Lubrication system for X3 Mill

[marty989]

I have a thread going on in the CNC section of the forum so forgive me for the intrusion, but I thought I'd come here to ask about a few of the more conventional parts of the build :)

A lot of people have recommended a one shot oiling system. I decided I didn't want the clutter of one of them but I did want to make oiling easier. The mill currently has some oiling points but I wanted to change them to the nipple/zerk fittings. I wasn't sure whether these could be used for oil but looking around it would seem some do use them ie on Bridgeport mills so it seems this is an ok idea.

As the mill may go in an enclosure what I wanted to do was create a breakout for these points to make oiling easier. One mounted on the head for the Z ways and ball nut and another mounted on the base for the X and Y ways and ball nuts.

Can anyone see this as a bad idea?

The first step will be to get some oil grooves milled into the ways. To do this I'll need to remove the head and column from the base.

So my other problem is once that's done and I reassemble, how do I check for squareness to the table?

The mill does have locating pins in both the column and head.

I don't have a cylindrical square and I've seen some other options like this

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=218762&d=1344396400

but then you'd need to ensure perpendicularity to the table. Am I over complicating this?

Sorry for the long first post and thanks for your help :2tsup:

[Stustoys]

Hi

IAm I over complicating this?
Yes, if I understand what you are after.
Clamp the dial gauge arms in the chuck so the dial gauge reads vertically on the table on say a radius of 100mm. Take a reading. rotate the spindle 180 degrees take a reading, When the readings are the same the spindle axis is square to the table.(in that plane). Its called tramming.

how to tram a mill ut.wmv - YouTube (this seems to cover it at length, though I didnt watch it all)

Stuart

[marty989]

Thanks for the reply Stuart. From what I had read I was under the impression that squaring the column and tramming were not the same thing?

[simonl]

Hi Marty,

I think your system would be fine and a huge improvement on how it is as standard. I have a 45 size mill and was also looking at doing a similar thing but using cup oilers screwed into the existing factory oil points. I decided against this as the rear oil point on the table gets very close to the column in the extreme reaches of travel. An oil cup there would either reduce my travel or get damaged if I wasn't concentrating. So, I decided on a simplified one shot system similar to what a number of other people have done, using pneumatic push fit connectors, flow controllers and some home made distribution manifolds. I also don't like clutter and plumbing hanging off the mill, especially off the front so I tried as best I could to route the oil lines in underneath the mill table. I got this idea from Thomas Powell and the mod he did on his mill.One Shot Oiler (http://imageevent.com/tppjr/mill/rf45dovetailmill/oneshotoiler) For a home job I think his is the best I have seen.

Mine is not exactly the same but I did steal some of his ideas. My lube system is nearly complete, I'm just waiting on the arrival of some flow controllers which will attach to one of my distribution manifolds and I'm pretty much done. When they arrive I will take the final pics of my system and post them on my thread http://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/lubrication-system-154228/.

As for tramming and alignment issues, I will let Stuart or others comment on these issues!

Good luck with your lubrication system and keep us up to date with some pics!

Simon

[marty989]

Thanks Simon.

Thomas Powell's installation has been in my favorites list for a while now :D It is definably a very clean installation.

I see you milled your grooves right to the edge of the ways to lead into the dovetails. That was going to be one of my future questions. I've seen some like that and then a lot where they are just contained in the ways.

I'm think while I got it all disassembled I might give a new paint job as well.

[Stustoys]

Thanks for the reply Stuart. From what I had read I was under the impression that squaring the column and tramming were not the same thing?
Seems I've misunderstood the question. They aren't the same thing but as the column isn't normally adjustable I just assumed. Is the X3 adjustable or is this something you just want to check?
Looking at your picture what they might have done is.
Trammed the head to the table.
Set the straight edge up so its parallel to the quill travel.*
Using the Z travel, adjusted the column parrallel to the straight edge.
Retrammed the head.

I think that would work.

Stuart

*this assumes the quill travel and the spindle axis are parallel.

[marty989]

Hi Stuart,

I didn't explain myself very well. On the X3 the column is secured to the base using 4 bolts and 2 locating pins. I thought I'd have to remove it so I could mill the oil grooves but I've just realised the error of my ways! :doh:

I should be able to paint it without removing the column.

I was thinking of tramming the head to the table and then perhaps using an angle plate like this M242 | Precision Ground Open End Angle Plate | machineryhouse.com.au (http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/M242) (Are they squared on all sides?) running a DTI up one of them as I moved the Z axis up?

[simonl]

I see you milled your grooves right to the edge of the ways to lead into the dovetails. That was going to be one of my future questions. I've seen some like that and then a lot where they are just contained in the ways.


