iGaging DRO for the Bridgeport Quill (DIY)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- I recently fitted a small iGaging EZview Plus DRO with a remote LCD display to the quill of my Bridgeport. Keen to avoid a lot of heartache and pain, I rapid prototyped the bracketry in laser cut acrylic so as to ensure that the parts fitted correctly and I had sufficient clearance on the moving parts. The second part of this series will show how I will remake the parts in metal.
You can download the digital model of this DRO here grabcad.com/library/igaging-d...
The model of DRO I purchased can be found here www.timbecon.com.au/igaging-e...
Email me if you would like the DXF files for the brackets (free) - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
"It's not a museum piece" you say, but it sure looks like one. Great job on the finish!
Ha. I was thinking the EXACT same. Shoot, any museum would be ecstatic to have something this beautiful on display!!
Actually, I saw a post on the home made tools forum a few days ago where the very first Bridgeport mill, serial number S38-001 is on display at the American Precision Museum in Windsor, Vermont. It is however in it's un-restored condition.
www.homemadetools.net/forum/worlds-first-bridgeport-mill-photos-80596?fi=162790#post162790
Agreed. Preso's quite modest. As I look at the machine in the various shots in the video, it's got quite a pleasant appearance, neither too fancy and polished, nor too rough and dull. Should be a pleasure to use every day.
@@Preso58 Yours is better, It is a corrected model working in metric :p. And looks nicer.
Mark, it is always a pleasure to watch a man who knows what he's doing and who pays attention to details too. Congratulations for a job well done!
Except for the horizontal head. LOL
I am in full redemption mode at present. I have dismantled it and taken all the original paint off. I have also made a new instruction plate for it. I am just cranky that I will have to mix more paint and get all the spray gear out again.
Regards,
Mark
Mark, early in my career, two of our Industrial Machinery experts came to me about a machine whose "handwheel" continually spun when the table was in auto-feed. The spinning protruding handle was a hazard and had injured more than one Machinist. We basically copied a spring-loaded handwheel from another brand machine as a replacement on the offending machine. The spring "pushed" the handwheel out of engagement, but was easily over-ridden by the Machinists when they needed to manually adjust the position of the knee (or table). If your "now-plastic" handwheel's handle appears to be a hazard or a PITA, you could cast a new wheel, with the "spring-loaded disengagement" mechanism machined into it, when you actually replace the plastic handwheel.
I'm looking forward to your upcoming "Bridgeport" videos!
Bob, anecdotally, it seems that most Bridgeport users never use the handwheel anyway. In the limited time I have been using the Bridgeport I cannot think why it would be of much use. I guess I am just keen to see if it can be replicated as a casting. We had a large Pacific universal mill at work which had rapid feeds on all three axes and it had a spring loaded handle as you described. It would have been big enough and heavy enough to do some serious damage if it spun under the power feed. In fact, one of the teachers who was unfamiliar with the mill hit the power feed rapid while he had the handle pressed on to the spline and it nearly broke his wrist.
Regards,
Mark
Lovely tidy work, as always! And it is great to hear the vertical travel scale properly pronounced as "Zed"!
Craig, I blame Sesame Street for the whole "zee" thing!
Hi ZEE
another americanism that I also hate.. i was watching a yank doing a landcruser mod and he was working in inches ( which is fair enough) .. then he measured and came up with a TEN THIRTY SECONDS dimension 5/16 we love our American brothers .. Dug Hogarth South Africa
Hogarth South Hogarth
The mill looks Awesome love that colour. Nicely done such a big job, you knocked it out quickly
Yes, I like the colour too. Very calming!
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Great job you've done. Is that the original color?
