[Whizbang]

Hey all,

So I am replacing my pulleys, putting on a new belt and replacing my spindle since there was some slop in it. I have the spindle out and the retaining ring off the top bearing but I cannot get the upper bearing to pop out so that I can change out the pulley and belt. I posted some pictures below. Anyone done this before? Directions/advice/recommendations greatly appreciated.

Attachment 251958
Before I removed the spindle and retaining ring

Attachment 251960

Attachment 251962






Thanks,
Whizbang

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Doesn't the NM200 have a spindle cartridge? If so, remove the bolts around the flange on the underside of the head, and pull the cartridge out. That should leave just the top bearing in the housing.

Regards,
Ray L.

[Whizbang]

I did remove the spindle cartridge. The lower photos are after it was removed. Below is a photo of my spindle and the view up the housing. I removed the retaining ring in the photo and nothing happened. I couldn't get anything to budge at all.

Attachment 252052

Attachment 252054

Attachment 252056

[SCzEngrgGroup]

The bearings are a press-fit into the cartridge. If they won't move by tapping, you need to get a hydraulic press and suitable mandrels to press them out.

Regards,
Ray L.

[Whizbang]

I finally got everything apart. The parts are definitely a tight press fit, however once I got it apart the realization hit that the hardware has changed and my new spindle pulley (the whole reason I took it apart in the first place) is not compatible. My email is into John at Novakon, so hopefully I can get the appropriate hardware so that I can use the new pulleys.

For those of you with older NM200 here is what the spindle looks it, from right to left the parts are in order from botton to top. I am planning to hopefully upgrade to the new style spindle since it is all apart anyway for easier maintenance.

Attachment 252082

Attachment 252084

Attachment 252088

-Whizbang

[Whizbang]

Hey guys. I was wondering if anyone has photos of their head torn down with the newer tapered spindle? There was a design change with the pulleys and I am trying to figure out what all the newer design entails. John is looking into it for me but its been 2 since I've gotten any real info.
Thanks,
Whizbang

[Whizbang]

Hey guys,

So at the end of my other post about a clicking noise I thought might be a relay, I mentioned that I discovered deflection in the head of my machine. I was questioned on where the deflection was coming from so I set up my gauge in various locations to determine where my problem is. Below is a link to various videos showing where I was measuring and how much I was getting. Along the column I only see about .001" maybe .0015" at most, I see a bit more when measuring the head. Is this about what everyone else is getting or do I have a problem?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u348tjpwn...J5-bXnZ-a?dl=0

Thanks,
Whizbang

[dirtdigger257]

Hey wizbang thats doesnt seem all that bad to me( the head deflection). I just bought a nm200v2 today and its in pieces do you know where to find a manual for it mainly wiring scematics and i might need to replace y axis ballscrew and spundle bearings. Are parts pretty easy to get from novakon?

[Novakon]

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome. We would most happy to assist you with your questions and necessary parts. Please contact [email protected] and we will continue the dialog with you.

Regards,

Novakon Team

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome. We would most happy to assist you with your questions and necessary parts. Please contact [email protected] and we will continue the dialog with you.

Regards,

Novakon Team

[email protected] might work a little better....

Regards,
Ray L.

[Whizbang]

Hey wizbang thats doesnt seem all that bad to me( the head deflection). I just bought a nm200v2 today and its in pieces do you know where to find a manual for it mainly wiring scematics and i might need to replace y axis ballscrew and spundle bearings. Are parts pretty easy to get from novakon?

Dirtdigger257
I agree that 1.5 thou. may not seem like a lot however its a lot of iron there too. but from my old g0704 i'd expect this. No one else to my knowledge has documented here their machines deflections. As for you questions. I use the most current mechanical drawing (for torus pro) from novakons site or engdans model from grab cad. As for electrical... good luck support is NON EXISENT!! ESPECIALLY NM200!! most mech. parts are the same the. My wires on the back of my machine are labeled 101, 202,213 etc nothing easily figured out. If you some how manage to get something please share it. i would have loved to not have to tone each wire in the begining to figure out why when i clicked flood in mach3 it turned my light on on the mill. As far as the spindle bearings, i just bought a new spindle because the parts i was sent for pulleys didn't match the key for the spindle. john helped me out but i wont say getting everything was easy cause of a design change.they do the best that they can with what they get from china poor documentation but they just cant compete with the volume tormach does and that they (i think )own a factory over there. ballscrew u can get from novakon but there may have been a design change just like the spindle and u'll go back and forth for weeks trying to get it corrected and hashed, if it were me I'd just go on ebay and order one from chai( see hoss forum post) with your exact dimensions. good luck. us nm200 owners need to stick together. e. ballscrew u can get from novakon but there may have been a design change just like the spindle and u'll go back and forth for weeks trying to get it corrected and hashed, if it were me I'd just go on ebay and order one from chai( see hoss forum post) with your exact dimensions. good luck. us nm200 owners need to stick together.

