# X2 Mini Mill Power Feed



## apointofview

Well I thought I would share my version of a power feed for my mill.
I cant spend the money it takes to get the mfg's feed so after reading a lot about other homemade power feeds here and around the net, this is what I came up with so far.

The motor/gearbox was from all electronics for $25 with shipping : http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/DCM-563/12VDC-RIGHT-ANGLE-GEAR-HEAD-MOTOR-WITH-WORM-DRIVE/1.html

The future motor controller is from ebay for $9 and .90 cent shipping ! : http://www.ebay.com/itm/151088811500?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4788wt_4102

The power supply will be from a computer monitor at 14V and 3A about $6

Right now its an old train transformer that is really pushed to its limit ( it gets pretty warm !! )

I drilled the mill feed screw to accept a piece of delrin rod that i pinned to the feed screw and pinned a 14mm nut on the opposite end. I cut the motor output shaft and milled it down to fit in the 3/8 drive 14mm shallow no name socket. I just slide it back and forth to engage and disengage the power feed. The socket and delrin extension wiggle around a little but that allows for any slight misalignment of the motor and feed screw. I tried a more rigid setup at first but I found it would bind up a little here and there as the table moved from one stop to the other

The original plate on the end of the table was replace with a .160 2024 T3 aluminum plate and I turned a few bushings out of old brass faucet stems and 4 pieces of 10-24 threaded rod go from the outboard plate of the motor to the aluminum plate with locking nuts.
I had to rout out room for the two upper nuts on the end of the mill's table.

I have run a couple of cuts with it and the control is good, the finish is better that when ran by hand and the return speed doesn't make me wait forever !

When the other items arrive i will replace the cheesy speed tape chip guard with a box of some kind that will hold the switches and control.

here is the video, its cutting .050 off a 7075 T6 part for the crosshead guides of my steam engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGcqeq4gUys

Pete

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGcqeq4gUys

[ame]http://youtu.be/FGcqeq4gUys[/ame]


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## steamboat willie

Hi Pete!
I am *most impressed* at your power feed for your mill - both in how you did it and the results that you haver achieved. Despite how carefully I wind that handle I never seem to be able to get that smooth cut we all seek! I presume that the (overworked) train controller operates the motor in both directions in the same way it reversed the polarity for the train engine. Did you need to alter the circuitry in any way to cope with the added load on the controller?
Do you have any plans to power the other axis?
Thanks for the explanation and the video - I found it most beneficial.
Steamboat Willie (aka Bill).
As a footnote, I am amazed at the number of folk who improve their Seig-X2 mill and small 'Grizzly' lathe. I have improved my own small lathe, and (with MCRIPPer's help) posted my improvements on this Forum. Now I think I might be about to embark on improvement to the mill as well.


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## gus

Hi Pete,

Gus will "monkey see monkey do". Came across this 180 rpm DC motor gear drive weeks ago and contemplating if it will work. Thanks for putting it into action. Will buy this motor to make mill table power feed. This make milling of long pieces easier.I have bigger jobs planned and power feed makes these jobs sweeter and less sweaty in faraway Singapore.
Powered mill table drive from usual vendors cost a bomb and with Gus living at the other end of the hobby world,it cost
me a big bomb.


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## cidrontmg

Hi Gus, I think 180 Rpm is a bit too fast. My feed screws (X and Y) are M14 x 2, meaning one turn is 2 mm (fwd or rev). 180 Rpm is 3 turns/sec., it really zooms at that speed. It's rather difficult to wind slowly, 1/3 - 1/2 speed it's rather weak of a torque, and if you're not very careful, it stops. At full speed, torque is (-/+) OK, but then it won't instantly stop (it should!), so it's not convenient to run it. I tried first with a 37 mm dia. 180 Rpm, but bought some more motors, IMHO even the 120 Rpm is a bit too fast, and 60 Rpm is nice. Another thing is, the 60 Rpm is triple torque (3X) than 180 Rpm. At slow speeds (1/2 - 1/3), it winds quite elegantly slowly and smoothly.
The Chinese 37 mm motors cost less than 10 &#8364;. Try to eliminate everything possible stiffness that the screw winds very easily, and the table moves silk smooth  ;D


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## gus

cidrontmg said:


> Hi Gus, I think 180 Rpm is a bit too fast. My feed screws (X and Y) are M14 x 2, meaning one turn is 2 mm (fwd or rev). 180 Rpm is 3 turns/sec., it really zooms at that speed. It's rather difficult to wind slowly, 1/3 - 1/2 speed it's rather weak of a torque, and if you're not very careful, it stops. At full speed, torque is (-/+) OK, but then it won't instantly stop (it should!), so it's not convenient to run it. I tried first with a 37 mm dia. 180 Rpm, but bought some more motors, IMHO even the 120 Rpm is a bit too fast, and 60 Rpm is nice. Another thing is, the 60 Rpm is triple torque (3X) than 180 Rpm. At slow speeds (1/2 - 1/3), it winds quite elegantly slowly and smoothly.
> The Chinese 37 mm motors cost less than 10 . Try to eliminate everything possible stiffness that the screw winds very easily, and the table moves silk smooth  ;D



Hi Olli,

Please advice source for 60 rpm gearbox motor.


