The Breakroom > Resources
New Special X2 Mill
ketanswali:
--- Quote from: SamJo on May 30, 2011, 04:22:51 PM ---So far I've stripped and cleaned the machine plus changed the mains plug. I also had the motor and drive belt off and checked the preload on the spindle bearings, was OK. Running the machine for 10 minutes each at low / med / full speed I got no vibration or unhealthy sounds. Looks good. The base casting is a bit "hairy" but all the machined surfaces are OK and that's where it counts. I haven't checked parallelism and spindle rotational accuracy completely yet but so far haven't found any problems.
The compound table, then. :coffee: Like Peter, I've also got an issue there. The leadscrew handwheels are a bit wobbly and when you tighten the nylock nuts to take the slack away you actually have to tighten the screws so much they hardly turn any more and the table movement is rather jerky. I'm starting to consider taking the table back to pieces again and installing thrust plus ball bearings for the leadscrews. Anyway, I'd like to stay in the loop and know if the bearing mod is advisable. Any other advice on the table issue would also be welcome. Lapping
the dovetails plus new gib strips in brass?
It's a nice little machine although a bit heavy at 70 kg so I'll have to wait until The Muscle Men drop by and help me lift it on the bench. Then I'll make the final adjustments on the gibs and start making swarf. I'm sure the SX2P will live up to my needs and give me countless hours of good service.
Jouko
--- End quote ---
We are working on a bearing kit for the handles. Hopefully this will work for the X1, SX1, SX2P, (not original X2 or SX2). For the cast base, we will soon have a prep.guide on-line free PDF download for the SX1L. So you can refer to it for the SX2P base prep. If you decide to lap before then, in our opinion, please do not use diamond lapping paste.
Ketan @ ARC
Brass_Machine:
--- Quote from: ketanswali on June 03, 2011, 03:09:20 PM ---
It won't fit the X2 as it is made to fit the SX1 base. If you want one to fit the original X2, ask Chris at LMS. He might have a solution in a few months time.
Ketan @ ARC
--- End quote ---
I know that it won't fit, but it may work with my design...
Eric
ketanswali:
--- Quote from: Brass_Machine on June 03, 2011, 04:36:13 PM ---
--- Quote from: ketanswali on June 03, 2011, 03:09:20 PM ---
It won't fit the X2 as it is made to fit the SX1 base. If you want one to fit the original X2, ask Chris at LMS. He might have a solution in a few months time.
Ketan @ ARC
--- End quote ---
I know that it won't fit, but it may work with my design...
Eric
--- End quote ---
Ok, in that case, ask Chris at LMS if he can bring it in as a spare part for you in his next consignment. This will be the most economical way.
Ketan @ ARC
SamJo:
--- Quote from: ketanswali on June 03, 2011, 03:56:10 PM ---
--- Quote from: SamJo on May 30, 2011, 04:22:51 PM ---So far I've stripped and cleaned the machine plus changed the mains plug. I also had the motor and drive belt off and checked the preload on the spindle bearings, was OK. Running the machine for 10 minutes each at low / med / full speed I got no vibration or unhealthy sounds. Looks good. The base casting is a bit "hairy" but all the machined surfaces are OK and that's where it counts. I haven't checked parallelism and spindle rotational accuracy completely yet but so far haven't found any problems.
The compound table, then. :coffee: Like Peter, I've also got an issue there. The leadscrew handwheels are a bit wobbly and when you tighten the nylock nuts to take the slack away you actually have to tighten the screws so much they hardly turn any more and the table movement is rather jerky. I'm starting to consider taking the table back to pieces again and installing thrust plus ball bearings for the leadscrews. Anyway, I'd like to stay in the loop and know if the bearing mod is advisable. Any other advice on the table issue would also be welcome. Lapping
the dovetails plus new gib strips in brass?
It's a nice little machine although a bit heavy at 70 kg so I'll have to wait until The Muscle Men drop by and help me lift it on the bench. Then I'll make the final adjustments on the gibs and start making swarf. I'm sure the SX2P will live up to my needs and give me countless hours of good service.
