Machsupport Forum
General CNC Chat => Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) => Topic started by: mvcalypso on January 21, 2009, 05:02:57 PM
-
Hi all,
I thought I'd post a pic of my new mill. It's a Smithy 1240 CNC that I purchased a couple of months ago.
I didn't find a lot of Smithy 1240 owners when I was shopping, so I thought a posted pic might be of interest to others considering the model.
I talked them into selling the machine w/o a control (their standard model uses an EMC based control) and interfaced the mill to the custom control I'd developed for my prior knee mill.
So far I'm pretty happy with the mill (though it has not been issue free - but nothing that I did not expect from Chinese iron).
Most recently, I completed the enclosure seen in the pic.
I'm really liking how the chips and coolant now stay inside the mill ;D
Dave
-
That's a pretty spiffy looking machine ya got there. Wish I had one that nice.
-
Great looking machine, thanks for sharing - :)
Dave
-
Looks like a nice wee mill :)
Hood
-
Dave,
Looks really good, and excellant job on the enclosure.
Thanks
ED
-
I like the enclosure , good job . I was thinking of the same mill but from another comany . What kind of feeds and rapids will it work at ? Did you reuse the 1700oz steppers ? Does it seem decent as far is being solid . What would you change if you had a choice ?
Thanks
Dave
-
Any closer pics of it?
Dave
-
One potential drawback for some people would be the R-8 spindle taper.
-
How so, Sam?
Dave
-
Hi,
Rapids are set to 120ipm. The machine is currently running the steppers, I set the accel and rapid rate to be what smithy uses for their EMC control. I could prob push it faster but I'd rather not worry about lost steps as it is pushed. FYI - my machine is slated for conversion to servos (my prior machine was servo based and I prefer it) - but this works fine as is, and can be used to build the parts needed for the servo upgrade.
So far I'm happy with the machine - even though there were multiple little things that had to be worked out as part of initial set up (silly stuff like coolant plumbing assembled with straight (not taper) pipe threads and no sealant - resulting in leaks). I considered things like that as part of the package deal when dealing with Chinese iron. I will say that the Smithy people have been great to work with - customer service has been quite good.
The one thing that I'd like to change I knew about before I bought the machine. The Z axis is only 12" and a vise and tooling eat that up quickly. On the project list is a spacer for the column to shift the Z axis up 2"-4" so that the travel is more useable to me. But this should be an easy mod - a 4" thick hunk of steel with two parallel sides and 6 bolt holes.
I don't want to start a "my brand machine is best war" - I tend to be of the opinion that a tool should suit the job it's being used for. I looked at IH and tormach and choose the smithy. I visited owners of both the IH and Smithy 1240 and took a close look before making a decision. For me, key factors were:
1) Tormach working envelope was smaller than I wanted - that was deal stopper for me;
2) IH gear head is noisy and limited re RPM, I prefer the belt drive on the smithy (or Tormach);
3) I preferred the linear guides for Z on the smithy - too many posts about hassles adjusting gibs on IH and Tormach to be just right;
4) Sensorless Vector vfd on the smithy (3P motor and VFD are extra $ on IH, T just upgraded to a comparable drive - again for extra $).
5) I wanted a machine w/o control as I had built a custom control and pendant etc for my prior machine that I wanted to reuse - I saw no need to pay for a rudimentary control like those that came bundled with all 3 brands, just to scrap it try to sell it used. Smithy agreed to sell the machine w/o a control; IH would also (both agreed after some arm twisting - a non-manfacturer control presents service issues to the companies - which I understood and agreed with);
6) for the configuration I wanted, Smithy ended up better on price than IH.
Dave
I like the enclosure , good job . I was thinking of the same mill but from another comany . What kind of feeds and rapids will it work at ? Did you reuse the 1700oz steppers ? Does it seem decent as far is being solid . What would you change if you had a choice ?
Thanks
Dave
-
I took lots of pics from delivrey to current state - if there is an area of particular interest, let me know.
Dave
Any closer pics of it?
Dave
-
No, sir, nothing specific, I just would like to see more pics overall of the machine in general.
Pics are worth a thousand words you know, and 10 pics would be 9 thousand more words than just one ;) :D
Thanks again,
Dave
-
OK, just remember you asked... ;)
Here are a few more thousand words worth then...
Dave
-
And one to show the access after the enclosure with the door open
Dave
-
Sounds good , thank you for your opinion . That is a good idea for the Z , I like that .
Dave
-
Excellent, thanks for that. Very nice looking machine (again).
Is that a 6" anglelock vise o there?
Thanks,
Dave
-
Very good job. Nice and clean. :)
How much does it weigh?
Brett
-
The vise in the pic is an Enco kurt copy that I've had for several years. I got spoiled using a real kurt in some CNC classes I took... so for xmas I bought myself a brand new kurt D688 ;D Now I'm dreading the day I "christen" the new vise with a tool mark :(
Dave
Excellent, thanks for that. Very nice looking machine (again).
Is that a 6" anglelock vise o there?
Thanks,
Dave
-
lol! Yep, it's a right of passage......we sign our "name" to everything at least once ;D
Dave
-
The mill itself is about 1200 lbs, the stand, wings, enclosure etc add around another 350 or so.
Dave
Very good job. Nice and clean. :)
How much does it weigh?
Brett
-
How so, Sam?
The R-8 tooling is a bit longer than others, and like Dave said, once you slap a vice on it, every inch counts. If you wanted to implement a tool changer, R-8's may present a problem. I've never seen a changer for R-8's. That don't mean they don't exist, I've just never seen one. Most CNC machines use BT or CAT or similar taper. With something like an ER the collet closing ranges are also more variable than R-8. It seems there's always a drill that's to loose or tight for the collet, and if the tool slips during use, both are damaged. You could get R-8/ER tooling, but that eats up even more room. A standard R-8 collet doesn't have the gripping power of a ER collet. If using standard collets, you would also have to set your Z for each tool change. You could use solid holders, but there long, and made for one size of tool shank. So, in my personal opinion, R-8's are less versatile than others. The fact the machine is R-8 would not be a deal breaker for me. Heck, I would love to have it. For the price that Novakon is advertising the stripped version for, it's certainly an eye opener, especially for people that don't have the time, desire, or equipment to make a comparable machine. Dunno how much Smithy wants for it. Would be nice if they did offer another taper.
-
Ah, completely understood on the length issue but there toolchangers out there using the Tormach toolholders and a power drawbar.
Hoss's setup is pretty slick as well, have a look if you haven't seen it already:
http://www.hossmachine.info/forum/yaf_postst4_Hoss-16-Tool-Automatic-Tool-Changer.aspx
Dave
-
Yeah I briefly looked at the system at tormach. To my understanding, the holders rely on fitting into a R-8 collet. You do get the "quick change" ability, but the collet clamping force is just not there. It's not hard at all for tools to climb out of them, especially when they get dull.
-
Interesting, I hadn't heard any complaints about those as of yet.
Thanks, Sam and sorry to derail your thread, Dave - :(
Dave
-
Dave,
Don't get all upset with these guys cutting down your R-8 TOOLING.
Bridgeports have been using it for years and on a bigger machine than yours.
Use this machine for what it's designed for and you won't have any problems.
A good power drawbar would be a good investment and quicker than an ATC.
My 2 cents.
Ed
-
These "guys"?
-
Ed,
He, he, No problem. I choose an R-8 machine on purpose as it lets me use all the r-8 tooling I had from the knee mill the 1240 replaced.
I actually started working on a pwr draw bar this weekend. I admit I'd love to have a full tool changer - but the expense and complexity is not justified by what I do as a hobby guy - but then I'd also love to have a Ferrari... ;)
Dave
-
Think the mill could handle more hp and RPM ?
Dave
-
Na, ain't nobody cutting anything down. I use both R-8 and 30 taper on my 9-5 job. I would rather have the 30 if given the option, but then again, I would rather have 1 of Dave's R-8 machines than 5 of my machines if given the option. Now that you've shown us the machine, your obligated to show us the products you've made with it. You do know that, right? It's in the fine print of the registration form.
-
When you mentioned a servo change over what components where you thinking of using ? I was thinking of the same thing . Novakon is near me with the same mill . I was thinking of buying less the controller also .
Dave
-
Hi,
re the possible servo conversion... I'm just in the thinking stage on that one.
My design would be driven by the equipment I already have. I have a set of motors and encoders that I used on a prior knee mill that I converted to CNC. They are MCG DC servo motors, 2 850in-oz (X and Y) and one 1100 in-oz (Z).
First issue is that the motors I have are all N34 mounts and all the smithy mounts are N42.
Smithy needed the N42 for Z and then decided to use all N42 to save SKUs - they told me early mills were N34.
The Smithy N42 mounts are essentially mechanical interfaces that convert form a bolt pattern at the machine/table end to a N42 mount. They are deep enough to house the couplings that are used between the Steppers and the ball screw shafts.
Smithy made a couple of servo driven 1240s - but they direct couple the servos to the shafts - I'm not surprised they didn't find that satisfactory. I'm include in the design in a belt drive reduction to keep the servos in the desired RPM range (again I'd use the pulleys and belts I have). This does not look too hard on X and Z, but Y is a bit more of a challenge as the Y motor is under the column arch casting. So I'm thinking that a shaft and bearings to extend the Y shaft out behind the casting would be needed... that then involves clearance issues between the casting and the rear panel of the cool catch system that I built the enclosure on top of....
I expect this so be a longer term project - I thought about it some prior to purchase, and I'm convinced it's doable, but it's also not an immediate priority for me. Since the steppers do work, it's easy to put this off and use the mill as is for higher priority projects.
Dave
-
So how is the mill working so far ? Have and part pictures to show the finish ?
Dave
-
HELP
I have a early style Smithy 1240( Servo 4 speedTransmision) Please help setting up Mach3 I have no paperwork on this mill A screen print of the pin set up would be GREAT . It now has emc2 on it no AXIS setup . I purchased it USED Please someone HELP . Thanks
-
Smithycnc ,
Does the EMC not work ? EMC runs on Linux os . If you want to run Mach, you'll have to install on win 2000 , or xp. Preferably a pc tower.
Then check out the manuals and videos on the support tab at the top of this page. If you need more help , come back to this forum.
Ed
-
Love the enclosure mycalypso.
Any chance you can describe and maybe post some pictures of how it was put together and attached to the machine? I have one of these machines on order and I think I want to build a similar enclosure.
-
Got the CNC1240 in, and we are using it....works fairly well, but took a while to get a good tool change and measure procedure figured out.
Have yet to build the enclosure though, just got a simple screen on it now.