How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis
#6
Once I mounted the motor and pulleys, tested the setup to make sure it worked smoothly, I then made a cover from 1/16" mild steel. The cover and bracket were sprayed to match Grizzly Green
   
Here is a rear view showing how the motor is mounted.
   
This shows the inside of my control box. I went overboard on the control of my Z Axis motor. I installed a variable speed motor controller. This was not necessary since I always run the motor at its full 200 RPMs while moving the head up and down. I suggest that just a simple DC power supply with a reversing switch will work fine. No variable speed is really needed. In an upcoming post to this thread, I'll explain how to build a simple reversible motor control.
   
This is the control box mounted on the right hand side of my mill head to control the up and down motion of the head. The switch is spring loaded so it releases when I take my finger off. It is in a handy location near the down-feed dial.
   
I did not put limit switches on my installation which is bad because it is possible to ram the head into the table (I never have Smile ). Its not likely that I would run it too high because the travel is limited by the column height. On commercial installations, limit switches stop the motor when you have gone too far in either direction. You may want to consider adding them to your installation.

TO BE CONTINUED
henryarnold, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun Forum since Apr 2012.
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Messages In This Thread
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by EdK - 06-15-2012, 05:12 PM
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by DanH - 06-15-2012, 10:16 PM
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by henryarnold - 06-15-2012, 10:52 PM
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by RobWilson - 06-17-2012, 03:40 AM
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by DanH - 06-17-2012, 01:22 PM
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by DaveH - 06-17-2012, 03:19 PM
RE: How To Motorize Your Mill's Z Axis - by RobWilson - 06-17-2012, 05:03 PM



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