Jouko
--- End quote ---
We are working on a bearing kit for the handles. Hopefully this will work for the X1, SX1, SX2P, (not original X2 or SX2). For the cast base, we will soon have a prep.guide on-line free PDF download for the SX1L. So you can refer to it for the SX2P base prep. If you decide to lap before then, in our opinion, please do not use diamond lapping paste.
Ketan @ ARC
--- End quote ---
A bearing kit for the handwheels....sounds interesting. I'll probably be standing in the queue for one, if you decide to bring it on. After the adjustments I have been making on the gibs the table movements are already OK and I can certainly live with them as they are now. The handwheels still wobble a bit but that's not a big headache. However, there's always room for some improvement so the bearing mod could be the way to go. My feeling is that the axial loads on the leadscrews are the issue and could benefit from some compensation. With the dovetails I don't see any problems. The word "hairy" above just refers to the roughness at some points in the unmachined parts in the base casting.
As to lapping the dovetails I'm actually rather hesitant because of the potential risks involved. A year ago I did a thrust bearing / lap / brass gibs mod to an Arc X0 compound table following the methods presented by David White in a past issue of Model Engineers Workshop. The results were quite impressive, a major improvement in the movements. He also presented his mods to an X1 table including the bearings and lapping in another MEW issue. However, with the SX2P there's more money involved than with the X0 table so I'll have to think carefully before starting that kind of actions with my one and only mill. Yet, I still have the rest of the Carborundum powders down to 500 grit waiting for action. No diamond paste for me, thanks for reminding.
I'm really looking forward to the preparation guide you mention, could give me a good reason to take the table apart again and start fiddling.
Jouko
PekkaNF:
Now when everybody is warm and cosy maybe I abuse your hospitability and ask a little help on decision making.
I have a 1.5 metric ton (pretty heavy ....) old milling machine that has universal head an plenty of low speed. Also it has plenty of grunt, I think least 3 kW, but it could be 5 kW motor.
However it does not have a pinole. It does have universal head with MT3 taper. Drilling is pain: Knee is heavy and crankiing it up and down beats gym any time.
While it has plenty of lower speeds between 25 to 750 rpm if my memory serves right. It does not have any decent speeds for small endmills.
I'm considering buying a smaller mill/drill, but I really can't make up my mind about following:
* Size: while I understand that to utilize e.g. 12 mm endmill completely even bridgeport is just about there, I'm willing to compromize quite a bit of "productivity". This is hobby after all. But can any machine under 400 kg really be stiff enough to us MT2 drills and succesfully drill holes on normal cast iron/steel. No step drilling. Even 12 mm drilling on solid steel will take on correct feeds some serius power and stiffness from machine.
* Spesification. This is really confusing for me. I work in industry and we build stuff to standards and spesifications. Most often we we have to fill several hard to meet conditions at once and any given time. Whereas consumer products seem to full fill only some specs - some of the time. I understand that these are on completely different kettle of sushi, but how do I read specs on these? E.g. what is practical work and tool envelope with X2 and X3?
* And last: Do these mill drills mill and drill seriously or should I consider two different machines?
I can adjust my expectations when I know how it is really. I'm really bad in explaining this but I'll try:
* Because I have a big mill that is great with big cutters, I would need machine with smaller table capacity (part weight and envelope), but I would need higher cutter rpm. I would love to use 1,5 mm to 12 mm slot drills and endmills. Probably also carbide insert endmills. But does these have enough rpm and is the table rigid enough?
* I also would like to have improved drilling capacity to smaller holes. What about drilling? Does table wobble if I drill normal hot rolled 50 mm thick steel with 12 mm drill at table values or even to 30%? Or is there a workaroud that is de-facto-but-not-published? And how high rpm I can go with smaller drills?
I can go up 600 kg of machine and table size can be small, most parts would be under 30 kg.
Tool taper issue is it's own. MT1 or MT2 would be fine for drilling, but I really would have liked if we would have came up with something better standard for hobby milling machines in last 100 years. Like ISO20, but I'm not trying to adjust reality here....anything will go with me. Maybe MT2 for drill and slight bias in favor ISO30 for milling machine, but if compromise would be needed R8 or MT3 could be fine.
Am I completely out in the woods or even worse?
Pekka
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