@@williamgreen3316 hi that is the original color when I had my own toolmaking shop we bought a brand new bridgeport in that colour in about 1984.. it was an Adcock and Shipley machine made or assembled in South Africa and the J type head was made in Singapore believe it or not.. incidentally it was the worst bridgeport in the
Toolroom t( we had 3 ) although it was the newest.? The other machines were from UK Adcock and Shipley in the the old familiar grey colour.... they all had the terrible bridgeport x axis feed which we replaced with the tiawan jobs.. incidentally I would no recommend bridgeport mills there are cheaper and better machines on the market such as Lagun and Kondia . Ramboudi and the tiawanes mills that come in various different names.. funny what we waffle about when locked down on xmas day.. keep safe Dud Hogarth South Africa
Hey Mark great channel. Im in the States and never cared to learn metric until a couple of good friends from Queensland helped me on some construction jobs. They were as lost to imperial measurements as I was to metric. Bad thing here is shopping online is the only way to get metric tape measures and in the 90's there was no online. I went to work for Austal USA a few years ago and of course all of our measurements are in metric. After learning the metric system I can say it is far more accurate and by far easier to do anything that requires measurements when done in metrics. Today my shop operates on metric. I love your mill and lathe and am quiet envious.
I am old enough to have experienced both imperial and metric systems. Australia went cold turkey on imperial in the mid 70's and most people just accepted it and moved on. I learned all my woodworking, metalworking and geometrical drawing in imperial until the end of high school and when I started at teacher training college we had moved to metric. I don't recall any real issues. We just got on with it. The thing that I love about metric is the relationships between systems of measurement are all related. A litre of water weighs a kilogram. How good is that!
Regards,
Mark
Nothing is perfect just within livable tolerance.
Bridgeport is looking really nice. Nice looking paint job.
Have a great day God Bless.
Thanks 👍
It's the exact same Bridgeport I work.. it looks beautiful.
I love that angled set screw in the spigot. Great solution!
it's not my idea but it works a treat.
Regards,
Mark
Beautiful job on the Bridgeport paint job, the machine looks fantastic! It occurs to me that the strap that connects the DRO to the aluminum plug could have a pointer on the end that would line up with the original scale. Obviously not necessary but it might be nice for those "not so critical" jobs. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your excellent videos!
The Bridgeport looks great Mark! Nice job.
So beautiful. You have worked wonders to ‘ refurbish ‘ the Bridgeport to such a high standard. It will be such a joy to use. 👏👏👌😀👍
Another great Video Mark. That Bridgeport is looking a million dollars and what a coincidence I have the exact same model work light on my Bridgeport. One of the first things I fitted to my machine was the digital scale to the quill, and like you I also offset to allow access to the adjustable stop. It is such a handy addition to the machine and takes the guess work out of depth especially when counter-boring for socket headed cap screws.
Cam
I pinched that worklight off a big Russian shaper that we had at work. It was dangling off the side of the machine and no one could be bothered to fix it. I took it home and after 6 months nobody noticed that it was gone so I figured it now belonged to me. I have seen dozens of them on Instagram just recently. They must have been fitted to just about every machine in Australia!
Regards,
Mark
Looks beautiful!
Its looking great! And thanks for the ideas and the lessons.
It looks great! I really like that grub screw idea too
Mike, I cannot claim credit for that design but it works great.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 No need to claim it, I just appreciate that you shared it. I probably would've put too much time and energy into trying to make an expanding arbor or some type of wedge.
I really enjoy watching your videos without owning such machines.
Wow, that paint job. Beautiful 😍! Thanks for sharing, Mark! Cheers 👍😁👍
A much nicer machine to use and keep clean than what you started with Mark. Very well done and I'm suitably impressed with how well it turned out. And nicely done coming up with a proper method of mounting that spindle dro that still allows clearance to the rest of the mills parts.Fwiw and due to the slight increase in cost's between the off shore 2 & 3 axis dro's I'd sure recommend going to a full 3 axis dro with a knee scale once you get to that point. As you already know keeping the spindle fully retracted and making those Z axis movements with the knee is the much better method. Other than drilling, tapping or boring I seldom ever use the spindle movement for anything else. With very small cutting tools it probably makes no difference, but for anything larger it does.
Thanks for that. I have been investigating the TouchDRO system which makes use of an Android app and a wireless link which connects the scales to to a tablet or Android phone which then operates as a display. It is capable of displaying up to four axes and a tachometer as well. I wondered why many Bridgeport users only used a 2 axis DRO for the X and Y travel but relied on a separate Z axis scale on the quill only. Some well known machinists on TH-cam that I watch regularly seemed to set their depth of cut using the quill only and I wondered if that was wise for the reasons that you have outlined. I am guessing they have very new and accurate machines but on an older mill it is probably best to keep the quill as short as possible. Hopefully I will have some updates on the scale issue soon.
