Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Separate X-Y Table or Rotary X-Y Table for CNC use?

sure ,as a CNC 'attachment' for a manual b'port it would be a
very usefull item for many jobs
much of the work done on the mill is less than 6" vise size anyway

things to watch for on the import tables are the quality,it can range from
pretty good on some like the Phase-II brand ,to horrible on some no-names
I've seen a cross slide vise that had a 1/16" bow/gouge on an 8" long dovetail
and had to be re-machined before it could even move,looked like it was cut
with an ax right out of the box

also the table travel is usually measured with the table hanging halfway out
of the slide ,the REAL travel (fully suported) can be less than 1/2 that
a 5x7 table can shrink to 2x3.5 of useable travel (worst case)

check the deals at Enco ( http://www.use-enco.com )
catalog page with better looking X-Y tables
http://www.use-enco.com/hotdeals/hd0501/56.pdf

or to use it as a stand-alone bench top mill
add a cheap arbor press for the mill column
http://www.use-enco.com/hotdeals/hd0501/34.pdf (bottom of page)
still have to come up with a Z axis and spindle but it would make
a fairly rigid frame to work from

Brian

> Instead of doing a full CNC conversion to my Bridgeport, would it be
> possible to buy one of those imported X-Y tables & use it for the CNC
> stuff. (I have thought of a good solution for the Z-axis.) I've also seen
> rotary tables with a little X-Y travel in them that would be a good start
> to a 4-axis machine, but only for small parts. It seems like with the
> smaller tables, the torque would be less, so smaller motors would work
> etc. It seems like it would work - or am I missing something?