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## old-and-broken

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/gear-motor-60-rpm

some of these are chinese manufactured.  Going to the item and looking for a company name may lead you to a local source by searching the internet with that name and location


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## gus

old-and-broken said:


> http://www.ebay.com/bhp/gear-motor-60-rpm
> 
> some of these are chinese manufactured.  Going to the item and looking for a company name may lead you to a local source by searching the internet with that name and location



Hi Old & Broken,

Thanks for the expert advice. Went in to buy a 60rpm DC motor from Ebay.
Though I picked a 100 rpm motor last month to make a fishing rod wrapper.


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## steamboat willie

Apointofview,
I have been looking at your mods for the X2 mill. While I think a much more even finish can be attained with an even machine feed, I am just wondering how practical it is when machining to a mark? In this I mean that the power feed is not applied through a clutch, unless one is designed and fitted, so that when the power is shut off to the motor, momentum will still keep the motor turning unless it is fitted with an electric brake. Have you had any thoughts on this? I can certainly see advantages for milling longer items where a long pass is needed, but I am just wondering about the accuracy of being able to stop the travel of the table exactly where you want it.
I had a bit of a look at motors too and found:
www.ebay/itm/worm-gear-motor-DC-gear-motor-GW31ZY-12V-63rpm-/151098351911
Possibly with a tight geared head the problem I am concerned about wouldn't be an issue?


Just a thought.
Bill.


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## apointofview

Hey Guys thanks for all the great comments !!

cidrontmg,
As far as 180 rpm being to fast I agree for the actual cutting operation, but the speed is great when returning to the starting point for another pass.  I think it is referred to as a 'Jog' but I cant be sure. With the train transformer ( that is complaining now )  I lower the feed to make a cut and then when returning to the starting point I run full speed back, it would be tough to watch that table move slow on the return leg.  
This motor has plenty of torque,  it was made to move the seat in a car.  I havent had any problems driving the table so far and the speed control that is on a really slow boat from china is supposed to be a pulse type that claims to maintain torque at lower speeds.

Bill, 
The train transformer works just great I didn't do anything but run the two wires from the 'track' terminals to the motor.  I can run the motor from barely able to see it move to zipping right along and anything in-between forward or reverse.  The only problem I cant run it for long because it gets really really hot, like cant touch it and the plastic handle is now warped.  so in the interest of not burning the garage down I wont use it much anymore till the ebay controller shows up. No plans to drive any other axis unless I hit the lottery and make it cnc !!

I wouldn't use the feed to try to stop at an exact spot, at least with my skill, it is good for long multiple passes removing material where I am just sick of winding that handle but for the precision work when i need to hit an exact point i just use the handle.  The motor drives a worm gear and it stops pretty fast and holds well, but the slop in the socket connection and my backlash make hitting a tight mark pretty iffy !

Gus,
I agree the mfg's feed looks nice but I cant justify the $$'s either, but this way was not that much and its kinda fun making something yourself and seeing it work.  I want to setup switches to stop it automatically but that will be later. 
I found a site here http://mikesworkshop.weebly.com/mill-power-feed.html  He built a real slick feed and he was nice enough to include a wiring diagram on his site to make a jog button for fast return and end point switches to stop the feed automatically.  Sometime I will try to add that to my setup.

Pete


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## apointofview

A video is worth more than a thousand words.
Here is a short clip to show the difference between the feed rate cutting and then the faster return to the starting point without cutting.  My compressor kicks on right near the end of video if anyone wonders what the noise is.  Its feeding a blower that removes the chips being made during the cut.
Pete
[ame]http://youtu.be/qy1ZW8XO9qM[/ame]


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## apointofview

Well guys a little update,
I have assembled the first version of the control to my power feed.  I already want to change the way it works but for now it does fine.  The box will get labels when I can figure out how to print them up so they will last.  I put plastic over the speed control rocker switch to keep chips out, and I think I will do something similiar for the jog direction toggle switch.
The speed control is from ebay and the rest of the parts are from an online store here http://www.allelectronics.com/ and the enclosure is from radio shack.
The switches under the table that stop the motor are attached with magnets and i just position them wherever they need to be to stop the motor.  They still need work to protect them from getting damaged and I need bigger magnets to keep them from slipping.

