piscesjb

[piscesjb]

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A GRIZZLY G0619 (SAME AS SX3 I BELIEVE) 1 HP MILLING MACHINE. IT SEEMS THAT I FREQUENTLY NEED TO RAISE OR LOWER THE HEAD, WHICH, AT THIS POINT, IS A TOTALLY MANUAL OPERATION. I ALSO PURCHASED WITH THE UNIT A POWER FEED FOR THE X-AXIS, WHICH I AM NOT REALLY SATISFIED WITH AS YOU CANNOT ACCURATELY CONTROL THE FEED RATE. I THEREFORE MADE AN ADAPTOR TO HOOK THE POWER FEED TO THE Z-AXIS TO HOPEFULLY ELIMINATE ALL THE HAND CRANKING TO MOVE THE HEAD. SAD TO SAY, THE STARTING TORQUE/TORQUE OF THE POWER FEED (RATED AT 135 IN-LBS) WAS NOT ADEQUATE TO MOVE THE HEAD. I THEN CONCEIVED AN AIR OPERATED SYSTEM (NOT YET INSTALLED, BUT VALVES ARE ON ORDER) TO BALANCE EXACTLY THE WEIGHT OF THE HEAD WITH A CONSTANT PRESSURE ON A CYLINDER (DETERMINED BY TRIAL AND ERROR) TO MINIIZE THE NECESSARY TORQUE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE HEAD, THEREBY, HOPEFULLY ENABLING THE POWER FEED WITH 135 IN-LB OF TORQUE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE HEAD. I CONSULTED WITH AN ENGINEER AT SMCUSA.COM TO DECIDE WHICH AIR VALVES I NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH MY OBJECTIVE. THE CONCEPT IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AND NOT THAT COSTLY(LESS THAN $350) TO ACHEIVE MY GOAL. HAS ANYONE DONE ANYTHING SIMILAR? I HAVE IN MIND ANOTHER POWER FEED FOR THE X-ASIS WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO SET WHATEVER RPM YOU DESIRE TO ACHEIVE AN EXACT FEED RATE. THIS WILL BE SOMEWHAT COSTLY ($800), BUT IT ENABLES SETTING YOUR FEED RATE EXACTLY. LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE POWER FEED THAT I INTEND TO PURCHASE AFTER I GET THE Z-AXIS ISSUE FULLY RESOLVED. I AM A NEW MEMBER AND THIS IS MY FIRST SUBMISSION. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. HOPING FOR SOME FEEDBACK. JIM.:winner:

 

[Ray C]

Hi Jim...

I have heard that some folks will hang a counter-balance weight through pulleys mounted on the top of the column to offset the weight and ease the amount of torque needed to power-drive the Z axis. Maybe give that a though as it would be a bunch cheaper than 350 bucks.

My real question is, what's wrong with the x-feed that you don't like? I've never heard of a table drive that is not adjustable.

Ray

PS. Writing in all capital letters is a little hard to read. Don't worry about using proper punctuation and all that.... nobody here is going to worry about that. All caps is kinda hard on the eyes though...

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A GRIZZLY G0619 (SAME AS SX3 I BELIEVE) 1 HP MILLING MACHINE. IT SEEMS THAT I FREQUENTLY NEED TO RAISE OR LOWER THE HEAD, WHICH, AT THIS POINT, IS A TOTALLY MANUAL OPERATION. I ALSO PURCHASED WITH THE UNIT A POWER FEED FOR THE X-AXIS, WHICH I AM NOT REALLY SATISFIED WITH AS YOU CANNOT ACCURATELY CONTROL THE FEED RATE. I THEREFORE MADE AN ADAPTOR TO HOOK THE POWER FEED TO THE Z-AXIS TO HOPEFULLY ELIMINATE ALL THE HAND CRANKING TO MOVE THE HEAD. SAD TO SAY, THE STARTING TORQUE/TORQUE OF THE POWER FEED (RATED AT 135 IN-LBS) WAS NOT ADEQUATE TO MOVE THE HEAD. I THEN CONCEIVED AN AIR OPERATED SYSTEM (NOT YET INSTALLED, BUT VALVES ARE ON ORDER) TO BALANCE EXACTLY THE WEIGHT OF THE HEAD WITH A CONSTANT PRESSURE ON A CYLINDER (DETERMINED BY TRIAL AND ERROR) TO MINIIZE THE NECESSARY TORQUE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE HEAD, THEREBY, HOPEFULLY ENABLING THE POWER FEED WITH 135 IN-LB OF TORQUE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE HEAD. I CONSULTED WITH AN ENGINEER AT SMCUSA.COM TO DECIDE WHICH AIR VALVES I NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH MY OBJECTIVE. THE CONCEPT IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AND NOT THAT COSTLY(LESS THAN $350) TO ACHEIVE MY GOAL. HAS ANYONE DONE ANYTHING SIMILAR? I HAVE IN MIND ANOTHER POWER FEED FOR THE X-ASIS WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO SET WHATEVER RPM YOU DESIRE TO ACHEIVE AN EXACT FEED RATE. THIS WILL BE SOMEWHAT COSTLY ($800), BUT IT ENABLES SETTING YOUR FEED RATE EXACTLY. LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE POWER FEED THAT I INTEND TO PURCHASE AFTER I GET THE Z-AXIS ISSUE FULLY RESOLVED. I AM A NEW MEMBER AND THIS IS MY FIRST SUBMISSION. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. HOPING FOR SOME FEEDBACK. JIM.:winner:

 

[rdhem2]

I believe what the Gent is saying is that on the "X" axis if the calcs call for a feed rate of say six inches per minute he can get exactly six inches per minute. Why? I have no clue.