Regards,
Mark
You did a really nice job on the Bridgeport Mark! I've had mine almost two years and it has become my favorite machine in the shop. That's a good tip about using the spring to hold the angle block. I will be using that in the future. Thanks for another good video!!
Hi Mark,
An enjoyable video... I like the mix of old and new (Carbon fibre) shelf.
Take care
Paul,,
A place for everything; everything in its place. Nice!
Temporary rigs last an amazingly long time in my workshop! Excellent work Preso. The casting will be interesting, and I look forward to seeing the finished aluminium bracketry. Cheers, Craig
Craig, I am still using the "temporary" plywood pulley on my sand muller!
Regards,
Mark
Always a pleasure mate, great job!!
Very nicely done.
The mill is fantastic, and the z read out mount is great
Nice work Mark. Its looking like it should. Another great video and hopefully you can mill something now to make life easy. Cheers
Terrific on all counts. I’m inspired!
More great content! I think I'm going to go that same route with my Bridgeport clone. Thanks for sharing!
nice job on restoring it, looks good, sounds good.
I am glad that someone finds it to be not so noisy! I watched the last video and wondered if I was kidding myself when I stated that I was pleased with the results of the restoration. The camera microphone makes it sound much noisier than it sounds in real life. However I watched a video by Joe Piezinski today and his mill sounds the same as mine. He has a very nice and near new Bridgeport clone so I don't feel to bad about the racket.
Regards,
Mark
Thanks for sharing! You really did an excellent job. Hope you get years of service out of her,
A tip on that cord. Wrap it around a 15mm round bar and hit it with a little heat. It’ll turn that cord into a coil that has spring to it. It’ll allow you to not have it flooding around while using it☺️
Ideally, I would cut it shorter but it has a moulded on plug at one end and it disappears into the read head on the other. I have seen that trick to turn a straight cord into a curly cord and I have been dying to try it.
Regards,
Mark
Mark, your notes about _proper_ measuring units are always funny. I grow up also with metric system and now living in America I am curious - how these guys made it to the moon with all their inches, feet and pounds :)
I know! I made a steam engine from castings and used the original drawings with measurements like 29/64th" Sometimes you need to divide by 2 to find a centre, now we are into 128ths. I can use both but I believe that the USA, Liberia and Myanmar are the only holdouts using imperial units. Liberia have made the imperial system optional with a view to phasing it out. There you go, give them an inch and they'll take a mile. 😁
Looks very nice Preso.
Great job on the bracket .
Great looking mill, looking forward to some swarf being generated 👍.
Thanks for sharing, regards John.
Thanks 👍
looking great! Good video
I was curious how these dro's installed and I'm glad I did. Good LORD that sensor is HUGE. Its three times the size it should be!
I agree but I am guessing that it's something to do with the structure of the transducer. I have since fitted the same type of scale to the X and Y axes and because they are longer the relative size of the reader seems to be much smaller.
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark, nice refurb/paint job on the Bridgeport. Looks like its just come out of the showroom. Regards Kevin
looking great
Good Show Mate...as always. That is one pretty B'port. I have no doubt that you will have a nice cast hand wheel shortly. I always look forward to your vids. I am only slightly jealous.
Looks great
She pretty
Good job, MP
'If ya can't make it permanent,
at least make it adjustable'
- JS
Presso 's in love!!!
Great addition to a awesome looking Bridgeport! I'm jealous!
Very neat Reston of the old girl.
Sounds like there might be a bit left to do on the workings....
I have been procrastinating on fitting my quill DRO being stuck on a satisfactory method of attachment to the quill displays ..hole(?)..
Good solution, removable, adjustable, rigid enough!
BTW, don't muck about with only fitting X & Y DRO scales.. and soon!
The 3 axis set ups are bugger all more expensive, a little more to fit, but you will never regret having the knee Z scale, use it ALL the time!
Much better rigidity and more precise depth control using the knee for most Z movements.
I only use the quill for drilling, reaming, tapping and gauging basically.
Anyways, thank you for the video.
