Aaron's Titan TM20LV (clone BM20 / G0704)

Attachment 184058
Unboxing the machine as shipped by Stuart Duncan from Titan Machinery Central Coast NSW.

Attachment 184060
Strip down of the XY saddle

Attachment 184062
X axis stripped down

Attachment 184064
Z axis column removed

Attachment 184066
Z modification designed in CAD

Attachment 184068
Using the Roland at work to machine the parts

Attachment 184074
Y axis plate made

Attachment 184076
Checking the fit of Y axis parts.

Attachment 184070
Z assembled & ball screw fitted. Stepper motor mount tested (Not the actual stepper)

Attachment 184078Attachment 184078
Saddle machined to accept ball screw

Attachment 184080
Base attached to the stand. Z Column fitted, Y axis and saddle installed.

Attachment 184082
X axis stepper mount CAD designed.

Attachment 184084
Making the X axis ball screw mounting block.

Attachment 184086
X axis block and ball screw mount installed.

Attachment 184088
Machining the underside of the table.

Attachment 184090
Cutting the stand off tube

Attachment 184092
Machining the stand off tube.

Attachment 184094
Table fitted and X axis components mounted.

Attachment 184096
Electronic components arrived today from the USA. Some parts also from Stuart from Titan.

Attachment 184098
Mounting and wiring the components.

Attachment 184100
Electrical panel cut out and engraved with the CNC laser at work.

Attachment 184106
Electronics wired and mounted to the inside of the cabinet.

Attachment 184108
Panel fitted.

Attachment 184110
Electronics completed.

Attachment 184112
Chip tray with polycarbonate guard.

Attachment 184116
Vice cutaway and polycarb engraving.

Attachment 184118
Hossmachine spindle spanner. Thanks to Luke (cruddcnc) and Hoss for the idea.

Attachment 184124
Billet iPhone cover

Nice work Aaron!
Just to be technical the titan isn't the same as the bf20's or g0704's, the bases and columns are quite different but the rest is pretty close.
Keep up the good work.
Hoss

Thank you Hoss, I feel very honored to have you comment on my build. You're the main reason I went down this path. My friend Luke (Cruddcnc) gave me the link to your YouTube videos. We couldn't buy the BM20 or G0704 here in Australia, but Luke found the Titan machine available. We purchased 3 mills all up and another teacher at school also bought in which saved us money on shipping. I did the conversion myself and just made all components fit the ball screws I purchased from eBay. My next step is a belt drive, but this won't happen till next year. I've got a HAAS ST10 lathe and HAAS Mini Mill 2 on order at my work (technical college). But these won't be up and running till the end of the year. Totally agree about the technicality, but they are very close in comparison hence the term clone :). Kind regards Hoss, Aaron.

My build on YouTube

Z axis CNC Mill Conversion - Titan TM20LV Part 1 - YouTube
Y axis CNC Mill Conversion - Titan TM20LV Part 2 - YouTube
X asix CNC Mill Conversion - Titan TM20LV Part 3 - YouTube
Electronics CNC Mill Conversion - Titan TM20LV Part 4 - YouTube
iPhone Cover Billet Aluminium iPhone Case DIY - YouTube

Hi guys,

I haven't posted anything new to this thread for a very long time. So I thought I'd update for you. Well I've been busy here at home and recently built a small extension out the back of my house. This small extension will become my new machine shop (man cave). Here are some pics.

Attachment 233156
Frame started

Attachment 233158
Cladding on

Attachment 233160
Man cave finished and painted

Attachment 233162
Machines relocated

I love this milling machine, but I can't stand the crappy gear drive head. It is so noisy and annoying. I even stripped the brass drive gear as the gear mesh was never set correctly from the factory.
Attachment 233168

November 2013

Ok, it's time to get rid of this crappy gear drive and upgrade to a belt drive similar to CruddCNC or Hoss Machine. I contacted the guy that supplied Crudd's belt drive upgrade (test kit), but he decided not to produce anymore :-(
Attachment 233170 This is Crudd's (Luke's) belt drive


I contacted Stuart Duncan from Titan machinery and he told me that the new Titan TM25 milling machine comes standard with a belt drive. He sent me picture to show me
Attachment 233176 The new TM25 belt drive


Stuart Duncan (top bloke) then contacted the factory in China and had several kits made for the Australian market.
Attachment 233174 The kits made by the factory

November / December 2013

My kit arrived successfully from Stuart Duncan (Titan Machinery NSW Central Coast). It was well packed and appeared to have everything in the kit. It wasn't until I mounted it that I noticed that something was wrong. The kit was missing the motor base plate and hence the none of the mounting holes were lining up. After some persuasion and Aussie ingenuity I mounted it (humpty dumpty style) and got it running.
Attachment 233180 Belt drive parts fitted roughly

Now that I could use the milling machine again, I went about designing the rails and motor base plate in CAD. I used VCarve-Pro to post the NC code to mach3 and produced the following
Attachment 233182 Belt drive all finished.

