a really fun project

[@MuscleTeamOfficial]

Ho-lee phoq that was impressive... cant wait to get into this stuff after a decade of software dev just as a hobby, after getting a house :D

[@ronedmeades1406]

Congrats, I built one myself out of an X2D milling machine, I have teknic servos and a centroid control system. I got backlash down to a minimum but I think the real problem is in the machine. I had designs and models, plus prototypes for an ATC but didn't do the final build or install it in the end because i noticed that with any pressure you can move the column. This 'movement' is down to the column being too small, it's only what 4x2 inches on these smaller machines, extra weight on the head, more powerful motor, ballscrew mounts, heavier spindle motor etc. all adds weight and the problem is this becomes an issue when driving into the material when cutting. I actually started desiging a much heavier base that would support my requirements but that has become a completely different machine... I would advise anybody starting one of these builds to go with a much heavier machine base, something like the X3 at least, you are going to put money into it and you have a much better starting machine. Also, and I have heard this from other people, as soon as you start machining you run into the limits as you instantly want to make something bigger! Anyway, my gripes, great job and have fun with it.

[@matthewdodds8521]

Great video. Really nice work.

[@enricoandrade]

Nice to see that esp32 support grbl, time to upgrade my cnc electronics!

[@gazehound]

Did I just stumble across 600 view gold? This feels like a privilege

[@deucedeuce1572]

If you do ever get the backlash out, I'd definitely like to see a video on how you do it. I know it can be done with the software, which is what I think you said earlier in the video... but I thought there wouldn't be any with the new CNC lead screw. I'm trying to think where else it could/would come from, but it could probably come from several places.

[@JeD23]

Closed loop steppers only have one advantage.. you will know, when you lost steps but they will not be able to fix those lost steps, because a stepper can't just put out more power, when steps are lost. It can recover the position, when the (over)load goes away but not mid-cut. That load goes away after the cut is finished and your part might already be scrapmetal. That is where Servos come in. Most of them can put out 300% power for some time and can "fix" the lost steps when they occur and not after the cut. Just don't ask too much from the OL steppers and you will be totally fine.

[@barnstormermedia]

Awesome! I would love to do this to mine.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

I would absolutely recommend it. It’s a really fun project, and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about cnc mills if you’re not familiar!

[@deucedeuce1572]

Awesome! I'd give anything to have all these tools.

[@marshallwilliams4054]

Amazing work! I’m curious if you think what you’re describing as backlash could actually be hysteresis due to deflection. For instance, on your X and Y axis, the way the motors are mounted onto the bed could allow for a few degrees of motor rotation before sufficient force is imparted to the ball-screw which would induce movement. It might look like backlash when in fact it’s just system inaccuracy due to rigidity.

[@richard_builds_it]

Just passing through - but my goodness I think you massively understated how much work went in to those electronics that was might impressive. Although I feel like perhaps you need a degree to do and know all that! Great video! Now buy. A Bridgeport and do the same!!

[@_krazy_198]

Make sure you ground everything. Shielded wiring would be best but for home, not to much issue. Without everything being grounded any thing that leaks could find it way to signal wires and make the steppers move in strange random ways.

[@Mikkel-RS]

my converted lathe doesnt like when some chips find their way to some of the open wiring, shuts down the driver and requires a restart. Its okay though, if you skip steps, using the machine tells you where you still have work to do :)

[@1pcfred]

Often drive and control grounds are isolated from each other. That is to stop signal noise from propagating from the drive to the control. Also the control will be optically isolated from the drive too. There's no galvanic connection between the two. You can shield all you want and if there's a path the interference will find it. It will use the shield as the path. Because stepper motor interference is high amplitude. That's the nature of switched inductors. They make voltage spikes. That's what they do.

[@_krazy_198]

@@1pcfred I work with servo and steppers in motion control everyday. The shielding is to keep inductance from transferring to the signal wires. The grounding and bonding things like the motors kills things like static that will make weird things happen. The grounding and bonding is used as the path, that is the point. It's a path to ground. Without a path of least resistance to ground the voltage will seek out a ground some where else, hopefully not on a board or driver for some smoke as a gift to the gods. Ground everything, can't over do grounding and bonding.

[@1pcfred]

@@_krazy_198 all I'm saying is if you're having signal integrity issues grounding isn't going to fix it. There's deeper problems.

[@gamerpaddy]

most cnc control software and hardware support backlash compensation, check your config. or you could preload x and y into one direction to counteract backlash. z does it by gravity

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

I wish it did! Unfortunately I looked into it and it’s a no go. I may see about writing my own backlash compensation functionality for fluidnc, but to be honest I may also just look into other existing options to save some time

[@gamerpaddy]

@@Someone_Should_Make_That its weird, fluidnc is a fork of grbl which has backlash compensation since the early pre-esp32 arduino days. you may look into rabbitgrbl instead, its also compatible with the esp32 it doesnt have a fancy webui, you need a gcode sender for it but its supports stuff like that.

