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RF30 Basement Install

You are looking for one of these types:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/39976709

or this:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/39976402

the fittings are standard grease zerks. Just using oil in them iso grease. because they are the same, many folks think they have to use grease on their machines where it should be way oil.

the oil pressure will not be very high as they are designed to be in a “lost oil” system (ie open; oil will be able to escape between the surfaces before the pressure builds enough to drive out the fitting)
 
RobinHood said:
You are looking for one of these types:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/39976709

or this:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/39976402

the fittings are standard grease zerks. Just using oil in them iso grease. because they are the same, many folks think they have to use grease on their machines where it should be way oil.

the oil pressure will not be very high as they are designed to be in a “lost oil” system (ie open; oil will be able to escape between the surfaces before the pressure builds enough to drive out the fitting)
Click to expand...
Do we have a grease thread? I’d be interested in learning more but don’t want to get off topic in this one
 
trlvn said:
I've never used an oiling system with a pump gun. Do you have links to the fittings and gun you are using?

How much pressure will it take to inject the oil? Any concern that the nipple may work itself out of the drilled hole due to that pressure (and lube)?

Craig
Click to expand...

Haven't sourced a proper oiler yet, they appear to be kind of elusive.

I did order this https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/grease-fitting-cleaning-tool/A-p4270160e to try. I shouldn't need to pump oodles of oils in, so maybe it will be ok.

If push comes to shove a grease gun can be modified to work.

Craig
 
Brent H said:
@YYCHobbyMachinist

That unit has a more pointed end. They do sell ones for the zerks: https://www.machinerypartsdepot.com/product/12PB20

https://www.amazon.ca/Oregon-54-021...d=1&keywords=push+lube&qid=1596735019&sr=8-35

https://www.amazon.ca/Lumax-LX-1174...=1&keywords=push+lube&qid=1596735154&sr=8-126
Click to expand...

yup, that’s the ones. I was in a rush earlier and could only find the “pointy” ones.
YYCHobbyMachinist said:
Haven't sourced a proper oiler yet, they appear to be kind of elusive.

I did order this https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/grease-fitting-cleaning-tool/A-p4270160e to try. I shouldn't need to pump oodles of oils in, so maybe it will be ok.

If push comes to shove a grease gun can be modified to work.

Craig
Click to expand...

the grease fitting cleaning tool may work too if it has enough capacity to do at least one oil point. then just re-fill and repeat.
 
DRO install phase III complete...…. The y-axis.

YSCALEINSTALLED.jpg


YSCALEINSTALLED 1.JPG


YSCALEINSTALLED2.JPG


Took the better part of a day and a half. Fabricator I am not:p

Thursday I sourced the mounting plate material from MSM and drilled and tapped the mounting holes in the base and saddle. Went pretty good considering I was winging it with a hand drill.

Today I fabricated the mounting plate and that's where things really bogged down. The mounting plate stands an inch away from the saddle mounting points so I had to fashion some stand offs on the lathe. Now marking the locations of the saddle screw holes on the mounting plate became a real head scratcher. I ended up sticking two closely fitting nails with their heads cut off in the saddle screw holes that stood proud an inch and used the nail points to mark the plate hole locations, it worked. There was a lot of measuring, marking, cutting, re-mounting, measuring, marking and cutting before I finally had the plate cut out to my satisfaction. Phew...….

I don't like this arrangement with the stand offs actually but the only other way I can think of is to mount the plate directly to the saddle and use some sort of Z moulding to tie the reader to the plate. I may go that way in the future should I spot some suitable Z moulding. The mounting plate should be salvageable.

As I said..... fabricator I am not:(

Phase IV is the z-axis, but that's a whole different problem and will take some time that thought.

Craig
 
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YYCHobbyMachinist said:
DRO install phase III complete...…. The y-axis.

View attachment 10533

View attachment 10534

View attachment 10535

Took the better part of a day and a half. Fabricator I am not:p

Thursday I sourced the mounting plate material from MSM and drilled and tapped the mounting holes in the base and saddle. Went pretty good considering I was winging it with a hand drill.

