Re: Solving the Mill Drill Quill Backlash Problem

I think I have solved the mill drill quill problem without using ballscrews
and without having to manufacture a complex drive system. I simply solved
the problem. I was making parts till 10 PM ( Late for me)last night. I
reassembled the mill drill drive assembly and reduced the backlash from the
standard .020 to .003 as measured by lifting the quill with a dia indicator
under it.
I have some more tweaking to do because I have few tight spots that I need
to fix. It does work well. Tho and it would cost the average guy without a
lathe and CNC mill to make his own parts under $75. If I decide to
manufacture a retofit kit it would be <$150 or there abouts depending on the
cost to have a few parts made. I prefer spending my time creating and
solving things that running a machine shop.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Falck <dfalck@...>
To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@onelist.com <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@onelist.com>
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 5:34 PM
Subject: Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] what I have

>From: Dan Falck <dfalck@...>
>
>Gentlemen,
>
>Here are the toys in my shop:
>
>Jet mill/drill with 450 oz-in stepper motors, drives that I built with Dan
>Mauch and Kevin Carroll's help using Ericsson chips and mosfets- pushing 5
>to 6 amps each. It is driven with Maxnc Deluxe software, step and
>direction version. It used to have Dancam/Danplot running it. Generic 486
>computer running the machine. You can see pictures of it at
>www.metalworking.com in the Dropbox.
>
>Sherline mill with 60 oz-in steppers on it. It has drives from General
>Controls powering it. Right now, there isn't a computer hooked up, but it
>had a 286 running Dancam on it until I needed to rob the floppy to keep the
>mill/drill computer going.
>
>Wells Index knee mill- model 40 H. This is a small knee mill that is a bit
>bigger than a Clausing. This needs a lot of rework and scraping before I
>hang some controls on it. When I do, the knee will be the Z-axis.
>
>South Bend model A 9" lathe. I have a full cross slide from a giant
>LeBlond that I want to set up just behind the bed of the South Bend, at an
>angle, to make a slant bed CNC lathe. It would be possible to leave the
>manual aspect of the lathe alone that way. About 6 months ago, I milled
>clearance on the underside of the Sherline mill and set it up on the ways
>of the South Bend. With the X-axis of the Sherline perpendicular to the
>lathe bed, and an improvised toolholder clamped to it's table, it was a
>mini CNC lathe.
>
>Recently, I bought Vector 7 from Fred Smith at www.imsrv.com and it has
>been a real asset. This is a CAM program that is low-cost, but very
>productive. It seems that it is somehow related to Bobcad. Now, I don't
>see how I went so long without it. If you have a CNC of any kind- buy a
>CAM package.
>
>My future projects:
>Get linux and EMC running. This last weeked, I installed Linux. Later on
>I realized that Redhat 5.0 is kernel 2.0.32 and I need 2.0.33 to run the
>RTlinux stuff. OK, time to download a later version or buy another CD.
>
>Set up a servo system. I have built six stepper controllers and will
>probably build a few more, but servos look affordable now.
>
>Build a small VMC using a small bed mill as the iron to hang everything on.
> This would involve servos the Nist/EMC and possibly a toolchanger. The
>small Rong Fu RF-45 machines look very attractive for what they are-
>dovetail column for the Z-axis and a table that is the same size as the one
>I have now.
>
>A floating head for a CNC engraver. I do a bit of engraving, some on a
>pantograph, but most on my CNC mill/drill. It has become apparent to me
>that a floating spindle would be good on surfaces that are slightly uneven.
> Sanding and buffing sometimes leaves dips in brass and it would be nice to
>be able to compensate. Using a diamond drag bit in the spindle, I think
>that I could take advantage of some of the cursed backlash found in a
>mill/drill quill. I haven't tried it yet, but it might be fun later on.
>Measuring how much current the spindle motor is pulling with a rotating
>cutter might be of some use, but seems too complicated.
>
>Anyway, that's my list of toys.
>
>Thanks,
>Dan Falck
>
>
>
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