[@1pcfred]

@@gamerpaddy GRBL is a garbage controller.

[@gamerpaddy]

grbl isnt a controller but yes its bad and everything derrived from it and i wouldnt trust it in any of my machines im running a fpga based pc-less controller which works well

[@1pcfred]

@@gamerpaddy if GRBL isn't machine controller software then what is it? A program that reads G Code and outputs signals to motor drives is a machine controller. Motion control software. Whatever you want to call it. Same difference. I run a PC. It works well too. It cost me all of a dollar. LinuxCNC is free!

[@HuskyMachining]

I am working on a mini 2 axis cnc lathe as I also hate repetitive lathe work.

[@diychen]

You should use mach3 to control it, I made one 15 years ago and it works great

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Really cool video definitely a project I would love to undertake on my channel just need to learn so more on the programming side. All in all great final result, looking forward to see what you can make now you have a CNC. 👍

[@britishtechguru]

I'm thinking about doing this with one of those $100 micro lathe/millingmachine things

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

That could be cool, if anything else it’s a good learning experience to get into the world of CNC!

[@Tchefter]

Great Job! 👌 You don't know not what to do? Build the Things you made with Handwith the CNC, now you see how accurate the CNC is! Subscribed and looking forward🤠🤘

[@louiel8711]

If you are going to machine hard materials/ hardened steel the Kennametal stainless steel KC 30 and KC 40 works real good, I ordered it special for my job just for those materials.

[@fail_fast]

Just FYI if you have two pcbs that communicate at different logic voltages ie 3.3v and 5v then you can use a level shifter to change the voltage

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Oh that’s a good point, I think I genuinely forgot those existed during that section of the project. Good to have in the back pocket for future builds though! Thank you for the reminder!

[@thevinstigator2511]

Good video and good work, id love to do this some day.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Thank you! I would recommend giving it a shot. I learned a bunch of stuff from making it

[@R.Daneel]

Great video. Sub'd. And, yeah - that first demo will just warp your part.

[@taranson3057]

If you were using Mach3/Mach4 that software has backlash compensation capabilities. A better solution for addressing the backlash would be to use higher-grade ball screws with or without backlash adjustment features. I am surprised that you didn't use the type of ball nuts that would screw into the mount, they don't have a massive flange on them just a threaded end. Great build nonetheless. I really need to convert my LMS3990 to CNC and use 1000 oz/in closed-loop servos.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Truthfully I didn’t know there was a different style of ball nuts I could be using, appreciate the tip! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@1pcfred]

Software backlash compensation isn't ideal. I wouldn't consider Mach a very good machine controller choice either.

[@taranson3057]

@@1pcfred might not be a good choice but its been working for me just fine for over 10 years and the backlash compensation works as well.

[@ClementsProjects]

Great project!

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@DavidR8]

Nice work! I'm on verge of building the same. Would you be willing to share your CAD files?

[@V1P3RSlab]

after building a cnc conversion, now you can machine, cnc conversion kits :D

[@rudibredenkamp6339]

Awesome job. Now I want to do mine too! Are you able to share the drawings so I can convert my own in the same way?

[@YoSoyElQuesoGrande]

Id be quite surprised to find that there is no backlash compensation in your software, do some hunting. Cool project. Nice work.

[@hololightful]

I own one of these Sieg Mini Mill X2's (mine is the Grizzly branded one, unfortunately with a MT3 spindle)... And I have been thinking of doing this for years... A bit disappointed you didnt share any of your design files online I could have worked from... *Boo

[@subuser9627]

Do not worry, your projects will come. Nice work.👍 Maybe CNC your lathe ?

[@malteser0212]

Heh, that was funny. When you clicked to move the axis, nothing happened. Because my internet went out. Reconnected, played along. OH, nothing DID happen😂

[@paradiselost9946]

"diaphgram" or "bellows" couplings... they cost far more, worth it. so far the best ive used for backlash. oldhams have those silly rubber cushions, they only deform under load. the idea is to cater for axial misalignments, not as a cush drive... lol, the ball nuts are simple to rebuild... expect a multiple of 3, for theres three circuits... 51 or 17x3 on a 1605. once you get the first few in and the screws staying central, they just sort of fall together... i found it easier to tear them apart than to bother turning a mandrel down... hardened or not, i managed to counterbore three of those holes in a nut. i got my Z screw down inside the column, dont ask. nightmare. works great. one day i might actually add the gas strut/counterweight. pretty amazing the steppers are dealing with 15kg on a dead lift. the gibs on these are a nightmare to adjust properly, and the whole machine does beg for a good scrape... if i did one again i would just buy linear rails and go epoxy granite... scraping is easy but tedious and slow...

