Bridgeport Knee Mill
 | |
| Owner/Loaner | PS:One |
|---|---|
| Serial Number | {{{serial}}} |
| Make/Model | Bridgeport Series I knee mill |
| Arrival Date | Dec 2013 |
| Usability | yes |
| Contact | Danger Committee, Area Host (Dean Anderson) |
| Where | Machine Shop |
| Authorization Needed | yes |
| Hackable | no |
| Estimated Value | ~$6000 |
| Host Area | {{{hostarea}}} |
Description
A recent model Knee Mill made by the Bridgeport company. This is the gold-standard small shop manual milling machine in the US. Most other mills of the same size are direct copies of the bridgeport design. This particular machine is a Series I, J-head with a mechanical variable speed drive. The machine has a power quill feed built into the head, in addition to the additional equipment listed below. This machine is capable of facing, surfacing, drilling and slotting in materials ranging from plastics to mild steel. Harder metals may be cut if special cutters and coolant are available. This machine is not equipped with CNC controls, consequently curved paths are limited to circular arcs. These can be cut on pieces that can be mounted on the 8" rotary table or approximated to a desired precision using the simple or smooth arc functions of the DRO.
Personal Tooling and Learning Resources
Equipment
| Item | Description | Supplier | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting bits | A set of sharp cutters you don't have to share | can be purchased from McMaster, Enco or Shars | ~$50 and up |
Learning
- Tubal Cain Bridgeport mill parts, part A and part B.
- MIT milling machine videos: Machine Shop 4, Machine Shop 5, Machine Shop 6, and Machine Shop 7.
- Machine Shop Practice, Volume 2. This book is available in the lounge library and in the cabinet next to the mill.
- Machinery's Handbook. Three copies of this are available in the cabinet next to the mill.
- Milling Machine Operations. This is published by the United States Army, and is therefore in the public domain and freely available online.
Available Equipment
Power feed Model 8F (need to verify) (x axis)
Digital Read Out (DRO) (X-axis and Y-axis are functioning, Z-axis needs to be mounted)
Kurt 6" vise
Hold down set
collet set
Palmgren 8" Rotary Table
boring heads
fly cutters
assorted 2 flute end mills (dull)
tapping heads
tilting table
spindle square
Repair and Maintenance
Please see the service manual.
Maintenance
Above the high/low/neutral speed selector, there is a plate listing how frequently oiling should occur.
The tram and nod of the head, as well as the squaring of the vice, should be checked by anyone who desires high precision. Because hackerspace, there is no guarantee when they were last adjusted.
Repairs
The quill needs a return spring as well as a fine feed wheel.
The X-axis handle (opposite the power feed) is missing the pin and spring. The handle and bits are located in the Equipto cabinet.
The handle for the Z-axis front lock has snapped off. The rabbit hole is deeper than expected, or may just be a handle that can be removed.
The screw to prevent collets from rotating in the spindle is frequently removed, as some collets won't fit with it in there and it can cause bigger problems if it shears off.
The power feed appears to be leaking oil. Parts that we should consider replacing:
- 61 11636413 Seal, Shaft quantity 1
- 72 11630134 Gasket, Cover quantity 1
- 33 11630261 Bearing, Single Row, Loose Fit, quantity 2; these should be available from a bearing distributor
Good sources for Bridgeport parts: High Quality Tools, H&W Machinery Repair, Mataco
Upgrades
The Z-axis DRO is not yet mounted. Please speak to Dean before forging ahead with that.
Authorization
This tool requires authorization for use
Authorization on this tool requires previous Tier 1 Cold Metals Authorization. Because of the inherent danger of using a large milling machine, authorizations on the Bridgeport Mill will only be given by members with significant experience with mills of this type. A list of members who can authorize on the Bridgeport mill may be found below.
Authorizers
| Mike Warot |
| Ed Bennett |
| Ryan Pierce |
| Derek Bever |
| Everett Wilson |
| Tucker Tomlinson |
| Alan Baker |
| Todd Allen |
Currently Authorized Users
| Qualified Member | Trained By | Proctored By |
|---|---|---|
| Tucker Tomlinson | Danger Committee | |
| Mike Warot | Danger Committee | |
| Ed Bennett | Danger Committee | |
| John-Paul(JP) Debauge | Danger Committee | |
| Ryan Pierce | JP Debauge | Ed Bennett |
| Everett Wilson | JP Debauge | Ryan Pierce |
| Derek Bever | JP Debauge | Everett Wilson |
| Elizabeth Koprucki | JP Debauge | Ryan Pierce, Everett Wilson |
| Anna Yu | Ed Bennett | Ed Bennett |
| Dean Anderson | Ed Bennett | Ed Bennett |
| Bart Dring | Ed Bennett | Ed Bennett |
| Greg "Nerobro" Teiber | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| "Colorado" Rob Riggs | JP Debauge | Everett Wilson |
| Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin | Ryan Pierce | Ryan Pierce |
| Todd Allen | JP Debauge | Everett Wilson |
| Ron Olson | Derek Bever and Everett Wilson | Everett Wilson |
| Michael Skilton | Derek Bever and Everett Wilson | Todd Allen |
| Alan Baker | Tucker Tomlinson | |
| Tom Judge | Everett Wilson | Everett Wilson |
| Ron Bean | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| George Shaw | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
List of Provisionally Authorized Users
These persons have completed the classroom portion of the authorization and have started their authorization project. They are provisionally authorized to complete their authorization project under supervision of a proctor who may be any of the authorized persons, listed above.
| Provisionally Qualified Member | Trained By |
|---|---|
| David Fell | Ryan Pierce and Ed Bennett |
| Michael Leinartas | Ryan Pierce and Ed Bennett |
| Sergey Nekrasov | Ryan Pierce and Ed Bennett |