[DFason]

Hi guys,
I may have jumped the gun but I order a belt drive kit for my X1 Micro. After reading I am thinking it may not fit. I have been waiting for these to be back in stock but not sure if it is the same....

My mill is just like this...
CNC Fusion

Any help would be great!

LittleMachineShop.com - Belt Drive Conversion Kit, Mini Mill

-Dave

[The Blight]

You have a micro mill (X1)

That belt drive is for a mini mill (X2)

These are not compatible.

[fragger6662000]

The belt drive is not a dificult project to do if you have a lathe, I have put a belt drive on my machine and doubled the speed to 4000rpm. At that speed the machine does become more capable. I can advice on the process and what i used if you would like.

[fragger6662000]

At that price i would think about machine one for you.

[Tex-VA]

Hi guys,
I may have jumped the gun but I order a belt drive kit for my X1 Micro. After reading I am thinking it may not fit. I have been waiting for these to be back in stock but not sure if it is the same....

My mill is just like this...
CNC Fusion

Any help would be great!

LittleMachineShop.com - Belt Drive Conversion Kit, Mini Mill

-Dave

Hey Dave, - Private message sent. Tex

[DFason]

PM back!

[drmico60]

Hi Dave,
As already pointed out the belt drive kit is intended for the minimill not the micromill.
I have fitted a belt drive to my micromill that works very well. It is so much quieter and provide four speeds. It was not difficult to make the parts and the conversion was straight forward. There is a full description on my website:
Mill belt drive conversion - mikesworkshop
Mike

[Tex-VA]

Hey Mike, That's a good looking belt conversion you'd made. Well done. Tex

[drmico60]

Tex VA, Thanks for your kind words
Mike

[fragger6662000]

Y did you go for a lay shaft design? with my conversion i went for a straight two pulley design.

[drmico60]

Hi Fragger,
I used narrow belts for my conversion and these require quite a high tension in order to transmit power. If I went with a two pulley system I think the loading on the motor bearings would have been excessive.
In my design I used a timing belt to transmit the motor power to the layshaft. The timing belt hardly needs any tension at all so the load on the motor bearings is small. The layshaft transmits power to the spindle with narrow vee belts under high tension. The layshaft bearings take all the strain. If these bearing eventually wear then it is an easy, inexpensive job to replace them.
Mike

[fragger6662000]

i like your logic, i ended up using a 6mm belt and have not had any issue with bearing on the motor or spindle thought i have heard people have issues with the spindle bearings going south due to the speed but mine have been solid. I ended up with a three pulley design doubling the top speed and maintaining the lower ratios. overall i think it is a very good improvement to the machine as you can run faster with smaller cutter that you need to use with the rigidity available.

[Greg_E]

Since I have the belt drive that LMS sold for my X1 I will mention one thing... If you run the belt too tight, is will cause the motor to heat more than normal. I've run some 1/8 inch and smaller mills with the belt fairly loose and not had any issues, but I don't think I would suggest it with a 1/2 inch mill.