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| DTI in tool holder on QCTP. |
Friday, January 27, 2017
Lathe: QCTP Dial Indicator
This is just a super easy way I mounted a DTI to a tool holder to use on my QCTP. It's especially handy when using a 4 jaw chuck. It's slightly awkward to read, but it hasn't been annoying enough yet to make me fabricate a better mount for it.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Mill: SCR vs. PWM
Please read the complete article:
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/mill-speed-control.html
There are two commonly used ways to power a DC motor from AC voltage: SCR and PWM.
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/mill-speed-control.html
There are two commonly used ways to power a DC motor from AC voltage: SCR and PWM.
In short, an SCR will essentially chop off half the AC input and feed that to the motor, with the speed being controlled by where in the AC waveform it starts to feed it to the motor. When the motor is set to full speed this is fine, but at anything less than full speed the motor won't be getting the full voltage. While with PWM the AC is rectified to DC, and then the DC is very rapidly switched on and off to control the speed, so the motor sees rapid, brief inputs of full voltage.
In real life this means SCR controllers are cheaper, more robust, and able to handle more current, but are louder (they produce an AC buzz), the motor runs hotter, and the brushes and commutator have a reduced lifespan. PWM controllers are more expensive, have lower current limits, are somewhat easier to break, but they run very silently and the motor runs cooler with a longer brush and commutator life.
I just recently upgraded my mill to a KBIC speed controller which uses SCR technology. However, I has able to get a KBWS PWM controller for a really good price, so the KBIC came out and the KBWS went in.
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| KBWS installed in the mill. |
The quieter operation was immediately noticeable and very welcome. After an extended run the motor was still cool to the touch, unlike with the KBIC. Ultimately, I think it was a worthwhile upgrade.
Both the mini mill and mini lathe mostly use PWM controllers stock. However, the stock controllers are very limited and prone to die. If my choice was the stock controller or a KBIC/KBLC I would go with the KBIC/KBLC, even though they're SCR simply for the significantly greater performance and adjustability they offer. However, if you can get a KBWS for a good price, that's a better the way to go.
A quite note, KB Electronics makes a cheaper version of the KBWS called the KBWD. However, while the KBWD will work, it doesn't have an electronic stop like the KBWS has. On a mill/lathe the electronic stop is very handy, since you can set a speed and then use it to turn the motor one and off without disturbing the speed setting. That feature is useful enough to me to specifically seek out the more expensive KBWS.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Lathe: Headstock Alignment
I used the RDM (Rollie's Dad's Method) to check the alignment of my lathe's headstock to the bed in preparation for the spindle upgrade. It was 0.003" 7.5" from the chuck, so not super great. I read about using shims between the headstock and the bed to adjust the alignment, so I gave that a try, but even the smallest shim I had (0.0005") swung the headstock way too far the other way. The problem is, any change I made at the headstock was multiplied several times at the end of the bed. I ultimately dismounted the headstock entirely and thoroughly cleaned the bed and headstock's bottom and made sure to get rid of any paint residue and other contaminants. I also filed the edges and corners and deburred the threaded holes. Once I mounted it back it was only 0.0005" out at 7.5" from the headstock, which is a number I can live with.
Ultimately, I think using shims to adjust the headstock would only work if it was badly out of alignment to begin with. Otherwise, I think taking it apart and clean everything thoroughly is the best you can do.
Ultimately, I think using shims to adjust the headstock would only work if it was badly out of alignment to begin with. Otherwise, I think taking it apart and clean everything thoroughly is the best you can do.
Mill: Speed Control
Please read the complete article:
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/mill-speed-control.html
NOTE: If you're not comfortable working with electrical component and AC power, then do NOT attempt this modification. Touching the wrong thing can potentially kill you.
My mill is a Grizzly G8689 with the standard brushed motor. All its wires are numbered, I assume for ease of assembly, so I'll refer to the wires by their numbers. I assume the wiring is the same for all brushed motor mills, but your mileage may vary.
The X2 mill's DC motor speed controller is the weak link and not the motor itself. Short of doing a treadmill motor/controller upgrade, you can upgrade just the speed controller and see good gains in both torque and speed. Although the stock controller is a PWM unit, it's not a very good one and is quite limited. It's also a much easier and potentially cheaper upgrade than a treadmill motor.
The common DC controller you'll see in searches if the KBLC-19PM which is just a custom version of the KBIC-120 rated for 125VDC out instead of the standard 90VDC. The KBIC-120 is only rated up to 0.5 HP without a heatsink and the X2's motor is actually 0.5 HP or less, regardless of what the sticker on it says. so you can safely use the KBLC-19PM or the KBIC-120 using the 0.5 HP resistor (0.25 ohm, PN#9841). You can also use the KBMM series of controllers, but the cheaper KBIC works fine. Since I was able to get the best deal on it, I went with the KBIC-125B, which is a KBIC-125 uprated from 90VDC to 125VDC. Aside from the KBIC itself, I also needed a 5k potentiometer. Forunately my KBIC come with a motor fuse, otherwise I would have needed to add one (the mill should use a 7.5A fuse).
The stock controller is screwed to the back of the mill's electrical box, with a small accessory board next to it. The accessory board converts AC to 20VDC to power the fan. To remove the controller loosen all the terminal screws, remove the wires, remove the four screws and remove the board. To make room for the KBIC I also removed the accessory board, turned it, and mounted it to the side of the box using a couple newly drilled holes, some plastic washer, and a pair of pop rivets.
To mount the KBIC I reused one of the vent holes on the side of the box, then measured and drilled a second hole, and using two screws and nuts secured the KBIC's side to the side of the box.
Inside the small controller box I disconnected the motor leads from the switch and connected them to wires 1 and 2 running back to the electrical box. The 5k potentiometer was wiring in using the old potentiometer's wires with a direct swap over. The old potentiometer also incorporates a switch with three wires going to it (AC neutral), I took those three wires and soldered them all together and heat shrinked them.
Back in the electrical box I soldered spade connectors onto the wires to make installation and troubleshooting easier. I then wired it up per this diagram:
On the 20VDC accessory board I connected wire #3 to the AC neutral terminal and connected #4 wire with a short jumper to the AC hot terminal. I removed the yellow LED which was wired in series with the accessory board since it was disrupting its operation. Now the fan runs whenever there's power. I don't think the added cooling is needed, but I didn't see a reason not to.
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/mill-speed-control.html
NOTE: If you're not comfortable working with electrical component and AC power, then do NOT attempt this modification. Touching the wrong thing can potentially kill you.
My mill is a Grizzly G8689 with the standard brushed motor. All its wires are numbered, I assume for ease of assembly, so I'll refer to the wires by their numbers. I assume the wiring is the same for all brushed motor mills, but your mileage may vary.
 |
| The stock controller. You can see the numbered tags on the wires and the terminals. |
The X2 mill's DC motor speed controller is the weak link and not the motor itself. Short of doing a treadmill motor/controller upgrade, you can upgrade just the speed controller and see good gains in both torque and speed. Although the stock controller is a PWM unit, it's not a very good one and is quite limited. It's also a much easier and potentially cheaper upgrade than a treadmill motor.
The common DC controller you'll see in searches if the KBLC-19PM which is just a custom version of the KBIC-120 rated for 125VDC out instead of the standard 90VDC. The KBIC-120 is only rated up to 0.5 HP without a heatsink and the X2's motor is actually 0.5 HP or less, regardless of what the sticker on it says. so you can safely use the KBLC-19PM or the KBIC-120 using the 0.5 HP resistor (0.25 ohm, PN#9841). You can also use the KBMM series of controllers, but the cheaper KBIC works fine. Since I was able to get the best deal on it, I went with the KBIC-125B, which is a KBIC-125 uprated from 90VDC to 125VDC. Aside from the KBIC itself, I also needed a 5k potentiometer. Forunately my KBIC come with a motor fuse, otherwise I would have needed to add one (the mill should use a 7.5A fuse).
 |
| KBIC-125 |
The stock controller is screwed to the back of the mill's electrical box, with a small accessory board next to it. The accessory board converts AC to 20VDC to power the fan. To remove the controller loosen all the terminal screws, remove the wires, remove the four screws and remove the board. To make room for the KBIC I also removed the accessory board, turned it, and mounted it to the side of the box using a couple newly drilled holes, some plastic washer, and a pair of pop rivets.
To mount the KBIC I reused one of the vent holes on the side of the box, then measured and drilled a second hole, and using two screws and nuts secured the KBIC's side to the side of the box.
 |
| KBIC mounted in box with accessory board mounted on the side. In this picture it's already been wired. |
Inside the small controller box I disconnected the motor leads from the switch and connected them to wires 1 and 2 running back to the electrical box. The 5k potentiometer was wiring in using the old potentiometer's wires with a direct swap over. The old potentiometer also incorporates a switch with three wires going to it (AC neutral), I took those three wires and soldered them all together and heat shrinked them.
 |
| The three wires on the old potentiometer which I wired together. |
Back in the electrical box I soldered spade connectors onto the wires to make installation and troubleshooting easier. I then wired it up per this diagram:
On the 20VDC accessory board I connected wire #3 to the AC neutral terminal and connected #4 wire with a short jumper to the AC hot terminal. I removed the yellow LED which was wired in series with the accessory board since it was disrupting its operation. Now the fan runs whenever there's power. I don't think the added cooling is needed, but I didn't see a reason not to.
