# Yet another G0704 to CNC (was CNC Conversion Grizzly G0704 V.S. G0759 )



## angelfj1 (Mar 21, 2014)

Anxiously awaiting arrival of the new Grizzly G0704.  ETA, Monday 3/24. 

The plan is to convert this mill to CNC per Hoss - Phase II and also belt drive, simple manual ATC, extended Y- travel, rear mounted Y-axis stepper and possibly a larger motor.  I have very little experience operating a mill, but I understand basic lathe operation and own a 9x20.   I hope to learn manual operation first and my goal is to make the CNC conversion parts according to Hoss's design prints. 

 I do have a question for those of you who made your CNC parts with a manual mill.  Is a rotary table necessary (or desireable) for parts with a round profile like ballscrew mounts, etc.

 Stay tuned for more.

Frank

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## menglor (Mar 22, 2014)

So I was kinda in the same. Boat as you.

decent amount of experience on a lathe and none on a mill.

i did the conversion too soon, then got overwhelmed with the cnc part.

my advise is to play with making stuff with wax and a lot of it.  Then go cnc.

i had to sell my X2 rather then back it out.   So now I have a g0704 and getting ready to convert.  But I still think it might be too soon.

my experience with with cnc was like trying to add a third arm on my body and controlling it with my eyes closed. Learning cnc is hard IMO , it's harder if you don't have the milling experience.

learning cnc means learning cad at the same time,  very overwhelming.  But fun as he'll.


its a great hobby,   But. Ramp up is huge


Buy a a handwheel, best addition ever



good luck, I look forward to all your lessons learned, I may have not learned yet


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## bloomingtonmike (Mar 22, 2014)

Vectric software can help ease the cad/cam learning curve if needed. VcarvePro is 2.5d and Aspire is their 3d package. Free demos are downloadable.


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## High-Side (Mar 24, 2014)

Frank,

To answer your question...Yes, get yourself a rotary table. If you can afford, get one with a set of indexing plates. Their are methods and "work-arounds" for not having one, but it will make some of the parts much easier to make.
Once your up n' running on the CNC conversion, you could add a stepper motor to the rotary table and have yourself a 4th axis.

Pat


angelfj1 said:


> Anxiously awaiting arrival of the new Grizzly G0704.  ETA, Monday 3/24.
> 
> The plan is to convert this mill to CNC per Hoss - Phase II and also belt drive, simple manual ATC, extended Y- travel, rear mounted Y-axis stepper and possibly a larger motor.  I have very little experience operating a mill, but I understand basic lathe operation and own a 9x20.   I hope to learn manual operation first and my goal is to make the CNC conversion parts according to Hoss's design prints.
> 
> ...


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## angelfj1 (Mar 24, 2014)

High-Side said:


> Frank,
> 
> To answer your question...Yes, get yourself a rotary table. If you can afford, get one with a set of indexing plates. Their are methods and "work-arounds" for not having one, but it will make some of the parts much easier to make.
> Once your up n' running on the CNC conversion, you could add a stepper motor to the rotary table and have yourself a 4th axis.
> ...



Thanks Pat.  I have my eye on the Grizzly -- H7527 -- 6" Rotary Table  Includes dividing plates and a tailstock for $331.95

Best regards,

Frank


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## angelfj1 (Mar 25, 2014)

Well the G0704 arrived at noon today!  It's snowing right now and too cold in  the garage to begin the cleaning and tear down, but spring weather is  supposed to arrive next week. I know I cant wait that long!

 Here are a few photos.  








Question:  The photo at the bottom shows a fitting coming off of the table, I assume a coolant drain?  Has this always been a standard feature?

Frank

)


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## High-Side (Mar 26, 2014)

Cool. Time to start shopping for some tooling!
Looking forward to following your progress.

Pat


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## angelfj1 (Mar 26, 2014)

High-Side said:


> Cool. Time to start shopping for some tooling!
> Looking forward to following your progress.
> 
> Pat



Hi Pat:  Yes, I agree.  I don't understand the details, but I have heard that the Tormach style tool holding system is a good choice.  I intend to look into this.

Frank
)


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## fretsman (Mar 26, 2014)

angelfj1 said:


> Question:  The photo at the bottom shows a fitting coming off of the table, I assume a coolant drain?  Has this always been a standard feature?
> 
> Frank
> 
> )



Yes, it is indeed a coolant drain. I got mine in early 2012 and it came with that fitting as well.

Congrats on your mill, have fun-
Dave


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## jumps4 (Mar 26, 2014)

" Question:  The photo at the bottom shows a fitting coming off of the table, I assume a coolant drain?  Has this always been a standard feature?

 Frank"

Hi Frank
my zx45 had that fitting also , I put a 90 degree brass street "L" there and ran a tube (3/8 pvc I ran a pipe die on ) parallel to the table to drain in the center of travel. coming straight out is a bit precarious with the splash guards on, and without a tube would make it drain on the floor because my drain pan under my enclosure is not the full size of the machine travel.
steve


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## angelfj1 (Apr 23, 2014)

Ball screws arrived from Chai barely one week from the date of my order!    I am impressed at the quality and finish.  Note that the X-axis ball nut is machined and not ground as in the past.  I placed an order for the motors and electronics - went with Hoss heavy duty digital.  Now I need to find a suitable enclosure.