Here are a few pics and a video.

Pete

link to youtube
[ame]http://youtu.be/xYFBcgHwCF0[/ame]


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## steamboat willie

Pete,
Thanks for the great video of what you have done and how you have done it! I too am in the process of fitting a power feed to my X2 mill, and in investigating the task , came across one done and very well documented in 
 mikesworkshop.weebly.com/mill-power-feed.html
Its amazing how great minds think alike, and how we each seem to come up with a different variation to the basic theme!
Bill.


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## steamboat willie

I noticed that the link doesn't seem to work. I typed "Mike's workshop - mill power feed" into Google and it appeared. Hope this helps someone.
Bill
PS Mike seems to have done a huge amount to his machines, and I am sure that others will enjoy looking at his site as much as I did..


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## apointofview

Hey Bill,
Thats why I get a kick out of this site.  There are so many creative people here that are willing to share their ideas.  Seeing what others build inspires me to learn and try shaping metal like they do !!
Pete


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## steamboat willie

Apointofview,
I note that you have fitted a jog switch to assist in the return of the job to the starting point. In what way is this different to switching the direction control to reverse and the travel speed to maximum, apart from the convenience that is. As far as I can see, the table cannot go any faster than the maximum speed that the motor can go, especially if it is a geared motor.
I am aware that on bigger machines a higher return speed is attained by use of different gearing, but in this application that option is not available.
I look forward to being enlightened!
Thanks!
Bill.
PS Had I been a bit more switched on, I would have realised that you had already highlighted Mike's machine website. Sorry for that oversight. B.


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## apointofview

Bill,
You have it exactly right it is for convenience only. I could reverse the control ramp it up to full voltage and then reverse again and go back to a cutting speed. That would work fine. As it is now i just have to hit one button to reverse direction at full voltage and then another button to resume the cut speed and direction.

I didnt know the real mills have gearing to vary feed speeds, I have only been able to be in the same room as a nice big full featured mill, never had the opportunity to use one

I added another pushbutton to my control to start the cut feed. The original setup worked like this. I ran a cut at a slow speed the table hit the stop switch, and it stoped. I would then push the jog button and it would run back till the table hit the jog stop switch and then it would stop jogging and immediately go to the cut direction and feed speed by itself. That was a little unnerving because I could see something not being ready.
So the fix was to add a cut start button. I didnt want to add much to the box, I just had to reroute a couple of wires and added a diode and one n.c. push button switch. 
This is the wiring diagram now.
Pete


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## gus

Hi Pete,
Now mopping up the odds & ends on the a H&M Engine and should be running the engine by this Saturday.
Come next month will start on the mill table feed. DC motor and speed control on hand now. Most likely will be mirror image of your powered mill table feed. Sick and tired of hand cranking table to mill long pieces.


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## apointofview

Gus
I would like to see how it comes out !
Your engine looks great by the way !!
Pete


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## zoltan

I hope you don't mind me dredging this thread back up, but I'm about to start building my own power feed based on the same motor and general design you used. However, for the control box I was thinking of using the below diagram to simply things, and I wanted to get your opinion on whether it will work or not.

I'm making the possibly wrong assumption that if it's not connected to the motor then the speed control's draw will minimal even with its speed turned to max.


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## zoltan

My other idea is to wire in a switch between the speed controller and the speed adjustment knob to set it to maximum speed. The would simplify things even more.


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## gus

gus said:


> Hi Pete,
> Now mopping up the odds & ends on the a H&M Engine and should be running the engine by this Saturday.
> Come next month will start on the mill table feed. DC motor and speed control on hand now. Most likely will be mirror image of your powered mill table feed. Sick and tired of hand cranking table to mill long pieces.



Hi Pete,
Wished I had DIYed the power feed. Was miling a 6 fluke CounterBore while required very long&shallow depth cuts. Now in the midst of building another engine---the Nemett-Lynx which has some tedious milling. I have all the components on hand to build the power feed but have yet to find the time.


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## Swifty

I have power feed on the X axis of my mill, but may only use it about once per year, I just have a preference for feeding by hand.

Paul.