Carl, I struggled with planning the DRO setup for this mill for some time. I had glass scales on my old mill but it didn't have a quill. I have moved on and fitted iGaging scales to the X and Y axis and they are working but I didn't like the individual LCD displays, each of which has it's own on/off switch. A viewer told me about the TouchDRO system that uses a bluetooth wireless adaptor and an Android device as the display. I have ordered the TouchDRO gubbins and I think that will be accurate enough for what I do. The TouchDRO software will display four axes so if I decide to fit a scale on the knee later on it's not a big deal. There are so many compromises with all the various technologies when it comes to DRO's and what is most accurate is not necessarily the most durable and trouble free.
Regards,
Mark
That resto is mint Preso!
Great video. You've turned the mill into workshop queen. A little smudge here and there would be appreciated. Fun stuff, thank you.
I will almost certainly cry a little bit the first time I drop something and chip the paint.
Love the video. Thank you
Very nice restoration! I’ve been looking at installing a quill dro. Two things holding me back are that I want to retain the analog scale and also keep enough room for quick release quill stop. Using your mounting method with a slight mod may be just the ticket. Thanks for sharing.
Bill, that was my motivation for mounting the scale where I did. I may upgrade later to the TouchDRO system which can interface directly with the iGaging scale.
I have some Delrin round stock on order and will be using it to build a demagnetizer based on your design. Thanks Mark!!
David, you won't regret spending the time on it. It's still one of the most useful tools that I have in my shop.
Regards,
Mark
Mark, great paint job on the machine, best I have have seen on a machine. Also all those ID plates look like there re done by you or they were in good condition allready. Love watching you channel
Gary, I did restore the cast name plates. They were originally grey and somewhat damaged. I powdercoated them in red and clear coated over them. The hardest part was making new rivets to hold them on. The originals were an unusual type and I was unable to find replacements.
Regards,
Mark
Presso, good job as always! I live in the U.S ( michigan) and all this talk of the proper units of measurments reminds me...if I make a demagnitizer will I have to switch my poles around since I am North of the equator ? Signed , stuck on chips in Flushing! HAHAHA ...
You will just have to hold your demag tool upside down to make it work. 😁
good performance
I hope you like your DRO set better than I do. I bought what appears to be an identical set for my Atlas lathe since they were so small, and I found them to be very sluggish, and not all that accurate, especially for use on the cross slide. They're also missing some functions I really enjoy having. On my Index 645 mill, I picked up a 3 axis DRO kit for a few hundred USD, and while it is an import, and the manual is hard to read, I prefer it by far. That said, the scales are much larger, so more difficult to mount, and I'm still missing one for my quill. Anyway, your mill is looking great!
I will be getting a conventional DRO set for the X and Y on the table. I had an import 3 axis Sino on my old mill but it went with the mill when I sold it. The iGaging unit is a bit laggy and the buttons have to be pressed firmly to register but it is compact and probably a bit more rugged than a glass scale. I didn't need any of the geometry functions on the quill travel so it should do the job. I have already noticed that it doesn't always return to zero but put it down to flexing in the acrylic components. When they get replaced with aluminium it should improve.
Regards,
Mark
Well done Preso. The paint looks so glossy. Bridgeport looks so clean and, well, shiny new. The attention to detail in the job is exceptional. Nice tight compact Quill DRO fitment. Really liked the prototype confirmation build. As for the quill fine feed handle wheel I could not agree more. Poor form from Bridgeport. A nice casting with a black finish will be a premium product. The plastic wheel is expensive garbage. Most notable is the hand wheel is often missing from a second hand Bridgeport.
I am wondering if Bridgeport made it from plastic as a safety measure. It seems like it could easily fall off the shaft and land on one's foot. It seems odd that everything else on the mill is made from quality materials.
Regards,
Mark
super nice - 👍😎👍
Thank you 👍
I have been using iGaging scales on X and Y for over 2 years.
One of the scales had to be replaced within few months because it would skip by random number when changing direction of the move.
Repeatability is still a problem. After a few repeated back & forth moves it usually ends up off by as much as 0.05 mm. While this is within the manufacturing specs, it is worse than medium quality digital caliper (I usually get them return to zero within 0.01mm) and nowhere near Mitutoyo caliper that returns to zero at 0.00mm.
In short - don’t trust it completely and recalibrate zero position to the reference point often.
