MILL CONTROL BOX

(JUL TO AGO 2006)

JOB SUPER DONE , MAN

The mill controls (switches) are in a bad position that is not really accessible. I planned to make an external box with the on of switch and the rpm regulator.

First thing to do is to remove the rpm regulator from the column and extend its 3 wires for about 2 meters...

Second step is to break one of the motor wires and extend it again for two meters (this is my way to start and stop the engine).

All these 5 wires will travel inside a corrugated hose that comes out from the right bottom side of the mill.

The picture shows the hole made for the hose.

This one shows the rewiring step, with the black hose installed.

now it is time to make the box for the remote control, I am using a 10mm aluminum plate from which I cut a 41 mm slice with my self made (arbor) slitting saw 5".

The coolant is going everywhere!!! what a MESS !!!

After this step I had to find a better solution to improve the coolant and chips shields system. First I moved the diptray forward about 20cm and then I added two side (provisory mounted) clear perspex A4 sheets. In this way I am now ready to machine with the coolant having a 360° shield around the workpiece.

The long 41mm alu bar is now cut roughly with desired dimension (81mm and 61 mm)

4 parts ready to be machined , now..

Back on the mill to be made true at 80mm and 60mm. (note the new installed lateral splash shields.....)

few movement on the vise and the 4 parts are done... (this picture shows the result after one pass with the 80mm SECO octomill.. (are you still using a flycutter ?? NOOOOO - you are prehistoric! -- ))

according to the SECO CUT software I have to use about 7500 rpm to machine 40mm wide with my seco octomill...unfortunately the sieg X3 cannot go so fast , and I have used a 1800 - 2000 rpm speed. The result is realy good, but few lines are visible on the surface. The surface is perfectly FLAT, and the MIRROR effect demonstrate that the seco OCTOmill is a good toy...

Anyway, after few hours the 4 pieces are done. that is al for today. now I have to clean the MEGA mess that the coolant created. It seems a porridge! (alu chips and coolant)

27 Ago 2006:

Today I worked on the lateral box sides, starting from a raw aluminum sheet of 6mm. It was too big to cut with the band saw and I had to cut it by hand!!!

82mm flat plate is cut and now is squared with a 20mm slot mill and then cut again at 82mm , to have two squares.

shaping the borders at 90° with the 20mm cutter...

and 4 passes (one each side, each part)  of octomill to makes surfaces flat and clean....

..sides and surfaces are done , now it is turn of creating the lever axle slot. (picture shows the axle mounted into the 8mm slot jut made..) this step is done twice, one every side. The axle was turned before at 7.98mm)

then centering the frontside part to machine the hole for the rpm regulator and the slot for the lever... (centering with a laser... a nice TOY!!)

slot done, regulator hole in progress....(showed)

same thing on the back side, to use a rubber grummet, that ill be the cable inlet.

.....few cuts with the 5" slitting saw onto a old plastic part unused to have a small block that will keep in the right place the on off switch....

the block is created and is tapped M3.....

switch mounted into on the left side plate. (picture shows the 6 plates, including the front one with a large slotted area for the RPM regulator....

it is time to make the lever now.... back on the lathe to have a true 12mm rod...from a 16mm one.

few passes, and then a thread is made to hold the future RED BALL (probably a pool mini 3 ball) as lever end ball.

I had the idea to make two spacers made of acetal.... and here I am drilling them with a 8mm end mill (on the lathe , yes)

the lever is mounted on the vice to get the 8mm hole. Again laser used to find the point...

I am using a dormer 8mm endmill that goes like a knife into butter!!!!

lever positioned to get the M10 thread, starting with a 8mm end mill..

tapping with a M10 dormer tap.

this tapping is to hold the Spring system with a ball on the nose that will gives a CLICK to the handle movement.

The following picture show the M8 screw, made on the lathe , during a drilling procedure before the threading with M6 tap. the internal M6 thread is made to adjust the spring tension that pushes the ball into the position.

part is finished... the ball is onto the bit and the spring will be kept in place by the small black M6 bolt

back view...

Now, I have done the raw box, the axle, the lever, the spring system, but I still have to make the pins to hold together the small sides onto the big sides...

this is making the pins...

and this is the making of pins holes into the body parts..

now, pins and holes are done....

let's mount the box and let's flat his surface , before put in place the left cover..

4 holes drilled with a 5mm bit and deeper with a 4.2mm , one each corner...

and each hole gets a M5 thread

and a countersink action....

same procedure on the second cover (right one) and the box is mounted and closed. now it is time to make perfect each side, just a touch with the seco octomill, about 0.05 deep for a nice finish.... 4 sides gets same treatment.

plus some edges trimming....and then some manual filing....

now the box is done,

I need to make 2 holes to clamp the box onto the mill side basement, plus other two M4 threads to hold in place the small steel plate where the locking ball will travel. If I use the inner aluminum surface with a steel ball, the surface will be  dug day by day from the steel ball movement. To create the small steel plate I've used an old steel 3mm plate....

and once mounted, I am making the two ball seatings.....

It is time to paint the box now....first thing the aluminum needs to be sanded down to 320 grit to promote the adhesion of the primer.

then, transferring the parts into the paintshop (the shed, with a radiator on with max power...  +40°!!!) to spray few coats of adhesion promoter followed after 30 minutes few coats of primer, gray....

here I just painted the first coat of topcoat (with a paintbrush) and I am drying the parts onto my artificial painting oven (the radiator!)

tomorrow I will sand down a little bit this coat and I will apply the final two....

but ... in the mean time I was waiting between coats I've done the two threads into the mill base to hold the box...

Am I wearing the right things to paint ?!?   :)

two more coats.....the color is getting the right tone!

31 Ago 2006:

the box is painted and ready to be mounted... I have done two small holes on the bottom just in case some water goes inside from the lever slot....

The photo shows all the wires welded and the box ready to be mounted..

two screws and the box is positioned...

4 more screws to close it and the job is DONE!!!

this is how I use the box... just with two fingers, I can move up or down the lever and have a fast and easy control on the spindle!!!

.....nice modification INNIT !O!?!??

I am gonna put a knob on top of the lever just to make it more visible..

after few tests I discovered that the SIEG circuit does not allow to start and stop the motor just breaking one of the two motor wires, the system works fine but if I increase the rpm once I stop the motor I am not able to start it again!!!!   WHAT A FUCK SICK story!!!!

now I need to work out why the safe circuit break the motor when I apply power again.... or I am thinking about mount a relay that opens and close the 3 cables that comes out from the sieg power switch...

will see......

 1 Sept 2006:

Today I fount the solution !!

I thought about installing a relay 4 ways to control the three wires that are connected to the foward / rev original switch.

I have done few test on the lathe to check that the relay works . after the testings I was sure that the relay modification on the mill will had work !

to do the modifications I had to lift the mill with the crane to work on the real control core unit.

I drilled two holes to clamp the relay pcb on the mill column, just in a very accessible place.

I mounted two protection plastic pieces on the sides between the column and column cover. Though that gap lot of chips goes into the column!!!

back on the main project, the mill were positioned again onto the diptray after a test run.

everything was working perfectly!!!! nice idea to use a relay!!!

last bit to do is now to thread the knob that is a pool chainring ! (I love to play pool, so I am happy to have a 3ball as lever knob!!).

3ball because it is red, the best hi viz color for the lever that now is the main lever of the whole mill.

drilling 8.6mm

...threading M10

mount the 3ball and the mill control lever unit is DONE !!!

have a look at the video (12mb) of the new lever in action...