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## steamboat willie

On my Seig-2 mill I always found it almost impossible to get an even 'pattern' on the milled component when winding by hand, irrespective of how much I tried. Now, with my powered feed I get very uniform finishes each time. I used a commercially available 24v 5A power supply, a commercially available speed regulator and a commercially available 24v geared head motor. Call it Novices' Intuition, but all the individual components matched up with each other and it worked perfectly. Should anyone want details I will be pleased to share my setup with them. It has revolutionised my machine. I also want to note that at the time I fitted the power feed to the mill, I fitted a led ring light to the quill. I cannot begin to highlight (aw...bad pun - sorry) the benefits to the machine that this light made. I must mention that I copied this idea from one of the other members of this erstwhile band of machining brothers, and can only acknowledge his lateral thinking and recommend others to do the same. Light (2 rings) $3.00 or so, incl of postage from China, power supply - free from another's rubbish bin. Switch - had in the Spares drawer. To mill with NO SHADOW is a delight!!!
 Cheers!
 Bill.


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## james_III

Well this is interesting thread, I'm currently making power feed to my X3 and taking what seems to be the third way. Planned to use stepper/arduino route, only thing actually missing is more suitable powersupply. Control box will have buttons like industrial ones + accurate speed control (feed/rapid/stop/speed mm/min) with 3 different scales and automatic motor clutch. LCD to display current settings, currently waiting solenoid for clutch mechanism, most of the parts are done already. 3 scales meaning high/medium/low, with big tools like 100mm flycutter, when slow feed is mandatory.


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## gus

Almost fell asleep crank the hand wheel to mill all six faces of the Nemett Crankcase. Some very fine sanding and buffing required. I still have the cavity to do.:wall::rant:
After the Nemett Engines,I will DIY Power Feed for my mill.


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## apointofview

Hey Gus that looks Great !!!
Pete


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## BaronJ

apointofview said:


> Hey Gus that looks Great !!!
> Pete



Hi Gus,
So this is where you are hiding 

Yes it does look good.  Now did you finish that RT ?


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## gus

BaronJ said:


> Hi Gus,
> So this is where you are hiding
> 
> Yes it does look good.  Now did you finish that RT ?



Hi Baron,


Still leaking my wound and pride of the 72T worm gear which ended up as 71T.

Now having wild ambitions to build a mini hobbing machine.May buy 72T worm
gear to finish up and graduate RT to use for dividing.

Now busy machining the internal parts for the Nemett-Lynx Engine.Making good progress.


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## zoltan

Aaaaaaaaaaand done. 

I simplified the wiring even more and ended up with this:





It works very well and I'm quite pleased. All the wiring was packaged up into a Radio Shack project box and fixed to the left side of the mill. The extra switch in the top right corner of the box controls my LED spindle light.






The power feed works quite well, though the motor will get a little hot after extended runs. The beta version of Touch DRO (Android DRO) I'm currently running will give you the feed rate for the selected axis, so with the power feed I can set my feed rate very exactly. 

I'm happy.


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## apointofview

That looks great !   I have noticed the motor warms up a little but I dont think its too much.  It never gets to the point where I cant keep my hand on it.
Pete


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## zoltan

apointofview said:


> That looks great !   I have noticed the motor warms up a little but I dont think its too much.  It never gets to the point where I cant keep my hand on it.
> Pete


More specifically, the end of motor gets hot, right where the shaft bearing is. I may pull it apart and see if there's enough lub there.


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## BaronJ

zoltan said:


> More specifically, the end of motor gets hot, right where the shaft bearing is. I may pull it apart and see if there's enough lub there.



Hi Zoltan,

I think I've mentioned this before...
These motors are a permanent magnet type (Permag).  They don't have any field windings,  all the heat is generated in the armature !  The only way that the heat can escape is via the bearings at each end.  Since the tail bearing is a long PB sleeve the heat is conducted through that to the motor body.  There is a short PB bearing at the other end and a small ball at the worm end of the shaft to take the end thrust.  This is the reason why these motors don't like to be run backwards.

Whilst you can strip the motor down and add lubrication you shouldn't need to.  The PB bearing is lubrication impregnated.

HTH.


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## zoltan

BaronJ said:


> Hi Zoltan,
> 
> I think I've mentioned this before...
> These motors are a permanent magnet type (Permag).  They don't have any field windings,  all the heat is generated in the armature !  The only way that the heat can escape is via the bearings at each end.  Since the tail bearing is a long PB sleeve the heat is conducted through that to the motor body.  There is a short PB bearing at the other end and a small ball at the worm end of the shaft to take the end thrust.  This is the reason why these motors don't like to be run backwards.
> 
> Whilst you can strip the motor down and add lubrication you shouldn't need to.  The PB bearing is lubrication impregnated.
> 
> HTH.


Why could I help the motor run cooler then? Maybe throw a heatsink on the bottom?

