Retrofitting a 1986 Maho MH400E

Thanks. I would really recommend building the one from those guys. They have designed a circuit board and written a microcontroller program to output the Mesa Sserial interface. Seems like a really well thought out design, and you can simply 3D print the housing from their model in Thingyverse. Had I known of that project, I would hae done it.

Peter has posted it all (in german) on his website. I am sure he could support questions about it in english.
www.talla83.de/
Mark

Nice! I don't have a 3d printer so I might machine a housing from some scrap or cast a polyurethane version from a tooling board mold. Not in a rush though! My Maho has some issues that need addressing and I'm currently working on a CNC router which is faster and has a larger envelope for sheet stock.

However I detest using the router for aluminum even though it's plenty good in terms of specs (the mist coolant is horrible to use without an air exhaust and with a compressor like mine, and yet without the coolant super expensive endmills break like there's no tomorrow; it doesn't have covers so chips fly everywhere and the work envelope would make it awkward to make regular covers, it sounds almost like a table saw when cutting metal, etc.) and the Maho is also far more precise.

Soon enough I will learn basic German just to take advantage of the wealth of technical information available in the language. I've already assimilated some stuff through internet induced osmosis.

QUICK EDIT: I'm already loving the videos on Talla's site! Machining a three jaw chuck for an SK40 tool holder in a mill using a turning tool in a vise (on a retrofitted tool room mill with an extra side spindle no less) is why YouTube exists

There are plenty of online services to get 3D prints make cheaply. I would be tempted to do a lost PLA casting of the 3D print for a nicely shaped aluminium housing.

I have the components for a mist cooling system, and was planning to install it on the MAHO, alongside the flood cooling, next time I need to pull all the covers off. I like the idea of the air blast for clearing swarf from deep cuts.
Mark

Honestly, IMO flood coolant is leagues better. At least on my machine the pump is good enough to clear chips away from the tool and (this is also very important), the flood coolant actually, you know cools the tool. So there's no risk of chip welding when cutting aluminum.

Mist cooling is great if you have an industrial grade air compressor, preferrably hidden in some wall compartment behind a sound proof wall, and the work area of your machine is fully enclosed like in a modern VMC.

My tank of coolant says I should avoid contact with it, so having it sprayed all over the shop in tiny molecules borne aloft on jets of smelly compressed air is just not my idea of a good day at work.

EDIT: probably should've added that often the air blast is unable to reach deep cuts properly without me constantly finessing the exhaust while the machine is working. It absolutely must reach the endmill or your tool will build up chip weld and break. No such issues with flood coolant, it can run on high speeds without a hassle because the emulsion gets everywhere even if it doesn't hit the tip of the tool.

On my machine, the coolant flow control has become sentient. I think Maho just went to the hardware store and bought the smallest household tap they could find. Mine changes flow settings at random. Probably tied in with the fact that I haven't cleaned out the coolant tank in the foot casting, and it was full for at least a few years before I got the machine. Draining and cleaning it are on the to do list, under the sub heading "shit jobs"
Mark

Oh, okay then. Mine came with a separate, steel box for coolant and a rather nice, if cosmetically beat up pump (tbh the entire machine is beat up). The box was empty of course. It's still worth it to clean the coolant reservoir IMO though I see how given your situation you might prefer installing something else altogether and forgetting the original system is even there. Especially since you can cut a lot of steels and cast iron completely dry with a bunch of carbide, cermet and CBN tools.

I had a lot of fun machining cast iron on my MH600 with a 16mm 6 flute carbide endmill. It didn't feel much different than cutting aluminum had which I thought allowed the machine to show its strengths well.