# Optimum MH 50V mods and accessories



## Unlogic (Jun 19, 2022)

Installed a Vertex flood cooling kit and a generic China brand mist cooling kit on my Optimum Optimill 50V mill yesterday.

Put one on each side of the head and routed all the hoses through the stock cable tray which came out okay.


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## Unlogic (Jun 19, 2022)

Bought a tool board bottle holder and slightly bent it so I could use it with magnet mount. Now the coolant bottle for the mist cooling has a proper mount too that can be easily removed.


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## FOMOGO (Jun 19, 2022)

That looks like a nice machine for it's size, and nice to have both cooling options. Mike


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## Unlogic (Jun 19, 2022)

Thanks!

I've had the flood cooling ghetto rigged for sometime and for some operations it's nice but for the most part it just creates a big mess. I'm hoping the mist cooling will be a cleaner option for those situations where all I want is to remove the chips from the slots.

I actually ordered the smaller Optimum MH 30V machine but after waiting several months for delivery and then getting a partially defective machine they sent me the slightly larger MH 50V model instead which was a big upgrade as BT40 tool holders are much more common than the smaller BT30 ones.


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## kiwi_007 (Jun 23, 2022)

Unlogic what is your opinion of the Optimum MH 50V, are you able to do a review of it.?


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## Unlogic (Jun 24, 2022)

kiwi_007 said:


> Unlogic what is your opinion of the Optimum MH 50V, are you able to do a review of it.?


I'd say this is a pretty solid machine given that it's made in China. I've had the machine for about a year now and I've slowly scaled up the size of the parts I've milled over this time.




With the flood and mist cooling in place ałong with a chip guard I've recently added I can finally start to churn out some bigger parts.

I could probably have a review done in 2-3 weeks time. I've thought about making a review before but couldn't figure out which forum section to post it in. Do you have any suggestion where it should be posted?


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## kiwi_007 (Jun 25, 2022)

I’m not sure where a review should be posted, but will give it some thought.

After looking at the manual for the MH50 it seems to be a replacement for the BF46 (BF46) as they both have very similar specs. 
A bit after the BF46 came out Optimum marketed a cnc machine based on it and called it the M4 CNC, I wonder if they will market a cnc version of the MH50.

I like the power feed setup on the MH25SV and have thought the use of servos for power feeds with a simple controller would be a excellent idea.

it would be good if you could do a review of the MH50 as I would really like to see that.


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## kiwi_007 (Jun 27, 2022)

What is the actual Z travel and with no tooling in the spindle are you able to lower the head to the bottom of it's travel and not hit the table with the spindle?


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## Unlogic (Jul 1, 2022)

I've finally had some time to start doing some larger projects on this mill so I renamed the thread to "Optimum MH 50V mods and accessories" as I'll be posting a few more mods in this thread.


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## Unlogic (Jul 1, 2022)

kiwi_007 said:


> What is the actual Z travel and with no tooling in the spindle are you able to lower the head to the bottom of it's travel and not hit the table with the spindle?


I tested this today and the spindle goes very close to the table, I didn't have the balls to push it any further because it was compressing the Z-axis way cover quite hard at this point.








I couldn't reach the highest setting either because the spindle motor hits the roof in my garage.





So on the photos below there is a few centimeters of travel left upwards on the z-axis.





But given these restrictions I got just above 50 cm of Z-axis travel. If you count all the way from the table to the top of the Z-axis to true travel is probably somewhere around 55 cm.









If you want more detailed information about this mill and how it's built there is a great thread in German here of the MG 50G model which is the same machine but without VFD drive of the spindle motor:



			Optimum MH50G CNC Umbau - Seite 44 - Zerspanungsbude
		


A company called Mobasi also sells this machine preconverted to CNC:






						CNC Optimum MH 50 G MH 50 V mit Servomotoren und Steuerung - CNC Drehmaschinen Fräsmaschinen Zubehör Shop | mobasi
					

CNC gesteuerte Optimum OPTImill MH 50G und auch 50V als Servomotor CNC gesteuerte Fräsmaschine. - Angebot jetzt anschauen.




					www.cnc-shop.mobasi.com


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## Unlogic (Jul 1, 2022)

When doing larger jobs on the mill I got chips and coolant all over the place.




So I extended the front of the table 14 cm with a 2 mm stainless steel plate angled 90°.




Sealed the joint between the table and the place with some silicone.




Then I built a chip guard out of some polycarbonate plastic that I carefully heated up and bent.




This is how it looks on the machine.


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## Unlogic (Jul 1, 2022)

I bought an extra vice so that I can could clamp larger parts, however I realized the mounting them next to each other want really possible as the mounts interfered with each other.





