[maddawg99]

Hi Gentlemen,
I'm a newbe here and I'm following this with great interest. I'm hoping to build one of these early next year and the info here is awesome. But I do have a question:
It seems everyone mounts the Y axis motors in the front. I'm sure you all have good reasons for this, But I'm thinking I would prefer to put mine in the back. Would you
all please comment on the feasibility of mounting the Y axis motor in the rear.

Thanks,

Maddawg

[compsurge]

You can do it. The ballscrew will need to be longer. Be careful of the gas strut since it is mounted in the base of the column.

[cowanrg]

The main reason I didn't do this was because the castings aren't terribly accurate. There's not a good flat part to mount to (the casting on the back of the column isn't really flat), so I'd probably need to mill it down to get a flat surface. Also, there's not a good place to have the ballscrew run through, so you'd need to drill a hole or mill that out as well. It was a lot more work than just sticking it in the front.

[AVRnj]

I also think that the Z column shock is in the way as well. I remember I really wanted to do a back mount as well, but I came to the conclusion I couldn't, and I think it was because f the shock.

[arizonavideo]

I will be selling my Weiss 30 soon if anyone is looking. It has a CNC kit on it but I wont be selling a controller.

I have just received a 4th mill and i just don't have the room for the 30. It looks like new with only a few hours of CNC use on it. Send me a PM.

I'm in Arizona.

Dave

[Voyager77]

Nice build, very clean work and great photos. Looking forward to the next chapter

[cowanrg]

thanks, I really need to do a better job of updating my blog and videos, but I've just been busy. the mill is working and I've been using it, I just haven't gotten around to documenting everything :-/

[Mabel]

Very nice build and blog!
I got a WMD30LV about a year ago and i've been thinking about converting it ever since. Is it possible to have the cad-files of the original mill? It would be a really big help.

[cowanrg]

Very nice build and blog!
I got a WMD30LV about a year ago and i've been thinking about converting it ever since. Is it possible to have the cad-files of the original mill? It would be a really big help.

Sure, send me a PM with your email and I can send you the zip file.

[phomann]

It's been awhile! I've accomplished a lot. I have the mill fully running, I just need to add some limit switches and such. I'm cleaning up the model right now, but almost everything is modeled. Here is the X bearing block assembly:

Attachment 245834

Great job, Really nice documentation.

I may have missed something, but, in your X bearing block, what is stopping the whole leadscrew with bearings attached from sliding out the end of the bearing block towards the motor?

Hopefully your not relying on the stepper motor to stop it. Stepper motors have a spring thrust washer on the end and allow some movement for expansion. Also the stepper bearings are not designed to take axial force.

The other end of the leadscrew needs to float in a bearing to allow for leadscrew thermal expansion.

Cheers,

Peter

[phomann]

OK, I worked it out. The bearing block is bored from either side.

Cheers,

Peter

[cowanrg]

Hello everyone, I'm bringing back an old thread :-)

Since I now have a Tormach 440, I am putting the PM30 up for sale. For right now, this is a local cash sale only, I'm not interested in shipping it. However, if you can arrange for it to be picked up and all that, I could entertain it.

I'm in the Denver area and here's the craiglist ad:

Precision Matthews PM-30 CNC Milling Machine

Let me know if you're interested or have any questions!

[wileel]

cowanrg

I realize this is a long dead thread, but just found it and was excited to rea your blog and see the pictures since I will be tackling a PM-30 CNC as well...but its gone now. Do you have this posted anywhere else for me to checkout and help me through it and more importantly get the right stuff the first time.

[digadv]

I'd like the information also.

[arizonavideo]

One thing I see with the drawings here is they are of the older Weiss30\ PM-30. The current mill has a different table and Y mount and slide. The Z looks to be unchanged.

[cowanrg]

Hello everyone, I dropped this project and got a Tormach 440 and haven't looked back, but here is a link to the assembly of the machine, or at least the machine I got:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3...zhRUWdnblQ4SWM