Warco WM18B CNC conversion

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

I would like to share few photos of my Warco WM18B cnc conversion.

Screws on all axis has been replaced with a 20mm double nut ballscrews.

4.5Nm 34nema steppers has been used on X and Y and 9Nm on Z axis.

As a controller I chose AXBB-E and UCCNC as a software.

There’s still a lot to learn in terms of speeds and feeds as well as generating a tool paths, but I’m happy with a results so far, and machine proved to be very accurate.

There’s a lot more photos and couple of videos taken during conversion if anyone is interested. Youtube link: https://youtu.be/L9Qk7GP5DVo?si=kFiIhgAOKMzStSVb

Tom

 

 

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

That all looks very tidy indeed, Tomek

MichaelG.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Nice work!!

Tony

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Yes, that looks like a neat set-up, thanks for posting

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

I like the nice solid built up motor brackets.

How did you ensure that the casting surfaces the brackets fixed to were sufficiently true to the screw axes to avoid binding and poor running?

Were they good enough as supplied or did you have to operate on them?

Clive

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

Thank you all for those positive comments!

Clive, castings were pretty much fine out the box when I checked with a square and didn’t require any work on them.

No binding has been noticed on tests so I assume it’s all good.

Tom

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

I just finished my first CNC made part for a Duchess!

It’s a valve rocker.

Mild steel has been baked in the wood burner prior to machining to relieve any stresses in material.

Well happy with that!

[RobinParticipant @robin]

I am so envious, I CNC’d my Warco Major, probably 3 times, while I figured out how to do it proper.

Much too late to make it look nice now.

Having that Z axis on a dovetail, where I have a round column, should allow you to have the stepper motor and keep the winding handle, but you have chosen not to.

You have chosen to put a DRO on the Z and a stepper. This will give a second opinion on the position?

Don’t lose the handles x) x)

best

Robin

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

Hi Robin.

Dro was fitted couple years ago, right after I bought a mill. I’ve decided to keep it as it’s not in the way, helped with calibration, and always good to have as a reference.

It wouldn’t be possible to keep Z handle on as screws has been replaced with a ballscrews and bevel gears were removed.

Tom

[RobinParticipant @robin]

Hi Tom

You can keep the handles, you can do anything, you have CNC, the only limit is your imagination 🙂

I have been where you are and I think you may have missed one minor item that could require taking it all apart. An excellent opportunity to refit those handles and tasty satin chrome dials :drool: 🙂

Robin

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I don’t have handles on my CNC mill or converted lathe.  I do have an X-box wireless controller.  I don’t miss them at all.

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

I’m with John – don’t have handles on my CNC lathe or CNC router and don’t miss them. CNC mill does have handles but they are pretty useless in practice, especially with ballscrews. I do have a wireless controller for router and mill (lathe has equivalent built into control panel).

The wireless controller is really useful for large coarse movements or very fine movements like touching-off where the exact coordinates are not relevant. Typing into the MDI field on the PC screen means controlled moves to a precise coordinate is much easier than winding a handwheel to a precise number hoping that you are not going to overshoot. And at a controlled and predictable speed as well. A fellow club member and I have long debates about this subject! One practical point is that if you are using steppers, then manual control feels a little odd as you do feel a certain notchiness even with the steppers de-energised. Better with servos, though.

Mind you, one tiny typo when entering coordinates to the control screen can write off tool or workpiece. Don’t ask…

[RobinParticipant @robin]

Hi John

I do like winding handles, shopping for tools, metal and stuff.

I don’t know why, I just do 🙂

Robin

[Julie AnnParticipant @julieann]

That’s a very neat and professional looking conversion. I am suitably impressed!

Bit of a shame about the finish on the parts though. This is the sort of finish I would expect to get straight off my hobby CNC mill:

I expect the poor finish is down to some/all of the cutters, toolpath and feed/speed values. I prefer to use quality cutters; either the carbide K2 series from Cutwel, or the premium carbide range from Arc.

I do not have handles on my CNC mill, no need for them. Also if they are not there then there is no danger of being caught in a painful place by a handle rotating unexpectedly.

Julie

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

It looks a neat and tidy conversion

 

As Julie says the finish could be improved and there may be several causes, from the video I would say:

From the first attempt at the part it looks like you are taking small cuts with a stepdown of maybe 1mm and a similar step over. This tends to blunt the coner of the cutter and could be the cause of the burrs which usually are the result of a cutter that has lost it’s edge. I would suggest going the full depth less 0.3mm and a stepover of 10% cutter diameter to rough it out to within 0.3mm of final profile. Then a finish pass or two at full depth.

The second attempt that was on size the feed seems very slow which can also blunt the cutter prematurely. The small crumbly chips are an indication of it not cutting at its best.

Now you have ball screws I’d suggest climb cutting. I use it for almost everything but maybe try it for the finish passes first and see how you get on.

Again as Julie says Good or reasonable quality carbide, I use a mix of New Century from Cutwel, APT’s own or ARCs premium and keep them small so motor is running in its sweet spot at speed. Most of what I do is with 6mm 3-flutes or 4mm for smaller items.

Are you writing G-code or using CAM?

No handles on my CNC either, if I want to do something simple then the jogs are really just like a power feed on each axis. I’ve other manual machines with handles that satisfy my need for knob twiddling.

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

I’m not planning on going back to handles either, just got xbox controller delivered yesterday and I found it very useful.

Thank you for all the comments regarding finish. I know there is a room for improvement, and I’m sure machine (and myself) can do better than that. I will experiment with a toolpaths and feed speeds in Fusion and see what can be done.  It is a steep learning curve, but I’m enjoying every minute of it.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Julie and Jason, thanks for the advice, I will invest in a good quality cutters and make sure to tick finishing passes in Fusion.</p>
Tom

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

If you are doing it in Fusion then my usual method is 3D adaptive leaving the 0.3mm as I mentioned above. Then for a shape like that do a 2D contour – 1 Roughing pass at 0.2mm and a finish at 0.1. All climb cutting, dry with a bit of air to clear the swarf.

I’d be running a 6mm 3-flute at 5000rpm and feeding at 500mm/min. You may only have half that spindle speed so also halve the feed.

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

Thank you Jason, it is very helpful, I will try your method next time.
My spindle can only go to 3300rpm, so I will probably feed at about 300mm/min
The air nozzle mounted near the spindle will be next on  to do list.

Tom

[RobinParticipant @robin]

My new X axis has more gizmo’s trying to turn it and find it than you can shake a stick at 🙂

Robin

[aytactParticipant @aytact]

Hi Tomek,

Actually, I was searching to purchase a milling machine and converting it to cnc. As you used Warco WM18B, I was planning to purchase it, but I was a bit confused deciding to a machine, can I convert it or not. Thanks to your post, it cleared out my mind.

In the pictures, I saw how you have modified X axis, but I could not see detailed photo relevant to z-axis. Have you made any change?

And is it possible to list where have you purchased the parts and dimensions of them? For example for ball screws.

Thank you

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

Hi, only new nut mounting block has been made and top casting opened up a bit to fit a new screw in. Not a lot of work. There’s a photo of all mounting blocks, including one for Z axis.

I could send you a private message with links to the parts if you wish.

 

[aytactParticipant @aytact]

Hi Tomek, please could you share the links. Thank you so much. Much appreciated.

[TomekParticipant @tomek]

No worries. I’ve sent you a private message. If you scroll through the listings, you’ll find dimensions for the parts.

Tom

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