Adding Z-axis feed to Sieg X3

A great mill, about the only issue I had with it was having to crank the Z-crank to raise/lower the head. Due to 1/2 reduction, it takes a while.

So here's a pic of how I tackled that. Not most industrial looking, but definitely quick and uber easy mod. V-belt grove is cut into the Z-crank, to match a Polyflex

5m500 belt, matching pulley turned and set on a shaft of a dc gear motor I had laying around. A smallish 50VDC ps is fashioned from spares in junk box, mounted inside of electronics enclosure of the mill. DPDS switch controls the direction.

The V-belt comes on/off in about 2 seconds, but even with the belt on, you can still move the head with the crank.

Some alum foil slapped around to close any opening in the motor and gear box. The motor stays cold to the touch and the duty cycle ends up very low anyway, as you don't move the head that often. I estimate the crank revolves at about

3-5rpm, depending on direction (the head is not counterbalanced, so there's the gravity issue).

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rashid111
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RPS :), of course.

Reply to
rashid111

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Extremely cool. Great idea!

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

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