Thought i would make a post going over the current work i am engaged in with the repair/rebuild of my FP3NC flip head machine.
Some may remember that i got this machine some time ago. (longer than i care to remember). This has become a project taking on a life of its own.
I have posted several times on different aspects of the work...Rebuilding the chip enclosure, repair of the "X" axis ball screw. Refitting the screw after scraping in the "X" axis slide etc.
This machine is a perfect example of how to extend a project to consume all the available time. It is also a good study of how to spend way more than the base machine is currently worth.
The machine was given to me, free , i just had to move it from the Seattle area. It had suffered an accident. Previous owner attempted to move the machine via a rental truck fitted with a lift gate.
Well with the machine off the ground one of the hinge pins fail on the gate and the machine dropped to the concrete..................
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Current part of the job involves fitting and checking the alignments of all the main sliding elements....."X" axis, and "Z" axis. (the "Y" will come later).
After some consideration i decided to have the main vertical casting "Z" axis box ways reground. Now this was a tough decision. I had a shop in mind, Schaffer Grinding in sSouthern California.
I have used them before in a regrind of my Monarch EE bed and a Clausing Colchester for work. Never any mill parts. The job i got form them on the lathe work was very nice, so i thought they would be
the logical choice.
The real road block was transportation. Putting an 800# casting, the heart of a machine, on a pallet and shipping it south and then expecting it to return in good shape after a precision grind left me a bit quezy.
My partner here ,as things would have it, was going to LA to fetch some old car parts for one of his many projects....OK could be a solution, as he was driving a pickup,but his trip was on a fast turn around.
I called Schaffer and they agreed to turn the parts around in one day and a delivery date was set.....
Here is the main casting on a pallet ready for the trip to LA..
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The casting was dropped off on a Thursday morning and picked up on the following Friday, work completed.
The work order called for grinding the face of both box sections flat and to the same height.
The inside face between the box faces was also ground parallel as was the back side lip of the box.....
I made a set of drawings and solid works 3-D models detailing what i needed along with my contact number.
When the casting returned, everything looked very good. Good finishes on all the worked surfaces. A quick micrometer check gave a rough test as to the job done
on the back of the box lip. More testing was in order...the next phase.....
More to follow
Cheers Ross