[@ttonAb2]

I have the same machine, will you be releasing any more build details aside from this?

[@JordyP89]

Would love to see what you did coding the controller, would you share?

[@wxfield]

We 3D printed our NEMA motor mounts for our DIY CNC mill. We thought they'd be the first things we'd replace with the mill once it was up and working..but why bother? They work pretty decent.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

If it works it works, I assumed it would be too flexible! Nice to know there are options.

[@Tguson]

I would have thought that the three-piece couplings had more backlash than the one-piece couplings. Are the one-piece couplings too soft and distort under load? Otherwise they should be free from play.

[@slay3r1452]

Great Video!

[@lowrads3653]

A guide block can help with freehand drilling.

[@Convolutedtubules]

I was sure you are going to turn the ball nut on the lathe. with the right insert, your lathe should turn that without an issue.

[@VerneTanguay-m8d]

Couldn't you set a backlash parameter in the software to minimize cost?

[@deeppurple1337]

so sick man

[@papergatorzfedducca7998]

New subscriber 🔥🔥🔥

[@benpeterson7530]

Since you have a 3D printer (as do I), I would have printed the parts I could for a test fit first (especially since you modeled them anyways). Then I would hope they are rigid enough to CNC the aluminum ones. I think it would be fine as they are aren't part of the mill's rigid structure. This is a cool build though! Would be cool if you had an option to manual mill as well. Would get a bit more complicated for the design I would think. How much did this cost? Sorry if you answered it, I am writing this comment 10 minutes in.

[@KrisBenson-i2f]

So what mini mill & lathe manufacturer / model that is capable and ready to go? Thanks

[@bp3niva]

Hello! I have a same kind mini mill. Could you please advice how to choose the correct fly cutter for it?

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Hello, I just bought the cheapest set I could find and use them in the er32 collets that I hold endmills with. Nothing fancy!

[@kayakMike1000]

Spring loaded lead screws would work jyst as well.

[@bread_master6957]

Im a student learning to machine at Thaddeus Stevens college and this seems so cool to know how to do. I feel like the machineing aspect i could work out to it to function with quality with understanding the tolerances and need for rigidity. But that doesn't seem like the jard part im wondering how someone would learn the computer and electronic aspect. I almost no understanding of those types of programs or how electronics work how would one go about learning those other skills. Any tips.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

The way I learned it all was to start small following along with arduino tutorials online. It’s quite cheap to get some little steppers and drivers and learn the basics of wiring and getting stuff to work. From there it’s really just a matter of scaling up and learning a bit more about different hardware components, but the principles are more or less the same!

[@jackpatrick6004]

Nice video(And channel) - Curious why you said that the voltage difference might mean you'd need to rebuild the electronics, couldn't you just use a logic level converter?

[@Forakus]

If you know the exact backlash for each axis you should be able to compensate for it in software, your values are so close to being perfect this should give you flawless results

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Unfortunately fluidNC currently doesn't have that feature. I'm thinking of switching things over to Mach but we'll see if that actually ends up happening. Bigger fish to fry in the moment - namely flood coolant system and enclosure

[@1pcfred]

@@Someone_Should_Make_That that's the problem with microcontroller control software. A lack of features. You just can't do much software wise with limited resources.

[@iancoulston6452]

I've nearly finished a similar conversion on a Sherline mill. Using Fluid NC too. But no ball screws. Still working on backlash solutions. What are you doing for limit stops and an E stop?

[@nzpork1]

This is so cool, what a great job! Why didn't you use the included controller with the stepper motor kit?

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Thank you! A few reasons, primarily because I have no idea what software was on the provided disk nor how to configure the settings. I figure it’s always better to know the details of what you’re building in case you want to add in more functionality down the road!

[@keithbrown1363]

Hi I am wondering how you determined the required size of the motors that you used for the drives?

[@sebastianmuller1210]

Don't you use any liquids while processing your material? Like for cooling or cutting the threads?

[@xyzero1682]

nice work

[@jarrad1379]

Would you be willing to share links to the ball screw kits used in this build?

[@floutv4004]

I have the same mill Did you can put the CAD File online? The Plan for the CNC mill With all one pieces i can copy out so i can build it too

[@valfrid]

As you know the amount of backlash you have, can't you compensate for it in the software when it changes direction?

[@matthew-xt4bc]

What was the software that was used for the project and was there any large issues with the logic playing nicely with everything? I was looking into doing a similar project and was going to use P.C.B Way for my electrical and compute buildup and I see you had used a vendor I haven't used before

[@tobiastho9639]

When drilling into the side of the machine, look from above and put a washer on the drill. Then you can see left/rigt allignment. And the washer will tell you if you are angled up/down or straight. Got it from Shawn on the "Robby Layton" channel.

