CNCMillPledge2015
This pledge drive is now defunct
The vendor (a school) got another offer at the same price, but with VAT being added, and that purchaser also agreed to buy the 3D printer that was also on offer. Best result for the school. Not so good for the Hackspace, but I'm sure we'll have other opportunities to add this kind of machine to our kit.
Original Details Follow
Pledge drive for the Denford VMC 1300 Pro CNC Mill. If you have forgotten your HMS password or are not a member but would like to pledge please post in this thread on the Nottinghack Google Group and someone will update this page.
CNC Mill
We are aiming to raise £2000 to purchase a second-hand Denford VMC 1300 Pro milling machine. These retail for £17k new. Some info is here:
http://website.denford.ltd.uk/machines/139-mill-and-turns
http://www.denfordata.com/pdfs/product-literature/vmc-1300.pdf
The manual for the unit is here
Cor! Look at this thing in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAmnjtRxb_A&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjGeiTuO6Dc&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kRXws0FY28&feature=youtu.be
This is the base model with no auto-tool changers or cooling system. It is the Pro version though which means it has the higer speed (6000 RPM) spindle, this means that small cutters for PCB milling/engraving are viable as well as giving more power/stability for people who want to hack large chunks of metal.
Some negatives to this unit, proprietary Windows Only software but this could be changed, if we decided to.
The control system is a set of standard stepper drivers (Step/Direction) and a separate motion driver. The motion driver is proprietary and needs the Denford software to translate from standard G-Code, although the Denford software is actually quite good with a simulation mode that helps ensure code will do what is expected. The spindle is a 3 phase spindle with an inverter built into the machine to allow single phase use and give speed control.
Because of the separate Step/Direction stepper drivers and spindle inverter it would actually be possible to convert this to Mach3 or EMC if we wanted to go that way in the future relatively cheaply, only connectors and wire would be needed.
Full details including cct diagrams are available which would make both maint and any upgrade/conversion relativly simple see http://www.denfordata.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=51
Pledge Rewards
None at the moment. Any ideas?
First in the queue for inductions/training (I am assuming it would be a machine needing induction)
List of pledges
Please post on the list if you really, truly have forgotten your HMS password and need to have someone else to update this.
Initial date of review of the state of pledges is the 11th Ocober 2015.
A review of pledges paid will be undertaken on November 30th 2015. A reminder will be sent to those whom have not already paid at this time.
| Who | How Much | Paid? | Method Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Little | £50 | No | |
| Joe Duckhouse | £100 | No | |
| Steve Barnett | £50 | No | |
| Ian Dickinson | £50 | No | |
| Joshua Kelly | £75 | No | |
| James Berry | £50 | No | |
| Michael Erskine | £50 | No | |
| David Clarke | £25 | No | |
| Paul Meynell | £50 | No | |
| Chris Cain | £200 | No | |
| Greg Duckworth | £50 | No | |
| Tom Grover | £50 | No | |
| Derek Stonall | £20 | No | |
| Kit Grande | £20 | No | |
| Martin Farraway | £25 | No | |
| Owen B | £50 | No | |
| David H | £50 | No | |
| Matt Pritchard | £20 | No | |
| Christopher Parsons | £10 | No | |
| Tasos Avgoustidis | £50 | No | |
| Mark Cambridge | £25 | No |