March 2023 - Progressing on with the CNC conversion.
We are getting very close to having a fully functional CNC machine at this point but we need a full enclosure to stop the coolant and chips from going all over and making a mess of the workshop.
As all the design work was done before hand on Fusion 360 that allowed us to convert all the sheet metal 3D designs to STEP and DXF format to be sent the over to Luffman Engineering to be laser cut and bent on their big sheet metal brakes.
Once we had all the parts back form Luffman they all needed to be fully cleaned and prepped for tig welding and drilling for the captive nuts.
Below are a few photos of how it all went together this took quite a few weekends to complete.
Rear pannel being assembled before epoxy top coat
Rollers on the doors worked out well.
More pre paint assembly work.
Working on the doors and handles
The enclosure was all painted with epoxy primer and epoxy top coat we chose this for its oil and chemical resistance and long service life as we really don't want to have to paint it again. All paints were brought form Regal Paints in the UK and are the highest quality available.
Once the enclosure was complete it was time to get the coolant system up and running so we started by making a coolant ring to attach around the spindle that allows for the mounting of lockline coolant pipes, see below for the completed part.
The first real machined part from the CNC machine.
O rings fitted for a water tight seal.
Coolant drains.
Underside of the coolant drains.
The Lubrication system was also a huge undertaking and many custom fittings had to be made for it to fully function, here are some images of how it turned out.
One shot oiler for the way oil.
Lubrication feed.
Lubrication feeds going in to the main castings.
There is a huge amount of work involved in designing and making a CNC conversion way more than I have managed document but I hope this has still given a good insight to what's involved and what can be done in a small workshop with very limited tools and machines.
That's it for this blog post i will be back soon with another instalment.