[Novakon]

Lets clarify this a little....

Series 1 NM-200 mills are 4-5 years old and depending whom you have purchased it from, and the rough service life it may have seen, .0015" error seems pretty good. These mills have linear bearings and can not be compared to other beastly mills with V-ways.

The Series 1 NM-200 mill castings are virtually identical to the Torus PRO except for some minor changes such as the spindle cartridge. While we don't have much "in stock" for replacement spindle shafts for the Series 1, the bearings for rebuild are available for either spindle cartridge version. For the very oldest mills like these, the only thing that has to be identified is the style of spindle cartridge. Once this is known, replacement bearings are not an issue. The spindle can also be upgraded from the oldest design by simply replacing it with the new design if desired.

Further more, the ball screws have changed only slightly but are compatible with the earlier mills. We have supplied these ball screws on numerous occasions for the older mills and have not had any negative reports. If you like to purchase them from E-bay, by all means do so, but also know the ball screws for the Torus PRO do fit the NM-200. We provide them for ongoing support if you wish to use them.

We have also worked with several new customers with the original wiring of the series 1 NM-200 on their new purchase. Certain documentation is available and with our support, the connections can be easily identified. This has never been a problem if one would simply ask us for specifically what they are looking to accomplish. It has been our experience that most customers simply don't ask us what they are looking to do with the older mills they purchase. We do provide (limited) free tech support even for the 2nd generation mill owner. It should also be noted, that there are a number of NM-200 mills that have been modified by customers and we would certainly not know what tech data to offer, but we will do our best to recommend viable solutions.

We do have an office in China and we can get virtually any information for the older NM-200 mills, this is not a problem. For the newer mills like the the Pulsar, we have 100% control of the drawing and the part revision are controlled by us since we own the drawings. Just to make it clear and not perpetuate a rumor, Tormach does not own a factory in China. We have seen their mill production assembly line and, rest assured, it is very typical for Chinese production.

So if you do need support for any reason, contact us at [email protected]. (This time I got the address right )

Regards,
Novakon Team

[Whizbang]

I stand corrected apparently the ball screws are the same all the way back to the series 1.
As I said most of the mechanical parts are the same. However,if it was me and if I was spending the money already I would possibly order my screws from chai on ebay and try his anti backlash double nut assuming I had clearances. But if I wanted a direct replacement I would definitely go through john if he says he can get the part. Also in regards the spindle cartridge I am totally happy I got the newer version, there was just a lot of confusion when figuring out what changed and what was still needed. I would recommend the spindle cartridge upgrade to any older series owners its a lot easier to fit and rebuild if needed. Currently looking at building a form for a new casting to fit a new spindle cartridge like what Dan put in his machine on his thread. I am waiting to find the right deal looking for a bt30.

Next let me bring up my comment on the tormach. Interested to here they don't have an office over there. But my comment was more directed at the fact that many more people buy tormach (although smaller and pricy) than our smithy, novakon, or syil x6's version mill, also tormach's series one through 3 have had no physical changes at all only electrical thus you do not need to weed through design changes.

So hopefully now that everything is hashed out I'd like to share some pictures of some of my wiring. Since its now know that novakon is indeed the one with the office in china maybe the prints can be had for the pictures below. It would probably really benefit those who buy series 1 and 2's in the community who are thinking about doing up grades or trying to rewire for controllers.
Hand written tags.
Attachment 272380

Custom novakon.net relay board
Attachment 272382

Pin out for the umbilical cord.
Attachment 272384

[SCzEngrgGroup]

"However,if it was me and if I was spending the money already I would possibly order my screws from chai on ebay and try his anti backlash double nut assuming I had clearances."

And you'd have no way of knowing if they'd be a bolt-in for the originals, in terms of nut diameter, mounting bolt locations, oil ports, etc. Plus, you'd be getting rolled screws, where the Novakon screws are ground.

"As for electrical... good luck support is NON EXISENT!! ESPECIALLY NM200!!"

As for the electronics, if you can't sort out what's there, perhaps you don't have sufficient background to be messing with it? That can be, quite literally, life-threatening. The electronics on these things is pretty straight-forward. I tore into my Torus Pro before it even made its first chips, to install a KFlop, modify the coolant system, and several other things. I had no problems at all, despite having no wiring diagram. It's all pretty straight-forward, standard stuff that is easy to sort out if you know what you're doing.