Why would the motor not like being rung backwards? From what you've written I don't really see why that would be the case. Also, this is an actuator for a car's power seat, and in that application the motor would be run about equally in both directions, so why use a motor which prefers to be run in one direction only?


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## davidl

For what it is worth, I put a simple X axis power feed on my little Seig X1 Mill.  the motor is an old Ford windscreen wiper and is coupled to the shaft with a chain drive.  I built a simple speed control using a pulse controller ex Hong Kong.  I also have found my work has a much better finish.

Your set up is much more sophisticated and I think one day I'll rebuild mine.  Mean time I'm building a set up to power the Z axis using a 24 volt stepping motor -  I' get tired of winding the darn Z axis handle.


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## BaronJ

zoltan said:


> Why could I help the motor run cooler then? Maybe throw a heatsink on the bottom?
> 
> this is an actuator for a car's power seat, and in that application the motor would be run about equally in both directions



Whilst my comments about direction were intended with respect to windscreen wiper motors it should be obvious that it doesn't apply to a motor intended to run in either direction.

As far as heat sinking is concerned the motor body is the heatsink and maybe a fan would help dissipate some of the heat.

It hadn't occured to me to look in the scrapyard for car seat motors !  I'll have to look next time I go there.  Thanks for the heads up on those.


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## zoltan

You can buy it brand new for $23USD:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IR1NBA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## ddmckee54

Zoltan:

The motor is getting hot because it was never designed for continuous operation. Think about, while it's the actuator for a car seat and designed to run in both directions, it only does that in short bursts and then, unless you're a little kid, it won't be used again for a long time. You need to start with a motor that is designed to run for long periods of time, or what is called continuous duty. If you want to stick to salvaged car parts, a windshield wiper motor or a heater blower motor would be a place to start. Both of those motors have to run continuously for extended periods of time. I realize that neither of those motors would be a easy replacement for your actuator motor, but if you want continuous cool operation you need a continuous duty motor.

That or just accecpt that your motor is going to run hot, and that the motor will not last as long as it normally would. Just be sure to buy some spares so that when the motor burns out at O Dark Thirty, and you're half way through that ever so complicated part, you can swap in a spare and keep on going.

Don


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## BaronJ

zoltan said:


> You can buy it brand new for $23USD:
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IR1NBA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



Hi Zoltan,

Thanks for that link.  At least I now know the sort of thing I would be looking for.  Whilst I may pay the man at the scrapyard some money, for me the satisfaction of turning junk into something useful at minimal cost is irresistible.

You have made a very nice job of yours.  I looked at and saw from the video that it works very well !  Dare I ask if you have seen mine ?

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f28/my-table-traverse-chinese-mill-23130/

Actually this is the MK1.  I'm in the process of designing MK2.  Having discovered a couple of niggles and that I can't get the driving gear off the motor gearbox shaft without risking damaging the worm wheel.


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## Griffin

David
I have fitted a stepper motor to the z axis of my X1 mill and it works very well to date and i,m just in the process of doing the same to the X asis, I've just been waiting to finish my current project of the bottle engine, mine uses an arduino controler with an electronic clutch, it disengages the motor from the handle, the handle turns normaly until the motor engages, there's a vid of it working some where here.


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## zoltan

BaronJ said:


> You have made a very nice job of yours.  I looked at and saw from the video that it works very well !  Dare I ask if you have seen mine?


I have indeed and think you did a great job. It's a lot nicer than I could have ever managed.


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## BaronJ

zoltan said:


> I have indeed and think you did a great job. It's a lot nicer than I could have ever managed.



Thankyou Zoltan,

I'm in the process of designing a MK2 version, having found a couple of issues that I'm not happy about.

I used gears that were salvaged from a laser printer gearbox that I was given.  Unfortunately the gears that I chose, whilst fitted nicely have too high a reduction ratio and flat out at 30 volts, the drive is a little on the slow side.  So I really need to make the motor spindle gear a little bigger.  However I can't get the gear off the shaft without damaging the worm wheel.

So I went and got another windscreen wiper motor.  I hadn't realised that you could get left and right handed ones !  Of course the new one is the opposite hand, otherwise very similar.

I've taken it apart for cleaning and re-lubricating.  I've taken photographs of the insides.  You can see what I was on about when I was saying that these don't like running backwards.  The only thing that takes the thrust of the worm is the single ball used as a bearing at one end and a washer against the end of the sleeve bearing at the other.

I've used M4 hex cap screws to secure the cover plate back onto the gearbox housing after removing the connector and electrical bits.