My new mill is getting 3-axis DRO set with glass scales. After frequent frustrating experiences with iGaging DRO the $300 price of the glass scale set seems worth it.
I have been doing a lot of soul searching about the choice of scales for the Bridgeport. I was told about the TouchDRO system which uses a wireless link and an Android app to display the units on a single screen. It will work on any Android device. On the TouchDRO website it discusses the pro's and con's of the three main types of scales and it is really confusing. I had initially decided to use glass scales on the X and Y axes but they are delicate and require really accurate setting up. The iGaging style of displays are known to be slow to update and can suffer from ground loops and interference from VFD's and the like but according to the TouchDRO website they are more durable and easier to set up than magnetic and glass scales. I am still trying to decide which way to go but I have lots more projects in the pipeline so I guess it will have to wait. Trust me, I lose sleep over problems like this!
Regards,
Mark
Hi mark, been watching for a while, you realize some of the cheaper 3 axis dro also feature using a 4th scale, one for the quill and one for the knee, which it adds together to give you the z axis position. you may even be able to incorporate that i gage scale rather than by a 4th, just felt i had to add this comment as soon as you said "ill be getting a 2 axis dro" .
Ah, well, things have moved on since I made the statement regarding the conventional 2 axis DRO. I just purchased two more iGaging scales and I am negotiating to buy a TouchDRO bluetooth adaptor so I can use an Android tablet as a display. The software has some really cool geometry features and it has a semi graphical interface. It will accept 4 axes and a tachometer but with the iGaging scales the best I can get is 1/100th of a millimetre rather than the micron accuracy you can get from a very good glass scale. Many people have told me about the ability to do Z axis summing but at this point I will just be happy with X, Y and the quill movement.
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark Always interested in what you are doing. Instead of solidly mounting the DRO head to the mill, would a short flexible spring steel drag link be a better option. It would allow things to self align without putting any stress on the DRO. Just a thought. Cheers John
as an old moulder i would love to make your hand wheel but i live in the uk scotland cant wait to see the outcome
Don't get your hopes up too high. I can make a hash of event the most basic casting.
Regards,
Preso
great explanation, one thing that I have observed is that in my opinion the scale is mounted upside down , because it counts up while going down...(just my view)
Mariano, I handn't noticed that the scale was reading positive on the way down. As it turns out, it won't be a problem since I have decided to purchase a TouchDRO bluetooth adaptor and two more iGaging scales. The interface on the TouchDRO allows you to switch between positive and negative reading and the remote LCD screen is no longer used. I should be doing a follow up video on that soon.
Regards,
Mark
ps i love your work
I have a strong aversion towards rotary converters. Inefficiency and noise. Oh noise! There’s enough noise in my shops. I’d much rather have my individual VFDs.
Trust me, I went through every conceivable scenario when trying to decide which way to go with the single phase to three phase conundrum. My biggest issue was that I have a single phase 240V supply and the mill motor and coolant pump are 415V. Then there is the X axis power feed that is fed from a single phase and earth through a 110V transformer. I could not find a single VFD that would take care of everything without some serious rewiring. I am definitely not an electrician and it seemed to be a simple solution to use the RPC and just plug in the mill and have everything work as if it was taking a regular 415V three phase supply. Yes, the noise is a pain but I can at least use the RPC to power another piece of equipment if I ever get it. A surface grinder comes to mind! I do use VFD's on my little CNC mill and my drill press but they were much easier machines to convert.
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark lovely restoration on bridgeport. As a ancient pensioner I get absolutely knackered winding the Z axis up and down .. any chance you could come up with some sort of motor drive to move the table up and down ( not to be used as a feed but just as a rapid traverse) . I know you can buy an Align unit but they are very pricey here in south africa .. thanks again for interesting video .. keep safe Dug Hogarth
One option that I have been considering is an adapter that you fit into a cordless drill. H&W Machine Repair sell them www.machinerypartsdepot.com/product/JF7077331 or you could make your own. The teeth don't need to be much more than round pins to drive the shaft. th-cam.com/video/Xvt0VN0fpUE/w-d-xo.html
Regards,
Mark
In the 43 years of running machinery (and Bridgeports included) I cannot recall ever using the quill fine feed hand wheel for any reason. Maybe I missed something along the way. 😉
I have noticed that most Bridgeport users rarely have the handle fitted to the machine. I am in no hurry to make the casting but I thought it would be an interesting project to get started with irregular parting lines in moulds.