Today I fabricated the mounting plate and that's where things really bogged down. The mounting plate stands an inch away from the saddle mounting points so I had to fashion some stand offs on the lathe. Now marking the locations of the saddle screw holes on the mounting plate became a real head scratcher. I ended up sticking two closely fitting nails with their heads cut off in the saddle screw holes that stood proud an inch and used the nail points to mark the plate hole locations, it worked. There was a lot of measuring, marking, cutting, re-mounting, measuring, marking and cutting before I finally had the plate cut out to my satisfaction. Phew...….

I don't like this arrangement with the stand offs actually but the only other way I can think of is to mount the plate directly to the saddle and use some sort of Z moulding to tie the reader to the plate. I may go that way in the future should I spot some suitable Z moulding. The mounting plate should be salvageable.

As I said..... fabricator I am not:(

Phase IV is the z-axis, but that's a whole different problem and will take some time that thought.

Craig
Click to expand...
Looking good Craig!
FWIW I drilled all 20 or holes for mine with my trusty Ridgid cordless drill. Fatiguing to say the least...
 
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David_R8 said:
Looking good Craig!
FWIW I drill all 20 or holes for mine with my trusty Ridgid cordless drill. Fatiguing to say the least...
Click to expand...

20 holes? I have 8 so far.

Can't for the life of me figure out how to mount the swarf covers LOL.
 
DPittman said:
On one of my scales I used velcro on the scale to hold it to the scale and then put in little rubber pad to keep it from vibrating.
Click to expand...

I like that out-of-box thinking! Who said they have to be screwed down in the first place.
 
The only thing I would watch for is machine casting surfaces are typically un-square and irregular unless they have been machined (and even then sometimes). My RF-45 had a mean draft angle on the base so I couldn't mount flush like that. I'm not sure if this is your situation, just illustrating where to look.

A useful strategy is threading some holes in your mounting plate to accommodate small jack screws. These allow you to tweak plate/scale true to the movement axis but still be able to reasonably tighten the whole assembly because the screws are just making point contact on the frame for alignment purposes. You don't want the DRO to be loose because machine vibration can cause display/measurement issues down the road. If the assembly is just dampened like with a rubber gasket between surfaces, I think that's fine. You really don't want scales misalignment or drifting off axis. Some scales & reader heads are more tolerant to twist than others but its best to get alignment it as close as possible by running a DTI down the length by displacing the table. Some DRO's specify a maximum runout (usually within a couple thou). Maybe check the manual.
 

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PeterT said:
The only thing I would watch for is machine casting surfaces are typically un-square and irregular unless they have been machined (and even then sometimes). My RF-45 had a mean draft angle on the base so I couldn't mount flush like that. I'm not sure if this is your situation, just illustrating where to look.

A useful strategy is threading some holes in your mounting plate to accommodate small jack screws. These allow you to tweak plate/scale true to the movement axis but still be able to reasonably tighten the whole assembly because the screws are just making point contact on the frame for alignment purposes. You don't want the DRO to be loose because machine vibration can cause display/measurement issues down the road. If the assembly is just dampened like with a rubber gasket between surfaces, I think that's fine. You really don't want scales misalignment or drifting off axis. Some scales & reader heads are more tolerant to twist than others but its best to get alignment it as close as possible by running a DTI down the length by displacing the table. Some DRO's specify a maximum runout (usually within a couple thou). Maybe check the manual.
Click to expand...

Indeed.
I addressed this problem by tweaking the angle bracket till it was square to the scale. Worked like a charm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@Dabbler is that WOW that's good or WOW tha
DPittman said:
Yes that takes some getting used to doesn't it.
Have you gotten the mid point calculation feature figured out?...I haven't been able to.
Click to expand...

Easy-Peasy. Touch off your edge finder on one side and zero that axis. Move to the oppose face and touch off again then hit 1/2 and what ever axis you are working on, then move that axis until your read zero or 0.000blaaa
 
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