This is my belt drive conversion documented on YouTube http://youtu.be/_X0Ixi1lHkU

Thanks for the updates. Great work.

I'm curious who you spoke with about Luke's kit because that's my kit that I produced for him as a beta tester. Not sure where you got your information,

Hi Aaron,

Nice work there.

I've had the same machine for about a year now. It's still a manual mill but I have Hoss's DVD and will convert it to CNC when I have the time. As our TM20LV is not quite the same as Hoss's G0704 it's great to see what you've done.

Looks like I'll have to call Stuart tomorrow and enquire about a belt drive.

What is the size of the vice you're using there? It looks like it fits OK. Where can I get one?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BTP

I'm curious who you spoke with about Luke's kit because that's my kit that I produced for him as a beta tester. Not sure where you got your information,

---

Hi BTP, I actually emailed the guy that built Luke's kit. Luke gave me the email or web address, but I can't remember now. The person that I contacted said that he wasn't going ahead with the kit for one reason or another at that current time. It was a shame, because I really liked Luke's set up. If you're saying this is you, well I'm totally confused now. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Regards, Aaron.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by robw17

Hi Aaron,

Nice work there. I've had the same machine for about a year now. It's still a manual mill but I have Hoss's DVD and will convert it to CNC when I have the time. As our TM20LV is not quite the same as Hoss's G0704 it's great to see what you've done. Looks like I'll have to call Stuart tomorrow and enquire about a belt drive. What is the size of the vice you're using there? It looks like it fits OK. Where can I get one?

---

Hello robw17, thanks for checking out my thread and for commenting. Yeah, I'm really happy with the finish of my little TM20 CNC conversion. It has taken a little while to get to this stage, but it is very gratifying. Have you made a start on your machine yet? I bought the milling vice from Stuart Duncan (Titan Machinery) when I originally purchased the mill. It's a nice little vice. However, I did have to machine of the end of it to get it to fit into my chip tray. Keep in contact with me as I might actually start making a kit for these things for the Australian market. Take care. Cheers, Aaron.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fastest1

Thanks for the updates. Great work.

---

Hello Fastest1, thanks for checking out my build progress and for taking the time to comment. It's really great to get positive feedback such as yours. Cheers, Aaron (Melb, Australia)

Thought I would post these following pics of me machining down the mill vice to fit within my chip tray/box for Robw17. I got the idea of machining off the end of the vice from "Matt - CNCshopmill on YouTube". The pictures should speak for themselves.

Attachment 235878

Machining process

Attachment 235880

End machined off.

Attachment 235882

Rear of the chip tray showing overhang from mill bed.

Here are some CNC projects / products that I have completed since converting the TM20LV. Like I previously stated, the Grizzly mills aren't available in Australia, but there are many similarities between the Grizzly and the Titan. Personally I prefer the titan as the Z-Axis column is bolted to the top of base similar to other known brand machines. If you're in Australia and you're looking for a mill to convert may I suggest that you contact Stuart Duncan from Titan Machinery in NSW and tell him Azza sent ya! (no I don't get commission, Stuart is top bloke and he's a regular battler just like the rest of us).

Attachment 235884
The Spindle Spanner: My first ever CNC product off the Titan mill. Full credit goes to "HOSS" for this, as he gave the idea to machine one. For some strange reason I couldn't open his DXF so I redrew it myself and posted the codes.

Attachment 235886
Spark Plug Leads Cover: Engraving for my next door neighbor.

Attachment 235888\
BMW Handle Bar Rises: Specially made for my uncle's BMW motorcycle.

Attachment 235890
Harley Davidson Sissy Pad Bracket: Made this seat bracket for my other neighbor's Harley Davidson.

Attachment 235892
iPhone 4S Cover: made from billet aluminium (bad idea as it reduces signal strength)

Attachment 235898 Attachment 235894 Attachment 235896
iPad Stand: made from billet 6061 aluminium.

Thank you so much Sir, for all the technical details provided to us here. I am trying to convert a mill. I was planning to convert PM25 which is my first choice but I find out that the calibration is in inch and it is only supplied from US. So I am going with TM25 titan mill from China. If you get this message by any means can you help me with a distributor that supplies TM25 mill from China? It will be easier for me to ship it from China. thank you.

Hello grhahun,
I emailed the producer of the TM20LV (superseded is seems) and he mentioned the TM25LV is the update.
He mentioned Engineering Tooling Supplies in QLD is his partner dealer. The mill that looks most similiar is the WMD25V and seems priced competitively. Just thought I'd provide some information from what i've gathered.
Let me know how you go. I'm also considering the WMD25V.

Hi,
If you plan to convert it to CNC, check if it has an R8 spindle?
That way you can use Tormach’s TTS tooling system.
Tormach do have a MT3 collet for their tooling system, but R8 releases better.

If you go for a machine with a MT3 spindle, look at the Hare & Forbes BF-20. I’ve heard their quality is very good.

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/M650

Cheers

Peter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro