Sieg SX2P

[Luke BladesParticipant @lukeblades15879]

Hello!

I know that closely related questions have been asked but some were posted/answered while ago and I'd like to get the latest opinions! Sorry if this gets tedious.

I'm looking to purchase a small/desktop milling machine for home projects. I've read here and elsewhere that the Sieg SX2P is a nice piece of kit for the money and i'd like to get some opinions / reviews / suggestions.

I'd like to do a CNC conversion on the machine and the Sieg mills seem to have a good following in this area. I've seen nice results on youtube etc. Materials wise i'm looking to cut mild steel at the hardest.

I'm sorry I don't have too many in the way of specific questions. I just want to check that there are no alternatives of better value in that price range (£500-1000)

Also, realise that if I alter the machine for CNC, that i'll undoubtedly void my warranty. How can I mitigate risks here? What should I check for on the machine before I start tearing it apart?

Thanks in advance for any help offered,

Luke Blades

[Luke BladesParticipant @lukeblades15879]

Best value mini mill for CNC conversion. Thoughts on Sieg SX2P?

[Gordon Smith 1Participant @gordonsmith1]

I have one of these milling machines and generally find it satisfactory for milling mild steel. The biggest drawback in my opinion is the Z feed via a rack and pinion. With hindsight I would have bought one of the slightly larger mills with a screw fed Z axis. Looking at the AML16LV at £765.

[Russ BParticipant @russb]

For CNC conversions, the SX2P has a rack and pinion type Z axis – you should probably think about the work required to covert it to ball screws.

the limiting factor is usually the amount of space for ball nuts between the base/saddle/table as they're just not designed for it. I converted the SX1 which uses exactly the same table and I have a rough 3D model of it, I'll pull it up tonight and measure the gaps (I need my own laptop as it has a newer version of my CAD software)

Regarding your warranty/wear and tear – The continuous load on the motor controller would probably be the hardest thing for the machine to handle.

I upgraded to brass gibs so I had a sacrificial component that would be easily changed if things started to wear, it made things super smooth and they never needed adjustment although they never got much use in the end!

I would say both the lack of room in the base casting, and the rack and pinion Z axis make this machine tricky to convert. The wide rigid column mounted directly to the base casting make it good strong chassis and that 500w brushless motor is capable of removing enough metal to put that to the test.

Overall, it could be brilliant if you cross the Z axis and ballscrew clearance issues. (I guess you could get away with not using ball screws but I'd say you should certainly look to upgrading the standard nuts to something more exotic.

*Gordon beat me to the post, but as he said, Z axis is an issue)

Edited By Russ B on 28/06/2016 16:27:17

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

It might be worth looking at the SEIG X1L, bearing in mind that is available as an off the shelf CNC version.

Neil

[Luke BladesParticipant @lukeblades15879]

Hi Guys, thank you all for your responses!

Neil, the model you're suggesting is cheaper (I think, couldn't find the CNC version at a glance) but the motor is only 150w. Is this man enough?

Russ, Gordan, I'm planning to do this with the Z axis (skip to 6 mins to save yourself some time):

Is there any reason this solution wouldn't work or operate poorly on the Sieg SX2P?

Cheers,

Luke

[ZebethyalParticipant @zebethyal]

When I was looking for a mill of this size to convert to CNC, I initially settled on the SX2P, but eventually decided that there was insufficient space under the table to do this and opted for the older style X2 as this is a tried and tested model for conversion – look up Hoss Machine and many others on the web and on the CNCZone forums.

Ideally I wanted the LittleMachineShop model 3990 – R8 spindle, solid column, bigger table, gas spring, belt drive brushless motor, etc, but nobody this side of the pond stocks that model.

I was lucky and found an end of line X2 at a decent price (they were changing to a new paint scheme and selling off the old stock for a hefty discount) and have replaced/upgraded several items on mine already – gas spring conversion (the stock spring is rubbish) 3 axis DRO, MT3 to R8 spindle change, solid column upgrade (inlcuded longer Y axis) and I am in the process of machining the parts for my CNC conversion, which is my own design but was influenced by the designs of Hoss and Donald Bird.

Many of the parts I have removed stand a good chance of being used again – MT3 spindle will become a 4th axis. Old column may become new X axis table, I could even 'super extend' the Y axis with the old base casting just like the Hoss X2 'Freak'.

With regards warranty, I pretty much accpted that as soon as I started pulling it apart, I could forget about that.

Future plans still include a power drawbar, an articulating head and a quick change 8 station carousel for Tormach ATC style tooling.

There are also off the shelf CNC kits for the X2, although I believe CNCFusion are being a little unresponsive at present and may have stopped production.

The Sieg X3 is also a popular machine to convert to CNC and is slightly bigger and beefier but may be outside your price range at around £1600.00.

Also In the X3 price range, is the RF45 style of machines, another popular choice to convert to CNC (Chester Lux is one UK example at around £1500.00) although these will be significantly bigger and heavier than an X2 – (I am thinking about one of these as my next mill) Bob at CNC Cookbook has converted one of these as has Hoss.

If you do choose an X2 style mill, there are loads of how-to articles relating to no end of potential modifications you can make, there will be no shortage of people to ask for help and advice should you need it.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The SEIG KX1/KX2 CNC machines are only available form Arc (I think) but are quite a bit more expensive.

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/CNC-Milling-Machines/Sieg-KX1-CNC-Hobby-Mill/Sieg-KX1-Hobby-CNC-Mill-Bundle

Neil

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