Bridgeport knee powerfeed - Align AL/CE-500P anyone?

[crickets]

Folks,

Yes, this is another of those knee powerfeed threads... Except I am just wondering if anyone tried this particular unit :
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/align-z-axis-power-feed/

I hear PM has a good reputation, so it's not like buying one on Ebay/Ali. Thinking of getting one, but first wanted to check with the tribe.


Thanks!

 

[moonlight machine]

Folks,

Yes, this is another of those knee powerfeed threads... Except I am just wondering if anyone tried this particular unit :
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/align-z-axis-power-feed/

I hear PM has a good reputation, so it's not like buying one on Ebay/Ali. Thinking of getting one, but first wanted to check with the tribe.


Thanks!

Just buy a Servo, I have 6 of them, no problems in 20 years.

 

[plastikdreams]

Just buy a Servo, I have 6 of them, no problems in 20 years.

Used to work at a place with a servo on the knee...we did deep hole drilling every so often in carbon steel and stainless.

Precision Matthews is known for cheap Chinese equipment. I'd steer clear.

 

[Big B]

Or if you don't feel like spending that much you can buy an adapter for a cordless drill for around $40. I've used one for the last ten years or so and love it. I use a DeWalt 18 volt drill to run it and it works fine.

Installs in seconds too.

 

[plastikdreams]

Or if you don't feel like spending that much you can buy an adapter for a cordless drill for around $40. I've used one for the last ten years or so and love it. I use a DeWalt 18 volt drill to run it and it works fine.

Installs in seconds too.

If you are not going to be using it all day every day for hours this is a very good alternative!

 

[Big B]

If you are not going to be using it all day every day for hours this is a very good alternative!

I've used it all day seven days a week at times and while it isn't as nice as a mounted drive it works pretty well and beats the crap out of cranking by hand.

What problems do you see with using one all day? I use the weight of the drill and battery to offset the torque of the drill and it has very little stress on my wrist and arm going up and almost none going down.

Have you ever tried one or are you just guessing?

 

[winger]

At work we had a 1/2" right angle Milwaukee drill for this. Easy to hold and low rpm. The new mill has a servo brand on it.

Dave

 

[Big B]

At work we had a 1/2" right angle Milwaukee drill for this. Easy to hold and low rpm. The new mill has a servo brand on it.

Dave

I like the cordless variable speed drill motors. Much nicer to be able to ramp up the RPM's to whatever speed you want to run with the squeeze of a trigger. I also made an adapter for the drill with a 3/4" socket on it and use it in a separate drill to run the vise open and closed if I need to move it a long ways and it also works pretty good on the Y-axis by just putting the socket on the 3/4" nut that holds the handle on. I've never had the nut come loose but I always ramp up the RPM's slowly.

 

[plastikdreams]

I've used it all day seven days a week at times and while it isn't as nice as a mounted drive it works pretty well and beats the crap out of cranking by hand.

What problems do you see with using one all day? I use the weight of the drill and battery to offset the torque of the drill and it has very little stress on my wrist and arm going up and almost none going down.

Have you ever tried one or are you just guessing?

I was agreeing with you. There's no issue using the drill as much as you want, im just saying it would be a more worthy option to get the servo if used all the time rather than occasionally.

 

[Big B]

I was agreeing with you. There's no issue using the drill as much as you want, im just saying it would be a more worthy option to get the servo if used all the time rather than occasionally.

Probably so. I wasn't trying to be disagreeable. Just saying that I've used the drill one for years and haven't felt the need to spend the time and money converting it over. Others may feel differently.

Originally I had planned to put a regular power feed on and the drill adapter was just supposed to be a temporary thing. But it worked so well that I never bothered to get the power feed.

There is probably more to it that I hadn't really considered much but your hands are busy with the drill attachment and you can't just turn the feed up and let it raise or lower while you deburr some stock.

 

[plastikdreams]

Horses for courses I guess lol

 

[ignator]

Folks,

Yes, this is another of those knee powerfeed threads... Except I am just wondering if anyone tried this particular unit :
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/align-z-axis-power-feed/

I hear PM has a good reputation, so it's not like buying one on Ebay/Ali. Thinking of getting one, but first wanted to check with the tribe.


Thanks!

I installed an Align brand power feed Z axis on my Wells-Index mill 20 years ago. Mainly use it to change the table height. I've not had any issues with it. The install for my mill did require me to make a new shaft from the bevel gear of the mill back to the feed. I wanted to keep the original crank handle, and this kit was intended for a Bridge Port.
I don't think PM has anything to do with this unit outside of having their name on it. But these affordable imports have worked well on the machines, as I put one on the cross axis of my mill, the lathe tail stock, and the drill press (required a 10:1 gear box).
I've had these opened, and the internals appear to be well packaged, and a copy of quality designs.
I have a Servo brand on the long axis of the Wells-Index, and it will go into high speed for no reason. These imports give you the schematic in the install instructions, at least the Align and Harbor Freight versions did.
The price is in the same ball park as eBay.
The complaint I have with all these power feeds, including the Servo, the slow speed operation is a very narrow sweet spot on the control potentiometer. The lower torque ones are just an SCR, so they are only working on half the AC power input cycle. The higher torque ones use a TRIAC for speed control, mainly for more current to produce the needed torque.

 

[crickets]

Precision Matthews is known for cheap Chinese equipment. I'd steer clear.

Yes, PM, just like Jet and Grizzly sells Chinese made gear that probably comes from the same factory. The reality is absolute majority of stuff around us, including the computer I am typing this on is made at a handful of Chinese factories, with various companies slapping their names on the final products. So the difference is then in two things - the actual design of the product, and quality control / after sale support.

From what I heard PM doesn't sell outright junk (though I could be mistaken about that), and their support claims are outright listed. Then the question I had regarding this unit is whether it's actually powerful enough for the knee like is claimed, especially with a hefty setup on the table.

 

[ignator]

From what I heard PM doesn't sell outright junk (though I could be mistaken about that), and their support claims are outright listed. Then the question I had regarding this unit is whether it's actually powerful enough for the knee like is claimed, especially with a hefty setup on the table.

My Z axis power feed was rated at 350inlbs, and I have a big 12 inch rot tab and a 6" Kurt on the table all the time. It has zero issues lifting that. Memory was the one you're looking at was 450inlbs.

 

[crickets]

I ended up getting the unit. It's labeled Taiwan, so perhaps 5% better than China proper Instructions are still quite Chinglishy, and I didn't quite understand the intention with the mounting holes - the best position is still somewhat angled. Otherwise it seems to be cranking up and down, with up being slower at the same pot setting.

 

[crickets]

Looks like it's angled on purpose - on a closer look it may block the knee lock handle if oriented vertically.

 

[ignator]

Looks like it's angled on purpose - on a closer look it may block the knee lock handle if oriented vertically.

I ended up mounting my vertical power feed horizontally, as the Y axis power feed made things crowded.

 

[jerholz]

If you are not going to be using it all day every day for hours this is a very good alternative!

Doh! Genius! How long have these been around?

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