Includes:
- MR-1 CNC Gantry Milling Machine
-
Motion Electronics package including the following: Waterproof NEMA 23 stepper drive motors,
Limit switch kit for each axis, Touch Probe and Tool Setter ports, Expansion ports for future
add-ons, E-stop Switch, and High Speed USB Connectivity (Windows or Mac Compatible)
- 3.4hp 220V AC Servo spindle with 0-8000 RPM speed range - adjustable in software
- ⅛ and ¼ Precision ER20 Collets and 2 Collet Wrenches
-
All miscellaneous parts and hardware required to assemble a ready-to-run machine. Note: Does
not include concrete required for the base. Seven 50lb bags of concrete must be purchased
separately from a local home improvement store. To learn more about the concrete reinforced
base design and more information on this assembly step, please visit
MR-1 Base Design.
- Co-Planarity Check Gage - now standard on MR-1
The MR-1 Gantry Mill stands alone as the only machine in its price class that is capable of
productively machining aluminum, steel, titanium, and stainless steel. MR-1 is not a toy; it is
a machine that you can rely on to make real metal parts that require excellent finishes,
precision, and accuracy.
Let's start with the Hardware:
MR-1’s table is a nearly ¾” thick plate of 6061-T6 aluminum that is drilled and tapped for ¼-20
tooling holes in a 2”x2” grid pattern making workholding a breeze. The table is rigidly encased
in 300 pounds of high strength interlocking concrete to promote excellent rigidity and
stability. The base is designed to be skim cut flat by the user to produce a laser flat surface
that is exactly parallel to the XY plane of the machine.
Four steel legs support the machine making it a freestanding unit. This means you don’t need to
buy or build a workbench like most hobby machines. The legs come pre-drilled for attaching
accessories such as leveling feet, computer stand, or touch screen controller (all available for
purchase).
Also encased in the concrete base structure are the steel Y axis rail supports. To these mount
the 1” thick steel Y axis rails containing the 20mm linear guideways. The direct connection to
the concrete base structure keeps deflections to a bare minimum while providing a direct path
for vibration damping.
Riding on the Y axis rails is the beefy X Axis gantry. There are no aluminum extrusions found
here. The heavy duty gantry is constructed from 5/16” steel plate all the way around for maximum
bending and torsional stiffness. It is machined and 100% inspected to exacting standards to hold
a pair of 20mm linear guideways right where they need to be for supreme accuracy.
Keeping with the ‘aluminum has no place on the frame of a CNC mill’ theme, the X axis and Y axis
carriages are made out of gray cast iron. The working surfaces are precision machined and 100%
inspected to ensure that our quality requirements are met. Cast iron was chosen for its superior
stiffness and vibration damping.
Machine travels are 23.0” (X), 21.0” (Y) and 6.1” (Z). An additional 2” of static Z-axis travel
is available by adjusting the vertical spindle mounting position.
The Spindle:
The spindle motor is the heart of the machine, and we did not skimp here. The 220 V AC servo
motor packs a whopping 3.4 horsepower and nearly constant torque from 0 to 4000 RPM. The 1:2
overdrive transmission allows the user to pick any cutting speed in software up to 8000 RPM. The
built-in encoder means that the motor can maintain its programmed speed even under heavy loads.
When it comes to machining metals, torque is king and this beast of a spindle motor has plenty
to give. Trim routers and low torque VFD driven spindle motors don’t belong on a machine
designed for milling metal, especially steel. Our Spindle can run fly cutters, drills, boring
heads, and large end mills. All without violating the SFM specs provided by the cutting tool
manufacturers for carbide and high speed steel.
The spindle itself is custom made from high grade alloy steel and through-hardened for wear
resistance. The ISO-ER20 taper of each is precision ground in-house to ensure runout is less
than 0.0003”.
Don't have 220V power in your shop? Consider
picking up a transformer to run our spindle
motor on any ordinary 110V outlet.
The Electronics:
Pushing the spindle around are precision 1205 ball screws driven by NEMA 23 waterproof stepper
motors. Each axis can exert over 135 pounds of cutting force that is reacted by 1” thick steel
bearing mounts. This is sufficient for removing up to 30 pounds of steel per hour with the
correct roughing tool and tool path setup. Maximum travel speeds of 100 inches per minute (IPM)
ensure your projects get completed fast.
MR-1 not only comes standard with limit switches, it comes with two on the Y axis. This gives
the machine automatic squaring capability of the gantry. Each time the user homes the machine in
software, it will fine tune the alignment of the X axis to the Y axis on the fly to ensure
squareness is achieved.
At the heart of the electronics is our proprietary motion control board with high speed USB
communication. Based on the successful control boards from our CNC Plasma line of machines, this
robust and battle tested system allows the user to stream millions of lines of code without
skipping a beat.
The electronics box also includes ports to connect the
Automatic Tool Setter and
Touch Probe. The combination of these two devices
allow the user to establish massively increased workflows by setting part locations and tool
offsets automatically at the push of a button.
The Software:
Included with every machine is the CutControl software package that runs on both Windows and MAC
OS. It takes the engine from our widely successful FireControl software and pairs it with the
features required to blast through milling projects on MR-1, including a 3D visualizer. Control
the machine at your fingertips including Spindle Control and RPM setting, Flood Coolant, Program
Speed Overrides, Automatic Tool Setting, Touch Probing Routines, Milling Canned Cycles and many
others. We are constantly adding new features and optimizations to improve the user experience
of our software packages and this is no different with CutControl.
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