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## steamboat willie

Hi Baron!
 I would like to throw in my 2 cents' worth. I am a man after your own heart - I have frequently been found inverted in a rubbish skip, or bringing something home from the tip, so I know where you are coming from. But if I have learnt anything it is that oh so often recycled bits and pieces adapted for another purpose can lead to tears. On something as important as a power feed on a mill one needs not to look at the power feed as such. One needs to look at the job that the power feed is allowing you to do. If you are happy to run the risk of machine failure mid-job with consequent implications for the completion of the job at hand, then fine, use a less than guaranteed part/motor. Given the price now of new motors and controllers I find that it just doesn't add up to do a make-do job with second hand bits and pieces. Its not the price of the motor but the value of your time, effort, ancillaries such as coolant, power etc that need to be taken into account. My attitude after over 40 years of 'making do'  is that you can't put lipstick on a pig and hope it to turn out like the Mona Lisa. I would suggest that given the extreme cheapness of geared motors, power supplies and controllers as seen on eBay, the time and money spent mucking around with a collection of old parts, hoping to cobble something together that is both functional and reliable, could be better invested in new components that are reliable from the start. After all, its your time and what you are producing on the mill that is the important considerations. Investment in anything less than reliable won't do your skills and knowledge as a machinist any justice at all. 
 Anyway, just my thoughts on the topic. Hope I haven't upset anyone by saying this. 
 Bill.
 PS I have a shed full of 40 years of collecting of things that might be useful that I didn't have to pay for...


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## BaronJ

Hi Bill,

I must admit to a smile when I read your post. 
I know exactly where you are coming from and in the main do agree with you.

For me the issue isn't the cost but the pleasure that I get from taking junk and turning it into something useful.  Over the years I've made many prototypes for various projects and seen a good number make it into sizeable production.

Your points are very valid and I'm not offended in any way.  Indeed I would be the one most likely to say just those things to a youngster who has many years to learn about the mistakes they may make along the way.

Me !  I'm in the enjoying it phase...

Thank you for your input.


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## Stieglitz

Hi, Been involved in a few issues of late and haven't been able to get a start at cutting any material (or any other jobs for myself ).And haven't had time to frequent this excellent forum,I'm hoping this will change.
Well done Gus on your LYNX project will keep an eye on progress, I have a SEIG mill drill and was trying to figure away to motorise the bed,looks like you may have the solution to my needs.
Cheers.


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## Stieglitz

Hi Steamboat, Any chance you can share details on your motorisation mod of the Mill X slide?
Cheers and Thanks in advance.


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## steamboat willie

Hello Steiglitz!
 Thanks for your request! It would be a pleasure to send you some photos of my power feed mods to my mill on the Forum except for one minor problem. As a confirmed and fully paid up Life member of Luddites-are-Me, I have not the knowledge or ability to be able to post a photo onto the Forum. I do however, after long and exasperating training (for both of us)  in the art of attaching a photo to an email by my daughter ("Dad, I've already been through that..."), I do know (on pain of prolonged and painful suffering) how to attach a photo to an email. I would like you to know that I am very proud of myself in mastering this aspect of the Black Art.
 If you would like to send me your email address I would be only too pleased to share what I have done with you. Perhaps, if you know how to post a photo onto the Forum you may be able to on-post it onto the Forum for others to see?
 I apologise for being a luddite Steiglitz, but the world has been divided into two groups - those who make the little lights go on and off, and those of us who watch in wonder and amazement. You'll see me in the front row of the second group going Oooooh and Ahhhh!!!!! (I'm 2nd from the left...) 
 I purchased the motor, speed control and regulated power supply off the net. I mounted the power supply at the back of the machine and the control box on the machine above the existing power box. I relocated/remotely placed all switches and controls for power and control from the bought units into the front of the new control box for ease of use, with pilot lights in an attempt to stave off the effects of forgetfulness. I also added the switch for the LED light ring about which I cannot say enough.
 My motor, power supply and speed controller are all 24v, as are the pilot lights.  The motor is a geared head motor which can be purchased in a variety of speeds from the manufacturer. It has a right angled drive to it which means that it doesn't protrude too far over the end of the mill. I made a slide clutch to engage/disengage the drive manually, but retaining the facility to still use the manual handle.
 As they say in the classics, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I would be delighted to send you some photos if the suggested arrangement to accommodate my bald ignorance is agreeable with you.
 I hope to hear from you at your convenience.
 Cheerio for now!
 Bill (aka Steamboat Willie).


