Re: newbie needs advice

John:

At 05:00 PM 12/26/00 +0000, you wrote:

>Hello, I am in the process of converting my bridgeport mill to cnc
>control, and have already purchased the ballscrews, and the drivers
>(gecko) at this point I am looking at the motors, and am a little
>confused about the sizes that might be needed, I have seen some
>conversion kits with 1200 oz motors that are reduced 2 times. Does
>this give 2400ozs of force??? what is the minimum size motor that I
>should use? I plan on using this mill for hobby work with a small
>cash job thrown in here and there. Thanks; John

I'm in the process of doing a similar conversion to a SuperMax knee
mill (Bridgeport sized). I looked around the Internet some time at available
conversion kits. From this search I found most were using motors in the
650-700 oz-in (torque) range using a 2:1 timing belt reduction.

I purchased stepper drivers and stepper motors from Camtronics. These
motors turned out to be 785 oz-in, still in the above ball park. I haven't
gotten these mounted and working yet so have no follow-up information
about how well they work.

You might consider getting the motors from Gecko as you are getting
the drivers from them also. I, also being a newbie, wanted to simplify
life by having one contact to get the drivers and motors working together.

Hope this is of some help. :-)

Hugh Currin
Klamath Falls, OR