Denford CNC milling

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Denford CNC milling

This topic has 16 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 19 May 2011 at 11:58 by sean FitzGerald.

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18 July 2009 at 14:09 #37948
Mogens Kilde
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@mogenskilde92996
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18 July 2009 at 14:09 #42407
Mogens Kilde
Participant
@mogenskilde92996
Hi to all

Just signed in today, at this very nicely build website.

Has been a subscriber to the MEW magazines, but found it hard to find the time to work with all the interresting projects,maybe I will join again later.

Well back to my question

Does anyone know if it is possible to obtain machines from Denford, as a private home shop engineer ?

http://www.denford.ltd.uk/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Thank you in advance

Regards

Mogens Kilde
18 July 2009 at 16:54 #42411
Bob
Participant
@bob17059
Hi Mogens

Its my guess that the good folks at Birds Royd would sell you one. You could probably save a good deal on delivery if you picked up the machine yourself. We brought a CNC router from them last year for making the F1 in Schools cars and I picked it up in my Suzuki Jimny, a tight fit but it just slipped into place. Its a good machine.

Bob
18 July 2009 at 18:36 #42413
Mogens Kilde
Participant
@mogenskilde92996
Hi Bob

Did you buy the machine for education use – or as a private user ?

I’m living in Denmark, so it will be a little difficult to pick it up my self.

I could of course mail the company and ask, but would also try to hear other users experience with their machines

Mogens
19 July 2009 at 08:53 #42419
Bob
Participant
@bob17059
Hi Mogens

We brought it through a school account, but I am sure Denford would be happy to supply an individual. I suspect the machines are aimed at the education market and the manufacturers may not warrent the use of the machine for more intensive production work. I know another manufacturer of CNC machines aimed at education refers to their machines as training machines to overcome any charges that their products are not up to production work.

My own experience of trying to machine stuff other than foam, Perspex, free cutting brass and aluminium alloy on a school CNC miller ( not, I hasten to add a Denford machine) has not been good. On the manufacturer’s training course you are told not to try to machine tough stuff, because the machine is only a training machine.

Now I don’t totally subscribe to this view because I cannot see that the machine is much lighter in construction than many millers marketed to model enginners and these will chomp away at chunks of cast iron and gun metal.

I would like to try setting the machine up to speeds and feeds appropriate to these tougher materials and give it a go. I tend to suspect that the feeds used in the supplied software are on the high side even for free-cutting metals.

Bob
19 July 2009 at 10:34 #42425
David Clark 13
Participant
@davidclark13
Hi There

I had a Denford Triac for a while and it was a very sturdy little machine.

I don’t know Denford’s philosophy on the software, you will have to ask.

It was very heavy. I bought it from Ebay not realising how heavy it was.

It would take four people to lift it.

I was lucky, the chap selling it was coming to my area in a couple of weeksand bought it with him. The two of us managed to slide it off the back of the pickup truck and straight onto the angle iron bench it came with. We did have to take the front of the shed off to get it in.

I only sold it as I did not want to move it when we moved.

Boxford only sell to educational establishments because their software can only be licensed to educational users because I think something to do with the people who write the software. They did however downgrade the roms in my 160 homing Boxford so I could use the software available on their website. Cost me £150 though. I have a Boxford 125TCL now and will definitely be converting it to Mach 3 eventually.

regards David
26 July 2009 at 16:05 #42523
Mogens Kilde
Participant
@mogenskilde92996
Hi

Sorry for not replying before, but I have just been on an one week vacation in Germany, a great site at Willingen near Kassel.

I think I should contact Denford by mail.

Bob ! Do you remember the aprocimate price of their milling machine, maybe like the 2600 pro

Thank you for the answers until now.

Mogens
26 July 2009 at 19:08 #42526
Richmond
Participant
@richmond
Hi,

Just to re-iterate David’s comments regarding Denford and selling to non educational users…. I beleive the CNC software uses video library functions that are effectively licenced only for use in educational establisments.

This situation also appears to affect Boxford as well….. so beware

Denford do have a website and forum to ask question and get some information and schematics for older machines…… http://www.denfordata.com/bb/

Rgds
26 July 2009 at 23:36 #42528
Mogens Kilde
Participant
@mogenskilde92996
Hi Richmond

Thanks for the link.

I believe I will drop my plans on the Denfod machine as many indications point out that the Denford machines is not for individuals.

