# My moons must be aligned



## Naiveambition (Jul 11, 2016)

Went and bought powerfeed for my mill drill and I am loving it.  Was a mess up though,  it was not the one I ordered!  Budget minded decisions led me to enco for there 275$ import rated at 135 in lbs.  
3 days later I open the box and see a different one( that was quite large) so went looking around the web for it. Low and behold enco doesn't list a powerfeed this large, 
The one sent is rated at 560 in lbs  :thumbup:   I know enco is becoming msc tools in the near future, so  maybe they were grabbing anything left on the shelf and shipping it out.woohoo1. Luck is definitely on my side today shoulda bought a lotto ticket


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## Wizard69 (Jul 12, 2016)

Naiveambition said:


> Went and bought powerfeed for my mill drill and I am loving it.  Was a mess up though,  it was not the one I ordered!  Budget minded decisions led me to enco for there 275$ import rated at 135 in lbs.
> 
> 3 days later I open the box and see a different one( that was quite large) so went looking around the web for it. Low and behold enco doesn't list a powerfeed this large,
> 
> The one sent is rated at 560 in lbs  :thumbup:   I know enco is becoming msc tools in the near future, so  maybe they were grabbing anything left on the shelf and shipping it out.woohoo1. Luck is definitely on my side today shoulda bought a lotto ticket




ENCO has been owned by MSC for sometime.   As for your score, just imagine how easy it will be to break tools now.


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## Philipintexas (Jul 12, 2016)

I've been using a similar one from Enco you many years. Had to convince myself I needed it but now wouldn't part with it.


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## DJP (Jul 12, 2016)

I do not have a similar Enco feed, in fact I have no auto feed at all and I am convinced that I don't need it. However, this thread is prompting me to look for a bargain too.

I'll start with a Loto ticket for Saturday's draw.


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## Wizard69 (Jul 13, 2016)

DJP said:


> I do not have a similar Enco feed, in fact I have no auto feed at all and I am convinced that I don't need it. However, this thread is prompting me to look for a bargain too.
> 
> 
> 
> I'll start with a Loto ticket for Saturday's draw.




Power feeds are good!   Perhaps most importantly it keeps the chip load constant.   This is good for tool life and surface finish assuming you set the speed correctly.  

Personally if I had my own mill I'd probably go with stepper motors for accurate speed setting and a future upgrade to CNC.


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## goldstar31 (Jul 13, 2016)

I've recently bought one of these gadgets to fit my Mill/Drill( ?RF30) but they are 110Volts as opposed to our British stuff which comes out of the pipe at 240/250V. Trust us to be different.

However we have pitched the name right- or mine anyway.

It's called-----------------------------ALIGN.

Norman


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## Naiveambition (Jul 14, 2016)

Yes I will agree I can't live without powerfeed, and only had it a week. 
I do wish they made a add on for the z axis quill movement.  Might look more into that one.
 Have often wandered if I could buy a used mill drill and use it for a bolt on direct replacement.  A lot of the round columns have power down feed, and can be picked up on the cheap.
  The heads are the same style. From my research the only real difference being location of the gear selectors. The thought being, if they are in same place would most likely work.   Anyone else with some relevant info? 

Yes I think my X axis powerfeed is from align.  Model numbers are the same but no company markings. The prices range considerably from company to company, but this one seems to be chiming in around 700$. So for my 275$ ima not griping at all.  And on a side note this one is 110v also, but in manual it talks about a capacitor hookup of some sorts to handle 220/250 volts. But I'm sure you already know that. 
Also seen somewhere the inch lbs conversions that were stated as useable 130 - 150 in lbs with a higher max inch lbs like 500 etc. still more than what I ordered:thumbup:
I finished a small part for my current project , finish is much nicer and consistent. And the best was saving me on time and body wear.

So with powerfeed and dro additions in the last 3 months, I can as stated above  , break more tools and ruin parts faster, with more precision than ever before


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## DJP (Jul 14, 2016)

As much as I envy newer machines with aids to better machining I as stuck in a previous age with very basic machine tools (Southbend and Burke). The lathe is over 70 years old and the mill is a quirky conversion of horizontal to vertical.

Still, they suit my needs and I am not going into business of mass producing parts on contract. So the bottom line is that spending money to upgrade these machines has no justification. However, winning the lottery on Saturday would allow me to buy an entire new shop fillied with the latest metal working machines. I might even leap ahead to the next era to get a 3D printer. 

If my moons are aligned I'll rejoin this discussion after Saturday.


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## petertha (Jul 14, 2016)

What is the model number of yours? I think I have the same or similar Align that is secured to table end by clamping into the table pocket. I&#8217;m happy with it. The torque & speeds seem well suited to my RF-45 & that attachment style was less fuss than integrating the plate/leadscrew style of the larger unit. There used to be a clear & dramatic price distinction between their bigger torque units. But for some reason the local Busy Bee here lists both for same price. I found the same thing, prices all over the map. Ended up getting Align (brand name) through some ebay reseller at the time. I think there might be cheaper versions of this too, but can&#8217;t say for sure. 

http://www.busybeetools.com/products/power-feeder-for-milling-machines-al500px.html
max torque = 780 in-lb    Price 465$ = 357$U

http://www.busybeetools.com/products/power-feeder-var-speed.html
max torque =560 in lbs  Price 465$ = 357$U

http://www.bestlinepro.com/prod01.htm


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## petertha (Jul 14, 2016)

Align
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Milling-mac...533047?hash=item2ef1947177:g:VXAAAOSw7XZXhABh

non-Align?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-AXIS-POWE...014295?hash=item3604198117:g:Kc0AAOSw9N1Vz~v2


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