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## BaronJ

Hello Bill,

Posting pictures is no more difficult than attaching them to an Email !
If you scroll down a bit you will come to an icon the says "Manage Attachments"
Click on that with your mouse (I use Linux and only have to click once !  Windows users may have to double click)  A window will pop up with a box that asks you to select files from your computer.  Click the first one and another window will pop up.  Use this window to navigate to the pictures you want to upload.  Select a picture in exactly the same way as you would if you were attaching it to an Email.  When you have selected the pictures, click on "Upload" and the computer will send the pictures to your forum post.  Close the window and either click "Submit Reply" or "Preview Post" if you want to see how your post will look.

If you have any questions I'll be happy to explain.


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## zoltan

zoltan said:


> More specifically, the end of motor gets hot, right where the shaft bearing is. I may pull it apart and see if there's enough lub there.


I pulled the motor apart yesterday and there was very little lube on the bushing. I cleaned it up and lubed it with a good teflon fortified synthetic grease. Since then it runs much cooler. So now I just need to remember to grease it every once in a while.


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## BaronJ

Hi Zoltan,

Fine on pulling the motor end plate off and re-lubricating.  I wouldn't have expected to see much lubrication on there either.  What lubricant there is, is impregnated into the phosphor bronze bushes and it relies upon a certain amount of heat in order to bring the lubricant to the bearing surface.  I would keep a close eye on the temperature at that end of the motor.  That way you will learn how hot it gets normally when doing different types of work.  I estimate on mine that the internal temperature will be 15 or 20 degrees C hotter than the hottest part of the motor case.  A guide if you can measure it, is that the motor current draw will start to rise under a constant load as the motor heats up.


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## davidl

Griffin said:


> David
> I have fitted a stepper motor to the z axis of my X1 mill and it works very well to date and i,m just in the process of doing the same to the X asis, I've just been waiting to finish my current project of the bottle engine, mine uses an arduino controler with an electronic clutch, it disengages the motor from the handle, the handle turns normaly until the motor engages, there's a vid of it working some where here.



Here is a photo of the current project under construction.  The surface finish was achieved using a fly cutter and my powered x drive.


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## steamboat willie

Power feed of x2 mill
With great help from BaronJ's instructions I have managed to upload some photos of my mill's power feed.
I apologise for the out of sequence, but stick with it...
Here goes:
Photo one shows the motor and right angle gearbox which is part of the motor. The shaft was drilled for a spigot to engage the sliding clutch.
The second photo shows the motor mounted onto a separate plate which was then mounted onto a plate attached to the mill with two posts - of exact length to ensure the movement from disengage to engage.
Photo 3 shows the slide clutch engaged.
Photo 4 is of the control box , mounted next to the one fitted to the machine.
Photo 5 is photo3 in focus...
Photo 9 is the power supply at the rear of the machine, showing cable holding control wires. All controls were removed from the printed circuit boards and mounted into the front control box, and wired back to their respective connections.
Photos 10 and clearer in 11 show the slide connection beneath the mill table to allow the engage/disengage function. On disengaged, the mill can be used by hand as normal. To engage the power feed it is a simple task to hold the clutch bar/tube twixt finger and thumb and slide it up onto the drive pin on the motor shaft.
Now, the intervening photos show an overhead gantry system I rigged up to lift and move my rotary table on and off the mill table. I have a disability (apart from computing) that prevents me lifting, so the smarts had to be employed to overcome the problem. It works a treat - I pull down on the handle which lifts the r/t on its holder. I then slide it forward and lower it into position over the end of the table, unclip the hangers and slide the table onto the mill. Job done! And off is the reverse, and as easy!!!
Thanks to BaronJ for his help in allowing me to share this with this august body of machinists!
Cheers!
Steamboat Willie aka Bill.


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## BaronJ

Hi Bill,

Congratulations !:bow::bow::bow:
See I told you it was not difficult.
That's a fine set of pictures, and I like the knurled sliding sleeve on there.


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## Stieglitz

Hi Bill,
       Thanks for the helpful info I'm sure that will help me out.Really like the lifting gear you have made (pity I never used smarts when I was working a stuffed back is my reward )..I will follow your lead.
Cheers and Thanks.


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## steamboat willie

Thanks gentlemen for your kind words. I apologise for the crook photos . 
 One thing I didn't mention was that I removed the lead screw from the x axis, out it in the lathe and drilled a 6mm hole into the end of it, very carefully to ensure accuracy. I tapped this hole to 8 x 1 then made up an 8mm dia shaft that screwed into the lead screw and which took the pin for the sliding clutch. I made this a length such that the clutch was still held on the end of the motor shaft, but not engaged. 
 The 24v motor, 24v power supply (24v, 5A), and the power controller all came from ebay. Should anyone so desire, I have the details of these purchases to assist. These items were all of the type that it was a case of looking at the respective units and connecting the output of the power supply to controller, and the motor to the controller where it was marked to do so. It was very much just connect the wires to the marked terminals. One thing I did was use some fancy (Tandy) flexible multi-strand copper speaker wire (blue flat twin core) to allow for the movement back and forth of the milling table.
 Should any further questions arise and you need more photos or such I will be only to happy to help.
 Cheers!
 Bill.


