Mill – Mods & Upgrades

I no sooner got my machines setup and then I started planning upgrades.  Some of them were just for fun, but as I began to use them I discovered some of the upgrades were more necessary.

I guess it is presumed that anyone who is a machinist is also a mechanic, because owning a machine means occasionally tearing it down and reassembling it.  Tuning is an important aspect of ownership, because having developed a feel for its operation you will also develop a feel for when it needs to be tuned.

I burned up a spindle motor and two controllers in the early months of my ownership.  I concluded that one or the other (or both) needed to be upgraded so I began a search for a suitable replacement.  I decided the motor will be ok if the controller is smart enough to protect it, so that’s where I focus my investment.  The Spindle Motor Controller was a good choice because it constrained me to the operational limits of the motor.

I also decided that the whole mill was just a little short, so I set out to stretch it out a little.  I liked the long size of the X-axis travel, so that is fine.  I suppose the Y-axis would do with a little extra travel, but I decided to save that until I had some driving need for it.  Presently the only need I could put my head around was increasing the Z-axis travel and maximum height, so I designed and built a Lift Kit to give me several more inches to relieve the tight fit of some of the tooling I find necessary.

Under normal operation, this cute little mill can produce a TON of chips and scatter them around in every direction for several feet.  Add to that the coolant that gets flung all over me and everything else – What a mess!!!  I’ve considered a big box, and also a little box, but just couldn’t strike a balance between chip and coolant containment and practical use of shop real estate.  The Shielding and Containment I’ve come up with still requires stopping after each operation and getting out the vacuum and cleaning up the place, but it’s just a little overspray now rather than the fire-hose it was before.

Almost from the very first par I made on my little machines I decided I need a better way of dynamic measurement than was implicit to the machine, so I started imagining solutions.  I found multiple recommendations and converged on a package that was complementary yet reasonable.  I think the Digital Read-Out (DRO) I selected and installed is a pretty good choice.  I’ve very happy with it.

I suppose if I was running my shop as a for-profit business I might scrutinize my expenses a little more prudently, but for now, since it’s all just for fun, I’m not too constrained by expenses.  (Ok, that’s not exactly true, but I only have to balance it against what my wife will let me get away with, rather than what will assure a positive bottom-line.)  I have a number of ideas I’ve been toying with, that in time I’ll add to my box of tricks.  Here is of my WIP and WISH list for Possible Future Upgrade Projects.