Bridgeport Knee Mill CNC ?

[madman]

I been thinking of cnc ING my old bridgeport mill. I would be happy with (for now at least x and y axis) Are these machines rigid enough for a cnc application>? I been looking at Industrial hobbies (now out of business the Tormacn and so on) I for one being a firm believer in American Iron would loathe to have asian imports in my shop. Thats just my opinion though. I would probably make motorcycle comp[onents and other stuff primarily 1.5 inch to two inch thick aluminumn billet chunks. Im wondering which is the best way to go with the cnc a complete kit or buy bit here and there. Im confused though as to which pieces will work with which other parts successfully. My electrical electronic skills really suck. Manner of speaking. Tips guys? Thanx Mike

[rsr911]

Buy a BP Boss series machine. I've got a Boss 5, CNC right out of the box and much more rigid than the manual machine. There are lots of options for upgrades to modern CNC, right now I run code in through the serial port to the machines computer.

[Wirecutter]

I've also thought of converting my Bridgeport Series 1 (J head) to CNC. As an intermediate step, I added on a nice Newall 3-axis DRO. I've looked around at CNC retrofit packages and the prices of CNC mills. A nice Centroid CNC upgrade package, with software, would run me $10-15K, depending on options. I believe Centroid is a bit on the high side, you may be able to go with a more economical system using steppers for $3-4K.

It seemed to me that the better way for me to go when I go that route is going to be to sell my existing mill and buy a used CNC machine. The usual cautions apply about careful shopping, etc. I may wind up with a CNC machine that gets some upgrades after I get it. Unless I really wanted the satisfaction of doing the upgrade myself, it just seems better to buy a good second-hand CNC.

Of course, first I have to A) recover from my recent back surgery, and B) scare up a few thousand spare bucks for any CNC anything.

-Mark

[DR]

Madman,

A CNC mill conversion as a money maker????

How many machine shops have you seen with "homemade" CNC's? Does the answer to that question tell you anything?

[madman]

Money maker possible. I make fishing reels race car parts. Lots of these items would be a lot easier and quicker to make up with a cnc. Would work for me. i dont wanna work like a real shop just have some fun in my shop and if i can squeeze out a living im happy. Sick of rat race and working for others.

[DR]

Okay, but this is strictly my opinion from being in the business a number of years....

Buy a factory built CNC machine and make parts (and money) tomorrow. This option requires some up front money and good credit. This machine has re-sale value.

Do a conversion and you'll be without your B'port for 3 to 6 months and when you're all done with the conversion you'll have a half-assed computer controlled machine that's almost a "real" CNC. This option requires about the same or more up front money. This machine has less re-sale value than the unconverted mill.