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Thread: DIY Milling Machine

  1. #1
    Supporting Member MaximumDIY's Avatar
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    DIY Milling Machine

    Home made milling machine - Maximum DIY style.
    For years I've always wanted a milling machine but they are too expensive and I just couldn't bring myself to pony up to dosh. So I decided to make one myself out of spare parts I had laying around, the results are pretty amazing.
    It's not an industrial machine and it seems to work fine making small cuts - perfect for my needs.

    Parts used:
    The power spindle motor is a 2400 watt electric motor salvaged from a paint sprayer pump.
    The power feed for the Z axis (up and down) is the climb motor from a treadmill - this is a strong geared motor which is used to raise and lower the spindle head.
    The X axis (left and right) power feed motor is a 12v window wiper motor from an old car - the speed control is a 12v 20amp PWM circuit. The power feed is manually engaged by using a 19mm 12point socket that can slide back and forth connecting the powerfeed drive to the table using a hex head on once side and square on the other, once engaged the table will move back and forth at the desired speed. Please see photos attached
    The pulleys were all hand using the lathe made as they are quite expensive, the switches, plastic boxes, bearings and machinist vice were all purchased from eBay in an attempt to keep the cost down.

    Parts made:
    The main support column was made from an old bench grinder stand - I placed it on the lathe to square it up and it worked perfectly. There are various other parts that were made on the lathe such as the main shaft, this is a 35mm steel shaft that uses an internal M3 taper to house the cutting tool which is held in place by a head bolt connected at the top of the spindle shaft.
    This is tried and tested method on professional machines to prevent the cutting tool from leaving the machine due to vibration.
    Spindle: The spindle was hand made on my lathe out of Bright Steel from memory it was 40/40 cold rolled steel.
    Taper: The taper is an Morse3 taper, I decided to use this shape as tooling is quite cheap and will also fit my lathe tail-stock.
    Bearings: The bearings were I used were pillow block cast bearings UCF207 35mm ID, they were the only bearing in my price range and they seem to do the job well.

    The compound table was purchased form a machining store as it's quite strong and sturdy and far too difficult to build without access to a professional milling machine. The 4" vise was another eBay purchase - links below

    Accuracy:
    The home made spindle has a run-out of 0.004mm which isn't too bad for a DIY job.

    If you like this video please leave me a comment - Like / Share / Subscribe
    Thanks for watching


    DIY Milling Machine-m3taper-setup.jpg
    Powerfeed images
    DIY Milling Machine-img_20190825_200020.jpg DIY Milling Machine-img_20190825_200003.jpg DIY Milling Machine-img_20190825_195905.jpg DIY Milling Machine-img_20190825_200102.jpg DIY Milling Machine-img_20190825_203254.jpgDIY Milling Machine-millingmachinedriveshaft.jpgDIY Milling Machine-3-step-pully.jpg

    Ebay Parts listing

    ER32 Collet Set
    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...72.m2749.l2649

    4" Milling Machinist Vise
    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...72.m2749.l2658

    M3 Face Milling Cutter
    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...refresh%3Dtrue

    Pillow Block Bearing UCF207 35mm
    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...item521a81bdc0

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    Last edited by MaximumDIY; Aug 27, 2019 at 05:14 AM. Reason: Viewers requested additional information about home made machine and parts used.

  2. The Following 16 Users Say Thank You to MaximumDIY For This Useful Post:

    Altair (Aug 26, 2019), Andyt (Aug 27, 2019), baja (Aug 27, 2019), bruce.desertrat (Aug 26, 2019), Christofix (Aug 28, 2019), DIYSwede (Aug 24, 2019), Drew1966 (Aug 26, 2019), EnginePaul (Aug 26, 2019), Gromet (Aug 27, 2019), high-side (Aug 26, 2019), jjr2001 (Sep 2, 2019), Jon (Aug 23, 2019), jonnydot (Sep 2, 2019), JTC (Aug 26, 2019), Midwestern640 (Aug 30, 2019), olderdan (Aug 25, 2019)

  3. #2
    Supporting Member DIYSwede's Avatar
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    DIYSwede's Tools
    Thanks for sharing, and welcome aboard, MaximumDIY!
    Nice to see your solutions for the vertical screw and table drives.
    It would also be nice with some further info on, and your considerations of the stuff going into the build.