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## gus

Here's Gus's version Milling Table Power Feed done just before Christmas 2014.Good for fine finishing and too slow for roughing feed. Will Upgrade speed later. Power Feed put to use milling the Clutch Knob.Very happy with the finishing. DIY hobbed worm wheel. The clutch worked very well to engage and disengage power feed and hand cranking was quite smooth. 12 Volt motor came from local robotic shop and speed controller came from Ebay.DIY Worm and wheel meshed very well with very minimum backlash.
Now busy building Howell V-2.


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## Stieglitz

Apointofview,
                  Great work,I'm interested as I own a SEIG X2 Mill Drill and this could be employed on the XYZ Axis.Sure is food for thought!
Cheers.


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## zoltan

Just an update. My power feed is still running strong, and I couldn't be much happier. At some point I'd like to move the control box to the front of the mill to keep my arm away from flying chips, but that's about it. My mill is set up with TouchDRO (a free Android based DRO) which gives me the feed rate for the X-axis, which has allowed me to exactly match recommended feed/speed rates for various material, allowing optimal material removal and much longer tool life.


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## davidl

Griffin said:


> David
> I have fitted a stepper motor to the z axis of my X1 mill and it works very well to date and i,m just in the process of doing the same to the X asis, I've just been waiting to finish my current project of the bottle engine, mine uses an arduino controler with an electronic clutch, it disengages the motor from the handle, the handle turns normaly until the motor engages, there's a vid of it working some where here.


Hi Griffin,
Here is a picture of my Z drive.  It is a fixed drive , but I find that there is no call for a manual mode. I use the fine manual adjust on the quill.


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## Griffin

David

Can I ask how you powered your stepper motor and what program you used to make it move, this was the part that I had the most trouble with, of late I've been messing with powering the X axis, I don't think the Y axis is going to be a problem as it should take a stepper straight onto the back, heaven only knows if I can manage to adapt the Arduino to run all three steppers though. 
Mark


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## Theclockworks

Hi David would be good to see how you attached the said motor.


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## Stieglitz

Hi, is there anyway of controlling a stepper motor via a potentiometer.As yet I have limited knowledge of these motors.Any advise most welcome.
Cheers.


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## RonGinger

Not directly, but its not hard. You need some kind of pulse generator. A simple circuit with  555 timer IC will do it. I  think there are a couple kits available for just a few dollars, ask Google. Its also very easy with an arduino, but that is kind of overkill.

I just finished a power feed for the Z axis of my Grizzly G0704 mill. I used an arduino and have a push button for up and down. I also have a push button that sets a limit position so the motor will not run past that point.


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## davidl

Griffin said:


> David
> 
> Can I ask how you powered your stepper motor and what program you used to make it move, this was the part that I had the most trouble with, of late I've been messing with powering the X axis, I don't think the Y axis is going to be a problem as it should take a stepper straight onto the back, heaven only knows if I can manage to adapt the Arduino to run all three steppers though.
> Mark


Griffin,
I did not use a program.  The motor was powered by a stepper motor drive board .  I added a pulse generator to provide the clock pulse and switches provided voltage to the "enable" terminal and earthing to the "direction" terminal.  The driver and pulse generator were bought on eBay. I include a couple of pics.  One day I might get to and build a proper CNC unit.  Currently I'm just happy not to have keep cranking handles.
Cheers


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## davidl

Theclockworks said:


> Hi David would be good to see how you attached the said motor.


Here is an assembly drawing I made
Cheers


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## Stieglitz

Hi Guys,
           Thanks for the info will take me just that bit further down the yellow brick road.
Cheers and Thanks


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## AFCarbon15

Check into Arduino.  You can create some pretty simple or extensive driver programs.  Or just copy one of the hundreds you'll find scattered.


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## Stieglitz

Hi All,
       Thanks a lot for all the helpful info,I have ordered the generator board and driver board from e-bay.
Cheers.


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## AFCarbon15

Stieglitz said:


> Hi All,
> Thanks a lot for all the helpful info,I have ordered the generator board and driver board from e-bay.
> Cheers.



Keep us posted.  Interested to see what you come up with.


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