And mounting them like this means that one vice doesn't get tightened down properly...




So I bought some 35x35 mm steel square stock and started milling it down.













Now I can mount both vices very close to each other using these middle mounts.


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## Unlogic (Jul 16, 2022)

The chip guard I made worked well but it was a bit too low when working on larger pieces. So I made a new one that's 15 cm higher which solved the problem.


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## Unlogic (Jul 19, 2022)

The higher chip guard turned out to work very well, here is a photo of it packed with chips.


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## gschora (Aug 10, 2022)

Really nice work! Please keep us updated...
I also got my MH50 a few weeks ago and I have to 'borrow' your chiptray idea


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## Unlogic (Aug 31, 2022)

gschora said:


> Really nice work! Please keep us updated...
> I also got my MH50 a few weeks ago and I have to 'borrow' your chiptray idea


Thanks, I've been busy with my autotive hobby lately due to a bent crankshaft but I'm hoping to do some more work on the mill later this autumn.

Are you happy with your machine so far?


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## Unlogic (Sep 26, 2022)

The higher chip guard I made worked very well but there was still room for improvement as I realized that I made the table extension a bit too short. When I had the vices jaws open to fit large stock the tightening screws of the vices would hit the chip guard.

I decided to go for another approach this time to make it simpler to align the extension with the milling table. I used an extruded aluminum 90 degree angle that I then mounted a flat stainless plate to.







I had to mill a slot in the aluminum for the glass scales on X-axis of the mill.




Here is the final result.


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## Unlogic (Oct 8, 2022)

I have LED light attached to the mill with a magnetic foot. It's been attached to the service cover for Z-axis handle mechanism since it was the only spot flat enough for the magnet to stick with some force at least. However during vibrations or chatter the light has had a tendency to come loose and change angle or just fall on the table which is highly irritating.




Instead of removing the paint from the service cover or scrape/grind a part of the machine flat I decided to add a steel plate on the service cover instead.

I realized right away that I didn't have any steel plate in the right size so I started by tig welding two pieces together.




I then milled it flat, drilled four holes and rounded the edges before bolting it to the service cover.













While testing the new plat I noticed that the bottom of the magnet base is much stronger than the backside. I don't know if this applies to all these Chinese magnet bases which comes on many things these days but it sure made a difference in this case so I thought I'd mention it.


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## gschora (Oct 9, 2022)

Unlogic said:


> Thanks, I've been busy with my autotive hobby lately due to a bent crankshaft but I'm hoping to do some more work on the mill later this autumn.
> 
> Are you happy with your machine so far?


Sorry, I've also been busy lately. I'm a farmer and no is the time where we have to work the most  

Yes I'm happy with my machine so far. Pretty sturdy, because I'm mostly milling steel and that's not a problem.

One problem is, that I think that my column is leaning forward, because when I'm face milling I get steps on the face. But since I'm new to machining with a mill I will have to test this out further.

As lights I put led-strips around the spindle, but sometimes you get shadows. So I might need another external light.


Here is something I've made from steel:


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## Unlogic (Oct 9, 2022)

That's a really nice piece of steel, how did you machine that?

The column on my machine also leans slightly forward. I've ignored it so far as the bolts for it can only be accesed from the underside of the machine and I don't have the roof clearance to lift the machine up where it's currently standing in my shop.  I know the column on Lukas (soldernerd) machine also leaned forward but I think he fixed with epoxy if my memory serves me right after reading his German thread using Google Translate.


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## Unlogic (Oct 15, 2022)

The front chip guard I made a while back has worked well so I made a rear chip guard too that attaches with magnetic brackets to the rear of the milling table for easy removal.

Unlike the front chip guard which has to be lifted off the table when it's time to change setup the rear chip guard will most likely stay in place for most operations.

Started by bending a sheet of polycarbonate and then milling out pocket so that it won't interfere with milling head.




Milling the brackets.







Attaching the magnets (some cheap magnets meant for small hooks https://www.biltema.se/en-se/tools/tool-storage/tool-holders/magnetic-hooks-10-pcs-2000035930).




Attaching the brackets to the polycarbonate sheet.













Rear chip guard assembled and installed.




This is how it look with both the front and rear chip guards installed on the mill.




The large overlap between the front and rear chip guards is so that I still get a decent side coverage when only one of the chip guards.




While it was at it I replaced the handles for locking the axis. I never liked those ratchet type ones that came with the machine, I find the knob style ones much more ergonomic.


