EclecticGuy

I frequent a number of forums on a variety of topics. One in particular – CNCZone.com, or “zone” to its members – has been a great resource for me in learning machining skills and converting my MicroMark mini mill to CNC (computer numeric control). Here is a photo of the basic mill before conversion:

These mills are made in China and fall in to the class of Seig X2 mini mills. They are quite capable little machines especially once converted to CNC. I keep a log on my CNC conversion, modifications and other topics on the zone in a thread called How crazy is this for an X2 “staged” CNC conversion? I started off planning to do the conversion from scratch but as my fly fishing reel kit business started to take off, I needed CNC capabilities quick! I ended up with a CNCFusion “kit” for the mechanical parts of the conversion and decided to upgrade to precision ball screws at the same time. Although it is called a “kit” a lot of work is still required to install and tune both the mechanical parts and the electronics. The actual mechanical installation only took a day or so. I did that last December (2009). I had already built out the electronics so hooking it all up wasn’t too much of an effort. I finally had a CNC mill ready to crank out brass and aluminum parts for my fly fishing reel kits:

I’ve turned out hundred of parts for kits in the last year and am starting to bump in to the limits of this machine (primarily the short Y travel limit) so I’ve ordered a much larger machine (a Grizzly G0704) that I will also convert to CNC. No “kits” exist for this mill though so I will be doing it myself using some great plans from zoner Hoss. Unfortunately, the mill is backordered until end of January at the earliest (I ordered it in October!). It should be worth the wait. I started a thread on the zone for it too: Building a big brother for my X2.