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

That’s a great tip. I’ll give that a shot next time I need to freehand!

[@creadorestijuana3411]

Hello Friend, is not the ballscrews, if you found that it is, you can put another pair against each other and with screws move them apart until you feel the resistance, like the big copper screw from a big mill. The other thing that I think is moving is the whole tiny table with play in your gibs, that play could be the whole problem. Make new ones out of bronze with the mill. Check out how they're made, get them as smooth and perfect and you can, and you'll have a tight machine.

[@TheMrPopper69]

Cheap CNC mills use spring loaded nuts on the lead screw, that when compressed hold the bed/axis against one edge of the lead screw thread, just thought I’d throw that out there

[@JH-zo5gk]

Had same issue with my X2 conversion years ago. 4-5 thou backlash. really sucks most on the z axis. Easiest way to solve is a second ball nut and those bellow washers things. Youll also want to beef up that z axis motor mount. I used a 1in thick plate right on top of the z neck. The stock motor leaves ALOT to desire power wise. I started blowing the fuse pretty easy around 0.05DOC. Treadmill powerplant is cheap fix. Then get mach 3 running it so you can control that spindle from pc. Wheres your end stops? If your is anything like mine your saddle will be out of square slightly and not parallel. I find the lack of Y to be this conversions biggest fault imo. I built a charter oaks for the second machine and used ground screws and it is 10x the machine. Wish i started with the big one, but did learn alot on the x2.

[@1pcfred]

Do you mean belleville washers? Also known as a coned-disc spring.

[@JH-zo5gk]

@1pcfred yeah those thing

[@1pcfred]

@@JH-zo5gk ah bizarro washers. Yes, I've heard of such things. Oddly Bellevilles do show up when I search for bellows washers. So maybe they are called that too? Some weird washing machine parts also show up too though. Or maybe sellers just know folks get the name wrong?

[@JH-zo5gk]

@1pcfred idk. Knew it started with a b and had a l in it.

[@bluustreak6578]

Sometimes I wonder if it's better to just use a leadscrew instead of a ball screw. I know it depends on the application, but you can't really beat the zero backlash and smooth operation of an interferance fit leadscrew. Did you consider it?

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

I did yes, I did the math for it and found with a solid preload the required torque was a little close for comfort with the motors I was able to easily get. It may have been fine, but I figured why take the extra risk. With that said I would be interested to see how well one works in this application. May be worth a shot

[@bluustreak6578]

@@Someone_Should_Make_That ah, nice to know you considered, and even calculated it :) I do agree, frictionless ball screws are a pretty hot alternative and hard to decide against ^^

[@1pcfred]

@@Someone_Should_Make_That the solution I ended up using was making my own custom lead nuts out of HDPE and running them on acme threaded rod. HDPE is elastic and it acts like a spring. It's zero backlash. There's some gotchas in getting it to work though. Tapping elastic material for instance can make for some really tight threads. Running the tap repeatedly through it won't fix that either. Don't ask me how I know.

[@jovinn5511]

What is the code like and what program does it use?

[@tgi3d881]

Still having about .004 of backlash. You should do conventional milling instead of climb. The cutting forces will be pulling against the direction of cut. When it is pulling with the direction of cut, the table will be jumping as the tool pulls the part

[@TonyMark-o3b]

Would like more info on the cnc controller software and how you generate g-code. I am stuck with Mach 3 Mill and Artcam to generate gcode. I am not so good with it, just able to machine 2d parts. Eventually I will have to upgrade, switch to more modern pssibly free software. Any tips appreciated

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Hello! In order of questions asked: The cnc control firmware on the esp32 is FluidNC it’s open source and they have a great wiki page going into the configuration and details. I use universal gcode sender to send the gcode files over to the machine. As for the CAM software, I use fusion 360s manufacturing workspace. It’s free for hobby use with a few minor limitations. Good luck with your next project!

[@johnbuffinton7324]

Can we get the plans for this?

[@brodbones]

Have the same mill and have been planning to do the same conversion! Curious if you could share what bell screws you ended up using (or even if you have a BOM of the parts ordered!)

[@Someone_Should_Make_That]

Hey! I bought one of the cnc ballscrew kits off amazon and cut them to length, there are a bunch of import ballscrews available and I imagine they are all roughly the same level of "roll the dice and see what you get" quality. Good luck with your build!

[@BB-ih3bk]

Could always cnc cnc kits?

[@jmgraydz]

Most programs actually have a spot for entering backlash because you will never eliminate it on a setup like this