Regards,
Mark
@Joe Blogs I can see where slamming your noggin into the handle could lead up to a life changing event. Cause:Operational tunnel vision. I've wacked my head on the just about every machine I've operated at least once. Especially with on a large Kernny & Trecker 420 horizontal mills ram.
Hi there, great video, and a much better solution than the ones using the scale screws! I'd like the dxf files for the brackets if you still have them.
Try here. www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rjbatuwxv8xs2dfj2ojav/h?rlkey=pugq2qylth0daj69bqyvt2rft&dl=0
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark, have you looked at, or come across 'Touchdro' ? it is a diy project that uses the igaging scales, an android tablet and either an Arduino or Texas instruments development board. Iv'e built two now, one for the mill and one for the lathe. Really cheap to build, and excellent to use. It does away with the igaging display, and is powered by a standard 240v to usb adapter.
Regards, Richard.
Richard, I have just googled it and bookmarked it. Thanks for the tip
Wow Mark some blood sweat and probably some tears have gone into the refurbishment
Plenty of tears and bad words while I was working on the quill housing. More than half the parts are in that one small casting. So many grub screws, snap rings and gears. It's all got to go back in the correct order too. Some parts went in and out five times before I got it fully assembled. The lower half of the mill was a breeze by comparison.
Regards,
Mark
5:24 Makes me wonder if there is such a kit with 4 linear scales where two of them work differentially on a single "zed" axis display. When you raise the quill, the display counts up, and when you raise the knee, the display counts down. Hmmm 🤔
Having repaired a fair bit of industrial machinery, crappy handwheels are uniquely and particularly annoying. I kept having to remind myself that I was working on equipment that just wasn't intended to last as long as it did. That it managed to outlast some of its minor parts is still a testimony of sound design and quality. EG, great cars often outlast their wheel covers
Greg, apparently there are DRO systems that use Z axis summing. This allows the Z display to keep track of the tool point regardless of whether you move the quill or the knee. It does mean that you need to have two separate scales for the Z axis though. Until I purchased the Bridgeport it wasn't an issue for me since my old mill didn't have a quill. The Adcock and Shipley Bridgeport that I have now has very good micrometer dials calibrated in hundredths of a millimetre so I can get better than 1 thousandths of an inch just using the dials. The rubbish plastic handwheel fitted to the Bridgeport seems to be a common issue for many owners. Having said that, most users claim that they rarely find a use for it.
Regards,
Mark
He's gonna need a bigger shed soon.
Or he's going to have to sell one of his cars!
@@Preso58 if you live in town selling a car might be the only option.
What a Great job you did refinishing that mill. Look's great Mark, but you need to talk to the guy's on 2nd shift. They forgot to paint the 90 Degree head. I can't believe those guy's would mess up like that. I even reminded them from way up here in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle area. (Rolling my eye's now. LOL) Question are you going to update the Mill Handle to a (car like) Steering Wheel Handle? Are you going to either purchase or make a light that goes around the spindle? Can I ask a small favor, throw some dirt or something on the floor, it's way to clean. It's supposed to be a shop, not a hospital surgery room.
I went part way to redeeming myself today. I stripped and primed the horizontal head. I even made a new aluminium instruction plate for it! I am not sure I will adopt the racing wheel quill handle. It seems rather bulky although I watched a video by Woods Creek Shop where he fitted one to his Bridgeport. I have a nice new (refurbished) light to go on the mill shortly but I do like the LED ring lights that fit to the end of the quill. I have two of the bare ring lights sitting in a box and the intention was to add them to both my mills at some point. I must say I love watching the Tally Ho videos by the Sampson Boat Company. I often see some of the scenery around the Olympic Mountains and Port Townsend where we visited a few years ago. I recall Port Townsend being one of the cleanest and neatest towns we had visited the whole time we were in the USA. Sadly, it's all memories now. I can't see us travelling much in the immediate future.
Regards,
Mark Presling
That's a beautiful paint job!!! Are you sure about those bearings it didn't sound too good.
