Build Your Own Spindle Head?

[Str8jacket]

I have been on the lookout for a turret head for my universal mill, a second hand bridgeport or clone but have had zero luck in finding one. There doesnt seem to be any machine tool recycling in Australia?
I could buy a whole mill but i dont think i can strip a decent mill? I dont have room for a second machine. In reality i should have bought a turret mill instead of the monster ive got but a lot of my planned "experiments" need a large table. I would really like the ability to drill and have the quill function. I do have the vertical head and can drill with the knee but trying to manual drill with 1/2 ton of knee is heavy work and on power feed it is more than a little scary! Theres no give anywhere in this beast if i make stuff up its going to be monumental!

So what are my options for piecing together a vertical head myself? I have a 5hp motor and 10hp vfd already. I even have a servo drive just need a servo for quill function.

Ive thought about buying a second hand spindle off a cnc machine that you see on ebay but really dont know what to look for and there are some dovetail slide units around or i could buy some really beefy linear guides. Most will need to be shipped from the states to Australia so i dont want to make a mistake.

I would be happy with a h an r roberts style setup but who can afford that?

Any idea's?

 

[John_Dennis]

You may have to contact the local scrap yards. You can also ask the local machine tool supplier and machine tool moving company.

 

[Str8jacket]

You may have to contact the local scrap yards. You can also ask the local machine tool supplier and machine tool moving company.

Ive tried mate. Called dozens of places No one has anything. They just go quiet on the other end of the phone like they're talking to a crazy person. Which they are but how can they know that

 

[Str8jacket]

Anyone had experience with chinese made belt drive spindles ? Looking on alibaba there a hundreds of options. One of the cartridges for a cnc with a bt40 nose would be perfect.
Wondering what would be better some way of making the motor fixed and a quill arangement or have the whole assembly on a slide for the z axis? Would be heavy and pretty much eliminate hand feeding up and down. But then would be less complicated.

 

[Andre]

You might be able to find a lathe headstock on ebay for cheap. Most Logan and newer Atlas/Craftsman units have angular contact Timkin taper roller bearings which can take milling forces and can be replaced fairly inexpensively. You could build a secondary Z axis slide using fully supported linear motion rail and some 1/2" or thicker aluminum plate.

 

[stupoty]

You could make a z-axis like they are made for a gantry router perhaps.

I see a reasonable amount of short linnier slides on ebay as their used for a range of sciencey stuff not just enginearing.

Another way might be one of the milling heads you can add to some of the smaller lathes, might not match the rigidity of a half ton knee though

If you could get one of the rf25 or bigger round coloumn mills you could maybe pinch the quill out of it or cun the casting in half to modd it a bit. (The heads are deceptivly heavey)

Stuart

 

[Str8jacket]

Thanks for the replys, sent me of in a bit more googling. Im looking for something a bit heavier than the rf25. Something with a nt40 size spindle would be perfect. Have been looking at the spindle assemblies from a cnc mill but the setup for the slide or quill would be more complex. More money on some sort of ball spline to separate spindle from motor to still have a quill style z axis function.

 

[Str8jacket]

Anyone built something based on one of these style spindle?




Although im finding it difficult to find a price of a complete unit like these i have been quoted $750 US for a bt30 belt drive cartridge, japanese bearings very nice specs on runout, accuracy and balance. Although i would then need to machine a housing, oil cooling etc.
To use as a drill would be a learning curve.
A bit of beer time thinking last night.......If i have a manual lever for a proportional control feed up and down, in my vfd manual i can program a feedback signal indicating load amps etc, if i use that 10v signal to a external amplifier/servo control off a remote control car etc to a small 12v servo on the manual hand control i could with many hours of messing about have a sort of closed loop feed back on my hand lever, so when drilling etc as load goes up the resistance in the lever to neutral could increase. It wouldnt be as intuitive as a mechanical lever, but it would be better than complete isolation from the work going on.

 

[4GSR]

Anyone built something based on one of these style spindle?

...snip.....

Back in the stone age, I designed and built a "drop in cartridge" mill spindle for a old No. 3 Brown & Sharpe mill I had. It had a National 40 taper, ran on Timken bearings. It replaced the old bronze/babbit bearing spindle that had a no. 11 B & S taper and a big old four step cone pulley. The old mill ran good, zero problems with runout, none detected. It cut a lot of iron for over twenty years. It showed up on Houston Craig's list last summer. So I know its still out there, spindle still in tact. So, yes, it can be done. It did not have a retractable quill.

If you need a spindle with a retractable quill with a no. 40 taper, look for a Acer or Supermax mill head. New price is north of $4K american dollars.

 

[Str8jacket]

You could make a z-axis like they are made for a gantry router

Stuart

I think i might look at doi g something along these lines, sort of like a poor mans vmc!
Thanks 4gsr I had got some pricing for something along those lines about 12months ago, a head direct from taiwan was going to cost at least 5 grand. Its the shipping that kills me where i am.

If i use the vertical head i have now for all heavy machining and set up a highspeed aux z axis using a bt30 spindle block similar to the green ones pictured i should still be able to drill with it shouldnt I? A bt30 holder a drill chuck with a vfd or servo control on the z axis would still work ? Or should i pay for a bt40 and be done with it.