Question regarding the grease fittings: are these only used to lubricate the nuts before the ball screws are installed, then removed and holes plugged? I imagine they would be hard to access after the conversion is finished.

Regards,

Frank


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## jumps4 (Apr 26, 2014)

hi frank
who did you order your screws from I like the double nut instead if the set screws.
steve


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## High-Side (Apr 26, 2014)

angelfj1 said:


> Ball screws arrived from Chai barely one week from the date of my order!    I am impressed at the quality and finish.  Note that the X-axis ball nut is machined and not ground as in the past.  I placed an order for the motors and electronics - went with Hoss heavy duty digital.  Now I need to find a suitable enclosure.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Frank,
Manual machines only require a small amount of lubrication on the lead screws and Way Surfaces. Your CNC'd Mill is going to require a CONTIUOUS supply of way oil to the Ballscrews, and probably to the Ways also. You got some plumbing to run....
You'll need something like the One-Shot Oil System or similar.
Here is a link to see some pics of what the oil plumbing will look like.  Pics are on like page 5.
http://www.cnc-arena.com/en/forum/grahams-optimum-bf20-build--172388-5.html


Pat


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## angelfj1 (Apr 26, 2014)

jumps4 said:


> hi frank
> who did you order your screws from I like the double nut instead if the set screws.
> steve



Hi Steve!  Hope you are doing well.  So, the ball screws came from Chai Guixuan linearmotionbearings2008@yahoo.com.cn  in China.  After paying for them on pay pal, they arrived in one week.  From what I have seen in the past Chai used to grind down the X-axis  ball nut.  Now he machines it to fit.

Best regards,

Frank


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## angelfj1 (Apr 26, 2014)

High-Side said:


> Frank,
> Manual machines only require a small amount of lubrication on the lead screws and Way Surfaces. Your CNC'd Mill is going to require a CONTIUOUS supply of way oil to the Ballscrews, and probably to the Ways also. You got some plumbing to run....
> You'll need something like the One-Shot Oil System or similar.
> Here is a link to see some pics of what the oil plumbing will look like.  Pics are on like page 5.
> ...



Thanks Pat

- - - Updated - - -

Not a good time for this to happen.





Grizzly is out of stock.   Is there a metal replacement for this gear?

Strangly, the spindle still rotates, but noisy!

Thanks,

Frank


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## angelfj1 (Apr 26, 2014)

angelfj1 said:


> Thanks Pat
> 
> - - - Updated - - -
> 
> ...




Well after 2 more hours of machining tonight, this gear is toast!  RIP

How is it,  that the part most likely to fail in this machine, is seldom available for immediate shipment.  Is this some kind of odd joke.  First available replacements are not due until mid June.  They charge $10 each for these plastic gears but I doubt if it cost them more than $.50.

I have ordered two steel gears from QTC, KSS1-36 @ $12.67 each, and will do the Hoss modification.

Regards,

Frank


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## TroyO (Apr 27, 2014)

I ordered metal gears for mine from qtcgears online. You can chart down from the home page by choosing Spur Gears/Steel Spur gears. I went with a 42 Tooth/30 Tooth set because the plan was to up the speed some from stock as well. Other ratios are possible but the key is that both gears add up to 72MM.

I have not actually installed these gears yet, so verify on your machine what mods you think it will take. It should be a matter of a couple of basic operations... 

Face off part of the hub on both gears (They are too thick), cut a keyway OR drill/tap for setscrews and bore the one for the intermediate shaft out to 15mm.

I'll try and figure out the closest match to the stock ratio. (Looked it up, I get 25/47 as the closest set to what comes on the machine.)

Info on www.g0704.com under projects.

Again, note that I have not completed this myself, but it's worth looking at I think.


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## SEK_22Hornet (Apr 27, 2014)

angelfj1 said:


> Thanks Pat
> 
> - - - Updated - - -
> 
> ...



My first gear let loose shortly after I got my machine from Grizzly. I waited 6 months for a replacement - I bought two that time, and went through both of those pretty quickly. I ended up doing a belt drive that seems to be working just fine so far.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php?t=18468&highlight=g0704+belt+drive


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## High-Side (Apr 28, 2014)

Frank,
Glad to see you found a metal replacement. In the future, you may want to consider a  belt drive conversion as Dan mentioned.
I went through 2 motors, a speed controller board, and the plastic gears before I did the belt conversion.
I went with Hoss's Treadmill motor mount & KB Electronics KBMM-125 speed controller.
I went the timing pulley route first, but ended up designing my own 2 speed pulley set-up for 6 rib micro j series belts.
The machine is so much quieter now. You can actually talk at a normal level while it's running.
My RPM's now:
Low Speed Max 3500 RPM
Hi Speed Max 9700 RPM
If you do change your gear sizes or do a belt conversion to get more RPM's, make sure you change to some good quality angular contact spindle bearings.


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## angelfj1 (Apr 29, 2014)

Dan & HS, thanks.  I'll be converting to belt drive eventually.  It seems like a no brainer to anyone intending to make use of their G0704 mill!

Regards, 

Frank


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