Regards,
Ray L.

[LeeWay]

I have had two Novakon machines and both were laid out very well electrically.
There are no tricky parts to it. The wires are very easy to trace. Most of the time just using your eyes. I can see where a multimeter might help in your case though. Parts of the electronics in Novakon machines are proprietary now. I would not expect them to fully divulge complete schematics.
They did have growing pains when they first started, but who doesn't?
I consider them a top notch company now and the fact that they are still willing to help a non original owner says a lot about the company and John.

[engnerdan]

I stand corrected apparently the ball screws are the same all the way back to the series 1.
As I said most of the mechanical parts are the same. However,if it was me and if I was spending the money already I would possibly order my screws from chai on ebay and try his anti backlash double nut assuming I had clearances. But if I wanted a direct replacement I would definitely go through john if he says he can get the part. Also in regards the spindle cartridge I am totally happy I got the newer version, there was just a lot of confusion when figuring out what changed and what was still needed. I would recommend the spindle cartridge upgrade to any older series owners its a lot easier to fit and rebuild if needed. Currently looking at building a form for a new casting to fit a new spindle cartridge like what Dan put in his machine on his thread. I am waiting to find the right deal looking for a bt30.

Just so you know I did start down the path of designing a new head stock casting that would work with the larger 90mm spindle cartridge. If you want the solid model I could dig it up, otherwise I could take a stab at finishing it sooner than later. If we could settle on one design that would work for your needs and mine we might be able to save some money getting a couple cast instead of just one at a time.


As for the discussion on ball screws, I have measured and modeled the ball nuts from my Pro in Solidworks along with the Z axis and Y axis ball screws. I have not uploaded these to GrabCAD or any of the updates I have made recently. If there is a need I can send the files directly or upload them to GrabCAD. Some info I have found, Z axis is a 20mm (measured 19 mm OD) 5mm pitch right hand thread. The ball nut had the same dimensions (OD and bolt circle) as the cheap ball screws from Ebay. The X and Y ball screws are 25mm (measure 24mm) with a 5mm pitch and left hand thread. These too appear to have the same ball nut mounting dimensions as the cheap ebay ball screws, but those are right hand thread. Additionally I have only found a double ball nut available up to 20 mm on ebay. I have not tried contacting any of the vendors to see if they have a 25mm available.

-Dan

[LeeWay]

What is the functional difference if any between left and right hand threaded ball nuts? I know this differences and reasons on a bolt or shaft, but on a screw that just travels back and forth?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

What is the functional difference if any between left and right hand threaded ball nuts? I know this differences and reasons on a bolt or shaft, but on a screw that just travels back and forth?

On a CNC machine, it makes absolutely no difference at all. Manual machines use a combination of left and right hand screws just to make the handwheel motion correct.

Regards,
Ray L.

[LeeWay]

I considered that the flange may be on the other side, but really you can turn a ball nut around on the screw and it still works.
Thanks, Ray.

[hayes]

Just so you know I did start down the path of designing a new head stock casting that would work with the larger 90mm spindle cartridge. If you want the solid model I could dig it up, otherwise I could take a stab at finishing it sooner than later. If we could settle on one design that would work for your needs and mine we might be able to save some money getting a couple cast instead of just one at a time.


As for the discussion on ball screws, I have measured and modeled the ball nuts from my Pro in Solidworks along with the Z axis and Y axis ball screws. I have not uploaded these to GrabCAD or any of the updates I have made recently. If there is a need I can send the files directly or upload them to GrabCAD. Some info I have found, Z axis is a 20mm (measured 19 mm OD) 5mm pitch right hand thread. The ball nut had the same dimensions (OD and bolt circle) as the cheap ball screws from Ebay. The X and Y ball screws are 25mm (measure 24mm) with a 5mm pitch and left hand thread. These too appear to have the same ball nut mounting dimensions as the cheap ebay ball screws, but those are right hand thread. Additionally I have only found a double ball nut available up to 20 mm on ebay. I have not tried contacting any of the vendors to see if they have a 25mm available.

-Dan

Dan,
If you're serious about this, please let me know, I'm very interested! Also, we might consider a new column casting or polymer concrete filled steel column. I can't believe how much flex there is in the column. I'm getting .002" in either Z+ or Z- directions just with hand pressure. I've checked torque on all the column bolts, and everything is tight.

Cheers,
Josh