Electrical Musings

Before I go much further I should note that I am new to CNC and machining in general. Which means I have no tooling. I do have a good set of import drills and a set of inexpensive end mills but no test indicator, to tool holders, etc. One of the first things I looked at when I got the machine was the taper. These machines came with 2 types of Quick Connect tapers, either QC#30 or Kwik Switch 200. My machine has Kwik Switch 200 which according to users of CNCZone is far superior to R8. Unfortunately tool holders are not as common as R8 or as inexpensive. The first tool holding device I acquired (or am acquiring) is a keyless chuck and a 1 JT Kwik Connect 200 adapter. This is what the one that I won in auction looks like. Although I did win the auction a while back, I have still not received the adapter. I first bought a 1 JT adapter but plan on getting a 2 JT and 3 JT adapters. I also bought a 5/15" keyless chuck for the 1 JT and will get a 3/8" for a 2 JT

CNC Software is something that I have researched for many years. I actually have a set of three stepper drivers, a couple good NEMA 23 motors and a small XY table that I bought from Grizzly. What was always missing was the software (both CNC and CAD/CAM). Over the last few years I have searched and collected demos and free software. The best option for free software for CNC control is EMC2. http://www.linuxcnc.org/ Although the software runs on Linux it is a very good option for CNC work. The Bridgeport actually came with software and a computer running Win 98. The software is made by CamSoft and is both a CNC control package and a CAD/CAM package. A while back I downloaded a CAM program demo from MecSoft called VisualMill. I have not yet installed it but will try it out. My interest in VisualMill was because of a plug in for Rhino. A friend's husband uses Rhino to design hulls of hydrofoil assisted catamarans , very cool technology. He suggested that he program is a good v

One of the big questions that I have about the new milling machine is maintenance and cleaning. Cleaning the ways I was almost tempted to get out the Foamy Engine Clean and spray down the machine and let all the sludge drip onto the floor. However I avoided cleaning anything that may contain grease or lube with any degreaser. On the painted surfaces I used a version of "Orange Clean" (which I could not find locally). It is called "Greased Lightning Blast" with orange oil. It made short work of most of the grease on the machine grey paint. The machine after a bit of cleaning. Anyone have a source for cans of enamel spray paint that matches? Way Wipers A quick Google search shows that many people want to sell you exotic and probably expensive way wipers. But on Ebay a couple sellers offer felt way wipers specially for Series 1 Bridgeport. I still haven't decided what to do about the wipers. It is suggested that they are changed out yearly so I am g

I have a new project. Recently a series 1 Bridgeport BOSS CNC milling machine was posted on Craigslist. The machine was in the process of being retrofitted as the control went down and a previous owner threw it away. It came with a couple tool holders, some Gecko stepper drivers, some software packages and all the manuals. I contacted the seller to ask about its availability. It was available so I made arrangements to go inspect the machine. In the meantime I learned a little about Bridgeport BOSS CNC milling machines. Basically they are similar to manual Bridgeport milling machines but have ball screws and big stepper motors that drive the screws on the X, Y, and Z axis. They do not run manually. Also they have pretty obsolete controls that were quite capable for their time. The stock controls have a resolution of 0.001 and have 200 step per revolution motors with 1:1 pulleys. But basically they are VERY capable machines when retrofitted and a similar ball screw CNC mill