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Drill Press > Milling machine conversion--Worklog

K

killernoodle

2[H]4U
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Aug 4, 2002
Messages
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Ok, all you guys know that the key to making waterblocks and other cool metal crap is to have access to a milling machine. While many people have their own CNC machines grrrr... jFettig grrrrr...., the rest of us have no more than a drill press. Well, today us drill pressers will rise up and show those millers what we're made of!

Enough with the small talk. Here are my plans. These plans may change somewhere along the build, but as of now this is what I have to accomplish:

1. Buy cheap drill press
2. Asess problems with said cheap drill press
3. Solve problems and order new pieces (if necessary)
4. Buy suitable XY Compound slide table with accurate measuring devices onboard.
5. Cut, weld, bolt, ect. until it all fits and works.
6. Mill some crap up!!!

Well, I already have #1 accomplished and have begun work on #2. I went to lowes today and bought the Delta Shopmaster 10" press for $95 (thanks to my mom and her employee discount card, W00T!). It runs very smooth, is quite solid, but still needs to be modified from its current condition. Here are things that would make it a good milling machine:

1. Rigidity, Rigidity, Rigidity.
2. Better Z axis (vertical) travel mecanism for more accurate travel.
3. Heavier duty base, possible permanenet attachment to a benchtop.
4. Lubrication system
5. Better chuck for holding end mills (the included chuck is of good quality, so we'll see about that)
6. Maybe a change in gearing for faster travel or maybe a stronger/faster motor (probably not necessary)
7. A good XY compound slide table and vise to hold and move the workpiece. This is absolutely essential to the modification.

My goals are to produce a Mill for under $200, so the drill press and compound table should take care of 90% of this. Anything else will have to be small stuff. I'll take some pics of the drill as it is now and under different stages of development.

Wish me luck! I hope someone learns something from my worklog :D
 
Be sure to have a look at the bearings in the drill press. Drill presses just aren't designed for lateral forces so there isn't much focus put into making that area strong, especially in very cheap drill presses. It sounds like you know what you are doing, though. If only I had the money for even a drill press. :(
 
Mills don't necessarily need steppers. CNC mills, on the other hand...
 
No, this wont be CNC.... yet.... yeah, a manual mill is all I need now and all I can afford now. I think the bearings in this drill press are actually quite good. I'm going to measure their runout (how much they move around and jiggle and stuff) with a super sensetive thingy I found in my dad's shop. Basically, you put this little wristwatch looking thing on the drill and make the probe sit on the end of the chuck, Then you try to see if you can push and pull the chuck and measure how much it moves side to side. Kinda hard to explain, but yeah, it will work.
 
Pics of the machine :D
DSCF0007.jpg

DSCF0011.jpg

DSCF0015.jpg

DSCF0006.jpg
 
thats true, i was under the impression he wanted to build a robotic milling machine.....or maybe i'm just thinking everything robotic because of all the work i've been doing.

xonik said:
Mills don't necessarily need steppers. CNC mills, on the other hand...
Click to expand...
 
I'm working on a similar project but unfortunately have very limited time and I'm working with an ancient cummings 1HP press. Some things to consider..

1. The main bearings are not designed to handle radial forces. They will wear out quickly.

2. You can get a fairly good milling table for around $ 150.00 but the nuts will be total crap and have a ton of backlash. You'll have to make new nuts - preferably out of a hard machinable plastic like Delrin.

3. For your Z-axis that's a bit tougher. While you can adapt the main rack system to something more precise (you'll also have to preload it) it won't work well because it's just not stiff enough. A better (and harder) solution is to design a screw system that moves the whole press assembly up and down. You can maintain your rigidity and you get better repeatability but you'll also have to deal with the weight of the whole thing.

4. Chucks usually don't work that well holding milling tooling. You may also have to change that system to something more universal based on interchangable collets.

There are a few more things but I'm out of time now. Maybe I'll add more later. I'm interested in any results you have as well. This could be a fun and useful project to do :)
 
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