    Cheers

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  4. #3
    Supporting Member MaximumDIY's Avatar
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    MaximumDIY's Tools
    Quote Originally Posted by DIYSwede View Post
    Thanks for sharing, and welcome aboard, MaximumDIY!
    Nice to see your solutions for the vertical screw and table drives.
    It would also be nice with some further info on, and your considerations of the stuff going into the build.

    Cheers
    Hi DIYSwede
    Thanks for your comments and support - I've updated the forum post with some additional information and photos that show the power feeds, compound table and parts used.

    Thanks again
    MaximumDIY

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    Thanks MaximumDIY! We've added your Milling Machine to our Milling category,
    as well as to your builder page: MaximumDIY's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:




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    wizard69's Tools
    Nice work on that shop built machine!!!!

    I’m in need of a mill and might actually go the DIY route.

  7. #6
    Supporting Member MaximumDIY's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post
    Nice work on that shop built machine!!!!

    I’m in need of a mill and might actually go the DIY route.
    Hi Wizard69
    Thanks for the comment
    I actually went shopping for a new milling machine and took note of the tooling shape of the machines took which happened to be M3 Taper 'same as my lathe tail-stock'
    When I built this home made milling machine I made sure to build the spindle to accommodate M3 tooling so even if the build failed I'd already purchased the tooling to fit a professional machine.

    Food for thought, thanks again

  8. #7
    Jon
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    Congratulations MaximumDIY - your Milling Machine is the Homemade Tool of the Week!

    Nice win, on your very first post on this forum!

    Some more nice builds from this week:

    Carriage Bolt Removal Tool by Philip Davies
    Zero Clearance Insert by Christofix
    Center Scribe by JKeetonKnives
    Conduit Connectors by Frank S
    Chuck Mount by celsoari
    Pocket Hole Jig System by Didpoolhall
    Rotary Broach by Catfish
    Floor Jack Cup and Pad Storage by Toolmaker51
    Tire Lever by theeddies
    Adjustable Roller Scribe by Captainleeward
    Blacksmithing Forge by AirborneProductions
    Lathe Center Line Gauge by Toolmaker51
    Metal Bender by Kovanca Polock
    Power Unit Cart by Frank S
    Workbench Clamping Fixture by brnjh1
    Lathe Cross Slide Leadscrew by Catfish
    Glass Bottle Cutter by Mazay
    Belt Grinder by warsztatOdZera
    Sheetmetal Rolling Tool by Kwandotechnic
    Lathe by C A Paulose

    MaximumDIY - we've added your tool entry to our All Homemade Tool of the Week winners post. And, you'll now notice the wrench-on-pedestal award in the awards showcase in your postbit, visible beneath your username:



    You'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and award choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

    Nice work!

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Jon For This Useful Post:

    Midwestern640 (Aug 30, 2019)

  10. #8
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  11. #9
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    MaximumDIY's Tools

    DIY Milling Machine Part 2 close up walk around.

    Hi Everyone

    Last year I posted the above video and had an overwhelming response with people being very interested in this home made miling machine, so I've decided to make anther video showing the machine up close and how I built it.

    I didn't have much footage due to camera falfunctions, accidently destroying cameras and faulty memory cards but I had just enought to get the video done.

    Please remember to Like / Share / Subscribe.

    DIY Milling Machine Part 2 close up walk around.


    DIY Milling Machine Part 1 Original Video



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  12. The Following User Says Thank You to MaximumDIY For This Useful Post:

    Jon (Sep 5, 2020)

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