Hi Marty,

Yep I went through the same thought process as you. I have seen many without and only some with. If I didn't do what I did then I would have had to do two more oil lines into the saddle to lubricate the dovetails. On many machines the dovetails seem to be out of mind, out of sight. So I decided on the current course of action. If it turns out to be the wrong decision then I will fill it in with some liquid metal, no big deal. In any case, with or without it's still miles ahead of the way it was so I'm not overly concerned. The Y ways have one oil line each side but it feeds into both the bottom ways and the dovetails. The gibb side has a small hole through the gibb to allow the same passage. A small groove in the gibb side allows oil to always find it's way even if the gibb is later adjusted inwards. Same same with the Z. No such problem with the X ways as gravity does it's job.

I didn't mill grooves in the Z because I would have needed to take it somewhere to be done. I don't like outsourcing what is essentially a hobby to me. My design briefs usually work around my skills and machining capabilities. If I don't have the skills or machinery to achieve something then I either learn the skills, buy the machinery or change the design.

In the end you are entitled to personal choice on any such decision there is not necessarily a right or wrong approach in this case from my experiences and reading.

Cheers,

Simon

[marty989]

Thanks Simon.

I think my Z already has some grooves milled into it. I appreciate the advice. I'm finding it a little hard finding any info on rigid oil lines though. I had a look into what the model engineers are using and the fittings are quite expensive and large since they are for steam.

From what I could see and find, the brass and aluminium tube is all imperial K&S hobby stuff. Not sure if it will be fit for this purpose and whether I can just use the standard compression fittings on it.

[Michael G]

Marty, you can use nylon tubing with brass compression fittings quite satisfactory. To hold it in place, use something like automotive bog - make sure the casting underneath is clean and then just put a lump over the tube to hold it there (you may need to use some masking tape or something while it sets).
If you need to bend it, run some whipper-snipper line up the tube and then gently heat. With out the line inside, the tube will either collapse or kink. Pull it out and throw away when you are finished.

Michael

[marty989]

Well I finally got the head off. It already has the oil grooves milled in. Just need to remove and replace the oilers which seem to be 6.3mm wide. Most of the 4mm metric fittings seem to go up to M5.

Got a bit of a shock when I removed the spindle though. Would like to know everyone's thoughts on this casting though. :oo: That gear wouldn't clear without a bit of a gap but that just looks ugly.

[simonl]

Hi Marty,

Regards to the casting. It just looks so typical of a Chinese mill to be honest. It isn't pretty but there is enough (read just enough) machining surface for it to do it's job. I get the impression (after seeing enough pictures and my own experience) that most of the Chinese manufacturers fly by the seat of their pants when it comes to casting and machining the parts. They don't have to be perfect for them to do their job.

It's a pity you can't go to the factory and hand pick each component!

Just clean it up and put it back together. Soon you will forget it was there!

PS after another sneak peak, the area in question is not even part of the mating surface so it won't affect your quill travel accuracy. It just looks terrible!

Simon

[marty989]

Well I'm slowly getting organised. I was hoping to get further ahead with the mockup but I think it will be easier to check for clearances etc as I build. Most of the fittings are M4 but the two fittings for the ways on the head are 1/8" diameter BSP tapered. I haven't dealt with BSP before and there seems to be a bit of varying info on what is required. Do I need to ream a tapered hole or not? There isn't a lot of thread there either (maybe 4 in total) and the hole will be quite shallow. Some have suggested just drilling an tapping a BSPP and essentially forcing it in. I don't have any BSP taps either so they'll need to be bought for this.


Any suggestions?
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Thanks

[simonl]

Hi,

I'm not an expert but there seems to be several BSP threads. BSPP (BSP Parallel) and BSPT (BSP tapered) there may well be others as well. I have 1/8 BSPP and BSPT and it just depends on the fitting that you want to use. If there is enough room to support a 1/8 BSP fitting then just drill out the appropriate hole and tap it. I used 1/8 BSP fittings on my lube system, I looked at M4 as they were smaller but I didn't like how they used an o-ring to seal as I was worried that they would not make a proper seal on rough casting surfaces. The BSP fittings create the seal with the thread.

Hope this helps,

Simon

[marty989]

Hi Simon, These fitting are BSPT. Did you just drill an 8.4mm hole and use a BSPT tap? Did you get away with just an intermediate or did you use a plug tap as well?

[simonl]

Hi Simon, These fitting are BSPT. Did you just drill an 8.4mm hole and use a BSPT tap? Did you get away with just an intermediate or did you use a plug tap as well?

8.4mm? I couldn't remember the required drill size for 1/8 BSP but yes I just drilled the required hole and carefully taped. No didn't use a plug tap, I don't know what that is anyway so you may already be ahead of me on this! I made sure I removed and cleaned the tap and hole after about each turn or so. On some of my tapped holes I got damaged threads where it appears the high spots on the thread had been torn away. I think this was from either a blunt tap (my taps are very old) or from not cleaning as often as I should have. Mostly I have found CI to be very easy to tap.

Good luck!

Simon