Thanks again to all, that has given me feedback on this issue

Mogens
1 March 2010 at 17:01 #49335
Geoff Byman
Participant
@geoffbyman84262
Hi,

Just seen this post – looking for anything on CNC machines – and can say that the Mach3 software is very good and is licenced for private use. There are a few machines around that are quite good and use proper ballscrew nuts and good driver boards, but there are a good few that do not use these and don’t do the job properly.

Whilst returning this post, are there any users out there that have the warco cnc miller?

GeoffB
1 March 2010 at 19:17 #49341
PT
Participant
@pt
Hi Mogens,

I have got a Denford Easimill. The machine itself is excellent and very strong and sturdy. Unfortunately the orgiginal Denford Electricsa and software didn’t last very long. It was a 1986 machine, which rarely was 3 phase. We bought it in 2005. After six months of trying to resurect it we gave up and had it converted to Mach2. We are so pleased with it we are now having it upgraded to Mach3. Try and buy a burnt out carcas and retro fit it. I wouldn’t risk an original machine again.

cheers

Paul
2 March 2010 at 08:26 #49347
James Parker
Participant
@jamesparker66774
Hi Geoff,

I believe Warco only sold a small handful of their CNC ready machines – based on their WM-16. I’d be interested to see one too ! I have no idea why they stopped selling them – perhaps support became an issue ?

If you were minded to convert one yourself, there’s a useful thread here covering the conversion of a WM-18 (well, a WMD-30V which seems _very_ similar)

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91748

All the best,

James.
5 March 2010 at 22:34 #49438
Bowber
Participant
@bowber
I’ve also got a Denford Easimill converted from the original PNC2 to Mach 3 and new drivers.

Very good older mill now with a decent control.

Steve
9 March 2010 at 15:07 #49608
Peter Ridgway
Participant
@peterridgway42732
I have a Denford Easimill 3 and have had no problems. I still use the original controller and software supplied by Denford. (recommend their users forum! every helpful) The most useful thing I did before buying the machine, was to attend evening classes City & Guilds Part Programming. This helped greatly with confidence using the machine and diagnosing my own programming. If you can afford the space I’d go for an ex industrial machine, the interfaces are usually easier and more powerful, and it save retro fitting for Mach 3 control.
19 February 2011 at 12:00 #64321
Mick Grant
Participant
@mickgrant87349
I also have an Easimill with the original PNC3 controller.

I have just recently replaced the steppers with high torque modern replacements and am about to replace the Parker CD2 drivers with new ones, giving 4x the amperage, but retaining the controller (with an extra power supply added).

My other machines have been converted to EMC2, but I have resisted converting the Easimill, because it is so convenient to have a stand alone controller attached.

I make heavy use of the G81 repeat function and with a bit of practice you can very quickly write a program which does a lot of cutting for very little code.

The original Denford DNC software is dated and does not work properly, but I have written a Linux program to download and upload (plus various code generation functions) and this is posted on the Denford forum for anyone to download.

The other thing I have changed is the head height, the default machine is quite restricted and it is quite difficult to use a vice with anything sizeable.

I made a 6″ raiser block from 3 x 8″x2″ solid steel discs and have not looked back, it has absolutely transformed the machine.
19 February 2011 at 14:19 #64331
David Colwill
Participant
@davidcolwill19261
I have got two Denford machines a Triac and an Easiturn both of which have been converted to Mach 3. They are both great machines. I find that a combination of mach 3, a cad package and desk cnc (very cheap for it’s functionality) enables me to machine most of the projects that I need to take on. Those that wish to write G code programs line by line can still do so with mach once a few dialect differences have been taken into account with the added advantage of being able to cut and paste code in a windows word processing package. When using the lathe I have found the wizards in mach are easy to use and do pretty much all that I need.

These conversions are so easy to do that almost anyone can do them. I have done 3 now the latest a bridgeport clone and have had no trouble with any of them. Complex things like the tool changer for the lathe and mill seem a little daunting but are in fact a question of sitting down and reading through the documentation and examples and working them out.

A company that I work for bought an 8 x 4 cnc router last year for in excess of £30k and I have yet to see it do anything that I couldn’t do (in most cases easier) with mach.

If all this seems like a sales demo for them well so what! I think it’s great. So my advice would be buy a machine convert it then if it goes wrong ( mine haven’t in 5 years) then you will not be relying on a compay who may or may not still be in business to repair it, you will be able to do it yourself.
19 May 2011 at 11:58 #68849
sean FitzGerald
Participant
@seanfitzgerald93692
I visited Denford factory yesterday only to be told they only deal to education due to not having service engineers!!!! Shame brilliant looking goods suitable to do the job
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