I'm in UK and here's my Centec 2B horizontal mill with a Mk3 vertical head. It's a robust small industrial machine; a full description can be found here http://http://www.lathes.co.uk/centec/index.html
It is unusual in that it has Int-30 spindles instead of the more common MT2.
When I first got it, both motors (spindle and power feed) were 3-phase 480v, running from a home made single to 3-phase rotary converter, which was both noisy and clumsy to use, so I decided to convert to 240v VFD operation. Unfortunately, neither motor had the coil winding tails exposed, so I had to strip them down, burst the star-points, and create terminals for the new tails. The Mitsubishi VFDs are mounted below the swarf tray and angled upwards so that they can be seen by just glancing down. The little control box is mounted at the end of the table - speed via the knurled knobs on either side, and direction via the the toggle switches. Finger-tip control is very handy.
I also fitted a 3-axis Newall DRO, with the Microsyn encoders.
Since the Centec mills were originally designed for horizontal use, the vertical heads were an "after thought" and the maximum vertical space is a little compromised, so I made a couple of raising blocks - one for me and one for a friend. The horizontal over-arm and vertical head are attached to the column by a massive dovetail, but conversion between the modes is a hassle because of the weight of the VH. My raising blocks allow the VH to be left in place, and slid forward for horizontal mode, or back for vertical mode. I got a friend with a CNC mill to cut the Centec logo into the side of the raising blocks.
The grey m/c is my mill, the cream one, which shows the operation of the raising block, is my friend's, and the other photo shows the logo being cut.
It is unusual in that it has Int-30 spindles instead of the more common MT2.
When I first got it, both motors (spindle and power feed) were 3-phase 480v, running from a home made single to 3-phase rotary converter, which was both noisy and clumsy to use, so I decided to convert to 240v VFD operation. Unfortunately, neither motor had the coil winding tails exposed, so I had to strip them down, burst the star-points, and create terminals for the new tails. The Mitsubishi VFDs are mounted below the swarf tray and angled upwards so that they can be seen by just glancing down. The little control box is mounted at the end of the table - speed via the knurled knobs on either side, and direction via the the toggle switches. Finger-tip control is very handy.
I also fitted a 3-axis Newall DRO, with the Microsyn encoders.
Since the Centec mills were originally designed for horizontal use, the vertical heads were an "after thought" and the maximum vertical space is a little compromised, so I made a couple of raising blocks - one for me and one for a friend. The horizontal over-arm and vertical head are attached to the column by a massive dovetail, but conversion between the modes is a hassle because of the weight of the VH. My raising blocks allow the VH to be left in place, and slid forward for horizontal mode, or back for vertical mode. I got a friend with a CNC mill to cut the Centec logo into the side of the raising blocks.
The grey m/c is my mill, the cream one, which shows the operation of the raising block, is my friend's, and the other photo shows the logo being cut.
lemelman, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun since Jul 2012.