The emergency cutoff switch is still used and turns AC on and off before it connects to any switch or board. The AC fuse in the diagram isn't used as the mill's existing fuse is used instead.
The "Inhibit" function on the KDIC allows the motor to be turned off electronically. I decided to take advantage of it, as it allows me to set a RPM, and then use the switch to turn the motor on and off without having to reset the speed every time like on the stock controller (note: the switch's direction is now reversed so you might want to relabel it). The KBIC also gave me much finer control over the motor, which was a pleasant surprise. The stock board was frustrating to try and adjust, since the adjustments frequently overlapped. However, on the KBIC they're all nicely separated and discrete.
Once the KBIC is connected, I needed to adjust it for my motor specifically. The first thing I did was adjust Max Speed so the output was 110VDC at full speed. I then adjust the Min Speed so the motor stopped just before the speed knob hit zero. The factory Accel setting was good, but could be adjusted if the motor either spun up to speed too fast or too slow. I left the Current Limit at it's factory value of 1.5x the HP resistor. I also left the IR Compensation as is, but might look at it later if I find the motor RPMs dropping under heavier load; it allows the KBIC to compensate (to a degree) for load to keep the RPMs steady.
Ultimately, this upgrade was a lot easier and cheaper than I expected, and I'm very pleased with it. The extra motor speed has allowed me to get rid of my high speed pulley setting entirely.
PLEASE SEE PART II OF THIS UPGRADE:
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/01/mill-scr-vs-pwm.html
Once the KBIC is connected, I needed to adjust it for my motor specifically. The first thing I did was adjust Max Speed so the output was 110VDC at full speed. I then adjust the Min Speed so the motor stopped just before the speed knob hit zero. The factory Accel setting was good, but could be adjusted if the motor either spun up to speed too fast or too slow. I left the Current Limit at it's factory value of 1.5x the HP resistor. I also left the IR Compensation as is, but might look at it later if I find the motor RPMs dropping under heavier load; it allows the KBIC to compensate (to a degree) for load to keep the RPMs steady.
Ultimately, this upgrade was a lot easier and cheaper than I expected, and I'm very pleased with it. The extra motor speed has allowed me to get rid of my high speed pulley setting entirely.
PLEASE SEE PART II OF THIS UPGRADE:
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/01/mill-scr-vs-pwm.html
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Mill: Sealed Angular Contact Bearings
Please read the complete article:
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/mill-spindle-bearings.html
The mill's angular contact bearings now have over a year and a half of use on them. Upon inspection, the bearing showed unusual wear, especially the bottom one. I'm fairly convinced it's a combination of mild contamination and lack of lubrication (due to the vertical spindle the grease tends to settle out of the bearing). Ultimately, I decided the best solution was sealed AC bearings. While they're readily available from an over-seas vendor, those bearings are ABEC-1 which have 0.0005" runout. SKF makes a 7206-BE-2RZP sealed AC bearing which is ABEC-3 and is supposed to have ABEC-5 runout. They're more expensive, but lower spindle runout is particularly critical in a mill (due to uneven chip loading on mill tooling). The one place I could readily find them (and for a good price!) was www.123bearing.com.
I have kept my preload at approximately 100 to 125 pounds.
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/2017/04/mill-spindle-bearings.html
The mill's angular contact bearings now have over a year and a half of use on them. Upon inspection, the bearing showed unusual wear, especially the bottom one. I'm fairly convinced it's a combination of mild contamination and lack of lubrication (due to the vertical spindle the grease tends to settle out of the bearing). Ultimately, I decided the best solution was sealed AC bearings. While they're readily available from an over-seas vendor, those bearings are ABEC-1 which have 0.0005" runout. SKF makes a 7206-BE-2RZP sealed AC bearing which is ABEC-3 and is supposed to have ABEC-5 runout. They're more expensive, but lower spindle runout is particularly critical in a mill (due to uneven chip loading on mill tooling). The one place I could readily find them (and for a good price!) was www.123bearing.com.
I have kept my preload at approximately 100 to 125 pounds.
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