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Extending a Milling Table?

behslayer

Plastic
Joined
Jul 16, 2020
Hello, Is there a way to increase length of Travel on a Milling Machine? Can you extend a table?
 
Midaco used to make a table extender that stacked on top of but it's been obsolete for years.

But if you really needed more travel and couldn't get a new machine in, you could duplicate the functionality of the secondary slideway mounted to the top of a current table.

Hell, you could drive it with a ballscrew and servo (or (shock!) stepper), using either extra M codes or even a contact switch for simple repositioning.

A lotta work to do right, $$$ too, but possible.
 
I suspect you are talking about one of the unspeakable machines though.

Yeah, we don't know the OP's machine or needs, and HI isn't a hotbed of machining activity.

I made a simple top plate that was keyed to the table of a VF-5, carried a set of contact plates and a rotary table to allow me to shift a plastic auger I was cutting so I could get the needed flight length.

Greased the table to slide interface, the mill table was deep enough in Y to allow clamps front and rear to the slide plate for cutting loads. Worked pretty well...

I did wind up with a slight step where the two sections of flight cutting met, but that was a little dum-dum on my part, not due to the method.
 
Hello Friends, Thanks for the input. First time I've really used this Forum. But, I have put in my 10,000 hours running my old Bridgeport. Variable Speed J-Head. Dang I love that machine. But when I moved to Hawaii I did so with Suitcases. You guys are so lucky to be able to pick up a good milling machine at will on the Mainland. Over here I haven't seen one Bridgeport or anything for sale. In anycase, I make long Straight gunstocks for Spearguns, and I like to do the protyping and small productions on the Milling machine. (Yes.. it's wood. I know that will chafe some of you, but dang, show me a router that can whirl a big 1/2" Shank Woodcutting Router Bit at 5000RPM+ at the edge of the tool, Tapers in 2 dimensions, etc.. do alll that and then just flip a lever and slow it down and drill Hardened 17-4ph at less than 100rpm. 36" of Table travel was not ideal.. Guns are long, but now I'm looking at half of that with a machine I can ship here reasonably. (Take the good with the bad. I'm growing Bananas, it's 85 degrees and gorgeous, Ocean is incredibly gorgeous, kids are happy, wife is happy.)Is there Sled method? ie a table on a table?
 
QT: [I make long Straight gunstocks for Spearguns,]
Depends on your quality needs but one can fab-up a long trave to rig under a router head spindle..

Just an I beam and a trolly can be hand ground to make a 60" travel .005 and better machine.

A photo of your product might help the guys here give you some ideas.

I would think a 2" diameter bamboo would make a decent long speargun handle/stock.
 
Yes, you can extend the travel by making lead screw extensions and extended hand wheel brackets. Generally you can only safely get about 15-20% extra travel at each end but it depends on your miller's construction and how heavy a cut you take.

It CAN be done but you need to remember the limitations when working at the extended travel and take lighter cuts.
 
Is there Sled method? ie a table on a table?

Yes. Don't do it as a motion table, but make it an index table. Rather than a tee slot table, use a piece of steel or aluminum as a fixture plate. Drill and tap wherever desired. However much additional travel you need, plus a little extra for that new project you haven't made yet. Lets say 10". Set up your aux table 5" left of center for one station, and index it 5" right of center for the other. Use keys that are a couple of thousands loose in the table to maintain alignment. You can make robust adjustable stops that position in the front tee slot, if your mill has one.
 
Adding a back rail like s surface grinder has can allow the part hilding fixture to be moved down the table
So near doubling the effective length.

A simple back rail is just using the T slots as locators.
 
Only time I had to do anything that exceeded the travel of my Lagun I drove dogs into the t slot and slid the plate down after doing a hole pattern, gage pin into the last hole in the first pattern and off you go.
For repetitive work either a sub plate as mentioned or dogs and pins.

After 15 years of owning my R2C3 I finally decided it was my machine, I could drill holes in it if I wanted to, and pinned my vises to the table
 
After 15 years of owning my R2C3 I finally decided it was my machine, I could drill holes in it if I wanted to, and pinned my vises to the table

'Bout spit my coffee reading that. One of the biggest mental hurdles a shop owner will ever face, right there. But attitudinally liberating? You can't beat it.
 








 
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