Z axis (knee) power feed recomendations

[mksj]

I would look at the Align power feeds, I have two on my mill and they work very well. They are made in Taiwan and I find things like the switches and body to be more solid than some of the cheaper modes I have seen. They are less than 1/3 the price of the servo, and I have found them very well made and have had no issues. You might check prices with some of the milling machine importers like Kent, Acra , etc. or some of the distributors like Penn Tools as to models and specifics.
http://www.penntoolco.com/al-500pz
http://www.align.com.tw/manuals-en/powerfeed/

 

[alloy]

No one that I can find has an import type 200 power feed clone for the knee. A 150
isn't powerful enough.

Before i sold my Bridgeport I had the Kent sitting beside it and it made the Bridgeport look like a 1/2 size machine.

 

[JimDawson]

Wait till you crank that Shizuoka knee up, I cranked it up about 8 inches and had to take a break halfway through. We might want to design a power feed for it.

The specs on that Align look much like the Servo 200, but ya never know.

 

[mksj]

As Jim mentioned, the Align 500PZ states higher continuous and maximum torque rating then the Servo 200. Alternate would be to use something like a Bodine gear motor with a belt drive or possibly a 90 degree drive. I have done this with their 3 Phase gear motors with a VFD and it was pretty much unstoppable on a Z drive.
Align Power Feed Torque:
Continuous 150 in-lb, Max 650 in-lb

Servo 200 Power Feed Torque:
Peak Torque 200 in.- lb. / 22.6 NM torque
Intermittent Torque: 150 in.- lb. / 17.0 NM
Continuous Torque: 120 in.- lb. / 13.0 NM

 

[MtnBiker]

As Jim mentioned, the Align 500PZ states higher continuous and maximum torque rating then the Servo 200. Alternate would be to use something like a Bodine gear motor with a belt drive or possibly a 90 degree drive. I have done this with their 3 Phase gear motors with a VFD and it was pretty much unstoppable on a Z drive.
Align Power Feed Torque:
Continuous 150 in-lb, Max 650 in-lb

Servo 200 Power Feed Torque:
Peak Torque 200 in.- lb. / 22.6 NM torque
Intermittent Torque: 150 in.- lb. / 17.0 NM
Continuous Torque: 120 in.- lb. / 13.0 NM

The Align AL500P (780 lbs./inch max) lifts my knee just fine. I have a PM1054 so a heavy knee and table.

 

[Tim9]

A 6" vise is overkill for a RF45 style mill. A 4" is more appropiate for that size mill & IMO 5" max. I have a 5" GMT vise on my PM45 & it's slightly too big.
I picked up one of those adapters. Its for sale cheap now. Only used once.

My Milwaukee fuel 1/2" drill doesn't have enough power to lift the knee.

Holescreek is absolutely correct. I purchased a very nice older Japanese 5” milling vise. It’s too big in my opinion. I had my Millrite in storage and was using a RF45 clone. So I figured I’d get a 5” and then when I finally got my Millrite working.... then the 5” would be perfect.
Granted, my Millrite is the smaller table but the 5” is a big vise in my opinion. A 4” is perfect.
on another note, I then purchased a Shars 4” for the RF45. It’s okay. But when I was able to find a Kurt 4” on EBay....man I have to tell you. There is absolutely no comparison to the Chinese angle locks and a Kurt. The Chinese feels spongy. The Kurt is rock solid. I really like the Kurt and regret buying the Shars.
I really need to sell some crap I’m not using. And that includes the 4” vise sitting on the ground.

 

[hman]

I just bought a new PM knee mill. As just about everybody else has discovered, cranking the knee up and down (160 turns for 16" travel) is a real PITA. I know there are drill motor adapters for sale out there, or I could have made my own on a rotary table. But the 9 wedge-like segment cuts would have required me to figure out a bunch of setups, etc.

So I decided to push on the "Easy" button and bang out something simple ... drill & tap a circle of 9 holes, screw in some 8-32 socket head cap screws, and bore out the center - one end to clear the mill's crank shaft and the other end for a 1/2" shaft to go into the drill.

Then, just for fun, I added a timing belt pulley I had in one of my dusty drawers. Rounded the ends of the teeth a bit for comfort, and now I have a way to manually fine-tune the Z position without needing to take off the drill motor, slip on the big crank, etc. Obviously, it won't work for very heavy loads on the mill table. But it'll be just fine for most of what I plan to do on the mill.

PS - the knurling is a just a leftover artifact that was already on the aluminum rod I started with.

 

[dhprecision]

All very good ideas. Once my BP arrives it looks like I have a new project to add to the list. Thanks