CNC Mini Mill Conversion Kit (Hardware)

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Featured Guide

This project has been found to be exceptionally cool by the MAKE staff.

Convert X2 manual mini mill into a CNC machine. This tutorial will cover the hardware installation. Future tutorials will provide steps for the electronics, software, and the basic settings to get your CNC machine up and running.

  • Author: Nick Raymond
  • Time required: 5 hours
  • Difficulty: Moderate
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What do you do when you want a CNC machine, but don’t have the room or the funds for a massive professional machine to build your custom parts? I found myself in the same dilemma, so I chose to scale down my purchase and invest in a manual mill that I could eventually convert to a CNC machine.

Before purchasing my X2 Mini Mill from TheLittleMachineShop.com I did some research to investigate what it would take to make the switch from a manual mill to a complete 3-axis computer numerically controlled milling machine. These small hobbyist mills are manufactured in China and Taiwan, and then shipped to companies like Harbor Freight, Grizzly and Micro-Mark who paint them various colors and sell them under different names. Since the basic foundation is all the same, a small community has formed around this popular mini mill platform to share ideas and hacks. When opting to convert to CNC, there are numerous kits and conversion designs to choose from. These options range from simple PDFs with diagrams and schematics to high-precision hardware and electronics bundles.

CNC Fusion is a small company that machines high quality conversion parts made from 6061 aluminium stock. The company started in 2004 when Michael Rodgers, a machinist by trade, wanted to build a CNC machine but realized that he could not build the parts he designed without first owning a CNC machine.

That initial desire has led Michael to design and fabricate CNC conversion kits for small manual mills and lathes, and now his kits are sold around the globe (40% of CNC Fusion production is shipped to overseas customers). The household garage has been converted into a machine shop where Michael machines the majority of the kit components using a huge five axis CNC mill while wife Sharron runs the massive CNC lathe to machine the ends of the ball screw threads sold with their kits.

The X2 Mini Mill kit is the most popular from CNC Fusion, primarily because the mini mill platform is considered a great tool at a modest price for hobbyists. With the X2 Mini-Mill CNC kit #2 all the new upgrade parts bolt to existing features and you replace the factory lead screw with high-precision ball screws and new motor mount adapters to accept NEMA 23 stepper motors. The hardware installation is very straightforward and requires the disassembly of the X and Y axes before reinstalling the ball screws. You will also need to drill two holes into the central column of the mill to install the Z-axis ball screw hardware. Besides this step, the entire process is completely reversible in case you ever decide to switch back to manual machining (but honestly, why would you?).

I will provide steps for setting up the electrical components and required software in a separate tutorial. This project will only cover the physical hardware conversion.

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Add Note Edit Step 1 — Remove the Table  ¶ 

  • Clean the mill to remove any dirt and loose debris. Use a vacuum for any large chips or metal shavings, and wipe down the surfaces with a rag soaked in acetone or alcohol to remove grease. Start by removing the Y-axis hand wheel and keyway

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Add Note Edit Step 2  ¶ 

  • Remove the black corrugated plastic front and back Y-axis covers that protect the ways from debris and scraps of material. Lift the corner of the cover and use a Philips screw driver to remove the two screws bolted to the saddle.

  • Raise the corrugated plastic and reveal the second pair of screws located on the handle block of the Y-axis hand wheel.

  • Keep all these parts in a safe place. Once the CNC conversion is complete you will want to re-install these covers.

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Add Note Edit Step 3  ¶ 

  • Remove the Y axis handle block using a 5mm hex key. Keep the original Y axis cap screws; you will use them later. Remove the Y-axis feed screw and the half nut.

  • Remove the cap screw and washer threaded into the end of the Y axis feed screw.

  • Hold onto the half nut in one hand and manually rotate the feed screw clockwise until the half nut falls off the threads.

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Add Note Edit Step 4  ¶ 

  • Remove the small plate on the left side of the table using a 5mm Allen wrench (opposite the X axis hand wheel). You will not need the two screws that hold this plate in place.

  • Remove the X-axis hand wheel and keyway on the right side of the table and set the hand wheel aside for now.

  • Unscrew the two cap screws that secure the thrust plate to the right side of the table. Let the thrust plate hang freely.

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Add Note Edit Step 5  ¶ 

  • Loosen the four X-axis gibs setscrews using and carefully slide the table off the X-axis. Set the table aside for now on a clean surface.

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Add Note Edit Step 6  ¶ 

  • With the table removed use your hands to wiggle the thrust bearing plate back and forth until it becomes loose, then slide the plate off the end of X axis lead screw.

  • Carefully set the thrust bearing plate and bearing aside for now. Once the new X axis ballscrew has been installed, you will reattach the thrust bearing plate back onto the right side of the table.

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Add Note Edit Step 7  ¶ 

  • Loosen the X- and Y-axis brake handles located on the front and right side on the saddle. The handles are spring loaded. To loosen them pull the handle straight out and use a Philips screw driver to loosen the screws. (These were removed in the following images, but this is not necessary.)

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Add Note Edit Step 8  ¶ 

  • To remove the X-axis leadscrew and half nut, loosen the two set screws on the right side of the saddle. These small set screws lock the X axis half nut in place.

  • After loosening the set screws, lift the X axis leadscrew straight up and off the saddle.

  • The saddle of your mill should now look like this, with the X- and Y-axis lead screws and the table completely removed.

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Wow! I want to thank you guys for this outstanding build log! I am looking at buying this kit for my X2, but the directions they provide for $600 are really lame. I was questioning whether I wanted to buy based on them, but after seeing this done with high quality pictures and details, I think it's worth the buy.

Jason Rausch, · Reply