The noise you most likely heard is the drive belt, they are pretty stiff. Another thing, the belt can become hard if it sets for a long period will get a memory or a flat spot. Running it regularly will soften the belt and make it more pliable, but it will still make some noise. That's just the nature of the split pulley drive.
Knowing how thorough Mark is, I'd venture to say he has researched and checked it a few times. 😉
The directional microphone on the camera makes the machine sound a lot noisier than it does in real life. The RPC adds some noise too. However I will replace the spindle bearings at some point. A lot of the noise is coming from the varidrive belt. It looked to be in very good condition when I took it out and I did replace the motor bearings and the plastic bushes and keys but I agree it still sounds noisy.
Regards,
Mark
you need a guard on the blue motor drive. the yellow part
I agree. I haven't actually had the RPC running that much but now the mill's back together it will have to be seen to.
Regards,
Mark
Mark Presling sorry to be picky but I’d never forgive myself if you or someone else got hurt. The mill looks impressive. You’ve done a great job!
Beautiful work. Very impressed. Will buy it from you! How about $100?
I would check with China! Just today a Chinese company asked me to give them the DXF files for the metal parts I made. They are a commercial company and I can only assume they are planning to mass produce the system and sell it as their own work. There was no mention of payment or a trade of any kind. I don't think I will be responding to them but I guess it wont' stop them reverse engineering the parts and taking it anyway.
Regards,
Mark
you can buy a new usb plug and re-solder the connections to shorten the wire.
Geoffrey, I am holding off making any mods just yet. I am considering upgrading to a TouchDRO system that uses a wireless link and an Android device to serve as a display unit. Hopefully I will have some updates on that soon.
Regards,
Mark
How's the battery life on that Igaging display? Any lag time between movements and displayed values?
Since making that video I have fitted a TouchDRO unit to my mill and added three more iGaging scales to the X, Y and knee. The individual LCD displays were removed and the scales now send their pulses direct to the TouchDRO via the microUSB cables. The power to the TouchDRO unit also supplies power to the scales so the batteries are no longer required. There is still some lag but it's really only noticeable on the quill movements because it is possible to move that scale fairly quickly. However the TouchDRO uses a lot of firmware tricks to smooth out the displayed movements.
Here is the link to one of the videos that I did on TouchDRO th-cam.com/video/ISrZOGwK41o/w-d-xo.html
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58
Thanks Mark. I appreciate it.
What brand and model of laser do you have?
Keith, it's a Chinese no name 50watt CO2 laser but I have done a lot of modifications and upgrades to it. The main upgrade was to fit a LightObject digital signal processor and a motorised Z axis. I also had to completely strip and repaint the sheetmetal covers. The original paint was applied over bare steel with no surface prep and it had started corroding under the paint and lifting off.
Regards,
Mark
Look up Yuri's Toys for I-Gaging DRO interface using a tablet. They work fantastic...and cheap!
Someone else has already sent me there. I have downloaded the app on my tablet and it looks great. I have priced out most of the hardware and to be honest it's no cheaper than a mid priced Chinese import DRO but I like the functionality and I'm a bit of a sucker for non conventional solutions. The only issue is the delivery time which is currently measured in months!
Regards,
Preso
@@Preso58 Thats a bummer on shipping.... I also have a 4 axis LCD DRO from Reeson Tools dot com I got the 1 micron magnetic scales and so far it has worked flawless. The scales are very slim, around 6-8mm, and you can cut them to length. It makes for a very clean install.... Whichever way you go best of luck! BTW Great videos!!
Some peanut forgot to paint the horizontal head... :)
Tell me about it! I had it sitting on the bench during the restoration but somehow overlooked it completely. It is a real pain to mix up the paints but I have some left so I just have to find the motivation to do it.
Regards,
Preso
@@Preso58 I could hear it so clearly in your voice :)
Sacrilege, using metric fasteners on a Bridgeport.
lol, I thought the same
Think of it as evolution...
@@somebodyelse6673 More like just putting your Toes in the water to test the Temperature. And everyone know's Metric is so cold, whereas Imperial is so warm. If you believe that, I have some soon to be ocean front property in Arizona {Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States,} I like to talk to you about. Wink, Wink. Sure it will be ocean front, as soon as the State of California falls into the abyss. Could happen any day now, counting in 3 - 2 ??????