- Joined
- Dec 23, 2019
- Messages
- 176
***Edit below*** ive since addressed the issues discussed in this thread. Hopefully things hold up because im really liking this mill.
Alright i need help again hah.
Im going through testing mill alignment. Mill table movement is flat in the x and the Y. I know you're not really supposed to tram these vertical mills without locking the gibbs but i just did to see if i could. I was able to get th z aligned to the column with tilt and nod according to a 7" piece of 3/4" drill rod. There's so much slop in z gibbs i decided to see what i could get without them. Next I aligned the column to the table without locks and with shims erased nod and had little side to side. The tilt i had to the table could have been adjusted with a better level(room is not flat) or some head tlilt it was like .002, possibly would have lost some head to column tilt but anyways. Fun was over and i had to do it again since people dont typically mill without z locked.
Getting head to column tilt wasnt all that bad. I can consistently hit my tilt less than a thou over 6" or so with the locks on. Id say as i lock it in place im getting like .002"-.003" X movement with the gibb screw pretty tight.
Now when i go to check the head to column Y nod its all over the place. Im about .007" out. When i lock the gibbs the thing can nod around .010" just from locking the gibbs(seems a bit much). As the bar decends it gets further away telling me the head is nodding with locks on haha(im no sherlock).
Maybe someone can point out something im overlooking. Is the gibb lock slop normal? Just shim it and deal with it?
***edit***
I put a square on the table to test the squareness of xy and im not getting variation of over .0005" along 6" so I'm going to call that good.
So far ive used an 3/8 endmill on some 6061 and some cold rolled steel with very good results. Did a little drilling in the steel as well and that went well too.
At this point im pretty happy with the machine. I think my initial misalignment/excess movement when locking the gibs on the Z was due to the gib being very touchy as well as well as the paint that had gathered on some of the mating surfaces. Partially my fault i suppose.
My only issue at this point is the head will kind of slip a bit when traveling at the bottom of the z. Its really in a spot that ill most like never be milling but im going to have to figure that out. Will look into it more asap. Not sure its even a repeatable issue just something i noticed once.
Overall im quite thrilled with the machine. Even if i did have to take it apart and clean it. I knew i was going to want to do that anyways. I hopr this all holds up. Should translate to some pretty flat and square cuts
Alright i need help again hah.
Im going through testing mill alignment. Mill table movement is flat in the x and the Y. I know you're not really supposed to tram these vertical mills without locking the gibbs but i just did to see if i could. I was able to get th z aligned to the column with tilt and nod according to a 7" piece of 3/4" drill rod. There's so much slop in z gibbs i decided to see what i could get without them. Next I aligned the column to the table without locks and with shims erased nod and had little side to side. The tilt i had to the table could have been adjusted with a better level(room is not flat) or some head tlilt it was like .002, possibly would have lost some head to column tilt but anyways. Fun was over and i had to do it again since people dont typically mill without z locked.
Getting head to column tilt wasnt all that bad. I can consistently hit my tilt less than a thou over 6" or so with the locks on. Id say as i lock it in place im getting like .002"-.003" X movement with the gibb screw pretty tight.
Now when i go to check the head to column Y nod its all over the place. Im about .007" out. When i lock the gibbs the thing can nod around .010" just from locking the gibbs(seems a bit much). As the bar decends it gets further away telling me the head is nodding with locks on haha(im no sherlock).
Maybe someone can point out something im overlooking. Is the gibb lock slop normal? Just shim it and deal with it?
***edit***
I put a square on the table to test the squareness of xy and im not getting variation of over .0005" along 6" so I'm going to call that good.
So far ive used an 3/8 endmill on some 6061 and some cold rolled steel with very good results. Did a little drilling in the steel as well and that went well too.
At this point im pretty happy with the machine. I think my initial misalignment/excess movement when locking the gibs on the Z was due to the gib being very touchy as well as well as the paint that had gathered on some of the mating surfaces. Partially my fault i suppose.
My only issue at this point is the head will kind of slip a bit when traveling at the bottom of the z. Its really in a spot that ill most like never be milling but im going to have to figure that out. Will look into it more asap. Not sure its even a repeatable issue just something i noticed once.
Overall im quite thrilled with the machine. Even if i did have to take it apart and clean it. I knew i was going to want to do that anyways. I hopr this all holds up. Should translate to some pretty flat and square cuts
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