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## gschora (Oct 16, 2022)

Unlogic said:


> That's a really nice piece of steel, how did you machine that?
> 
> The column on my machine also leans slightly forward. I've ignored it so far as the bolts for it can only be accesed from the underside of the machine and I don't have the roof clearance to lift the machine up where it's currently standing in my shop.  I know the column on Lukas (soldernerd) machine also leaned forward but I think he fixed with epoxy if my memory serves me right after reading his German thread using Google Translate.


On a rotary table with 0,5mm steps down. I then cleaned it up on a lathe....this was to play around with the machine.

And yes, these bolts are really hard to get to. Although I have the roof clearance I cannot lift my machine because I put my lathe in front of it. So I cannot reach it with my tractor.... Maybe I build something with hydraulics in the new year.

This is how I placed my led-strips.



And here is my quick and dirty version of your really nice chipguard  


I used aluminium-profiles and can slide in the pc-sheets when I'm setting up work-pieces.


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## Unlogic (Oct 17, 2022)

Nice setup, I like it! 

That LED strip install looks great. I have too see if I can find some suitable LED strips too as my current light sometimes gets in the way for the chip cover.

By the way is that a CNC conversion on the X-axis?


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## Unlogic (Nov 22, 2022)

I became inspired by gschora's LED-strips on the bottom of the column so I started looking at doing a similar setup.

When I looked closer at the column I realized that it contains a big empty space behind the spindle. After doing some measurements and looking around online I found a USB conference LED light which looked suitable and came with a small remote on the USB-cord.








Moved my mist cooler a bit higher on the column a while ago. That left me with two unused tapped holes which I reused for the mounting bracket I designed to hold the LED light. I also mounted the remote to the column using some double sided 3M tape.


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## Unlogic (Dec 7, 2022)

I've used the cheap Chinese mist cooling quite a lot on the mill. It works good for blowing the chips away and providing coolant in mist form but breading the mist is not pleasant especially on longer jobs.

So I ordered a Fogbuster kit along with some coolant and magnetic mount from Sorotec in Germany (note that the air fittings in the lower right corner are not from the kit).




I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Fogbuster kit it felt very solid. I routed all the air hoses (all four of them) through the stock cable chain on the machine.







I placed the on/off switch on the left side of the milling head using the included magnetic mount. The switch has a very nice tactile feedback and gives off a nice psssh sound when toggled.




I mounted the reservoir and regulator on the wall just beside the mill.







The Fogbuster kit really does a good job of blowing chips away and spraying coolant without creating any mist. I was actually surprised over how well it works.

I'm going to convert my old Chinese mist cooling kit to just a plain compressed air setup for when I need even more air for clearing chips as I don't see myself using it again for providing mist.


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## Unlogic (Dec 16, 2022)

The table extension and polycarbonate chip guard has worked great but when using coolant for extended periods it would sometimes get a bit messy as coolant leaked between the table and the chip guard.

So I added an L-shaped rubber seal to the edges of the table in order to prevent any leaks.


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## mksj (Dec 16, 2022)

I use to have an Optimum BF30 many years ago, had a similar light setup but added a ring LED light which helped prevent shadows. Some people are now using dual ring LEDs if you need a bit more light. Hopefully the build quality on your Optimum has improved, as I had a number of issue with mine and eventually sold it.


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## Unlogic (Dec 16, 2022)

Nice lightning setup mksj 

I originally purchased a Optimum MH 30V but it was delayed, and then delayed some more. When I finally got it after many months it had both electric and mechanical defects. They couldn't replace it in time either so in the end I got this larger MH 50V model instead which has worked fine right out of the box.


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## Unlogic (Dec 16, 2022)

mksj said:


> I use to have an Optimum BF30 many years ago, had a similar light setup but added a ring LED light which helped prevent shadows. Some people are now using dual ring LEDs if you need a bit more light. Hopefully the build quality on your Optimum has improved, as I had a number of issue with mine and eventually sold it.
> 
> View attachment 430177


By the way, what machine did you buy to replace the Optimum BF30?


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## mksj (Dec 17, 2022)

I replaced it with a full size knee mill, I find it much easier to use and do not have the travel limitations of the BF-30. I ended up with an ACRA LCM mill which is the same mill as the Sharp LMV, they are made in Taiwan by First Industries.  I ordered it with the digital head which is their version of a vector drive motor with a Yaskawa VFD, and then I replaced the control system. It was a major improvement over my BF-30, very high build quality and much heavier mill.  Seems like MH50V is significantly much more substantial and appears to be better built then their smaller versions, so you are probably fortunate to have ended up with the next model up.


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## Unlogic (Dec 17, 2022)

That looks like a great machine and the finish on that table is amazing.


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