My Grizzly G0602 Lathe

Well this is a bit of an odd first post. I am doing a CNC conversion on a Machine
I don't even own yet. I have been wanting a Lathe for years but either didn't
have the space or the money, now I have both but ironically the machines are now
back ordered. So I will fill everybody in on my intentions.
I will be getting the G0602Z with the DRO's. Why? It makes life easier
when setting up the step counts for the motors. Plus in my opinion it helps check
for missed steps, slop in the way's, and other diagnostic work when problems arise.
I decided against the G0752Z because I feel it is overpriced for essentially being
the G0602Z but with a 3 phase motor and VFD. Plus I have catalogs from the
previous years the G0602Z stayed the same price ( from 2019 to 2020 ) but the
G0752Z jumped $445 USD.
I will just have to replace the motor later with either a 3 phase and a VFD or
go to an A/C servo such as the DMM.
I already have an AXA quick change tool post set and 1/2" insert style tool
bits.
I will be using Linuxcnc obviously but will need to get all the components
for the computer and controller. I was thinking of going to the Mesa 7i76E
Ethernet breakout board but that may depend more on what computer
motherboard I purchase.
As far as the stepper motors are concerned I am debating going
closed loop but I am still leaning towards 570 in/oz open loop steppers.
For the mechanicals I intend to go with the kit from BDToolsUSA . The
only thing I dont like about it is the belt drive X axis.
For the spindle I intend to run an encoder if I don't go the DMM servo route.

Oh well I guess that's all for now for those of you who want to see video stay tuned to my
Youtube channel

I used BD Tools kit on my BF20 conversion. Quality stuff.

DMM servo for the spindle wont be exactly cheap, once you account for the require filters, AC Line reactor, contactor & other sundry items. But in saying that it is really nice quality kit.And man is that mill quiet now.

In all honestly I've thought about cnc'ing mylathe, but I really find it relaxing twiddling dials. I really like the 3phase motor and VFD on it, nice and smooth.
Even with my mill I still find myself using it in manual mode a fair bit.

Mesa Ethernet is the way to go.

looks like a nice little lathe and its cool you can get a CNC kit for them. I'm not sure about the DRO's. They look like magnetic ones and I would want glass scales for cnc for closing the loop but certainly they will be handy. I found installing scales on my lathe to be really easy. I'm on my 3rd manual lathe but would not consider one without a DRO as standard.

I've never got the bug to CNC my lathe or Seig SX3 mill.

I would not be too worried about the belt drive.

Thanks rodw I actually have an Easson 2 axis DRO display I could use ( left overs from my mill when I switched to 3 axis )
I would just need to buy the glass scale. The last time I looked at them the scales alone cost more then the
difference between the G0602 and the G0602Z . But since I haven't ordered the machine yet
it's still possible I go that route instead. Do I need 0.0002 " resolution no, but could it be worth the extra cost? HMMM
I will have to think about that one.

my1987toyota wrote:

Thanks rodw I actually have an Easson 2 axis DRO display I could use ( left overs from my mill when I switched to 3 axis )
I would just need to buy the glass scale. The last time I looked at them the scales alone cost more then the
difference between the G0602 and the G0602Z . But since I haven't ordered the machine yet
it's still possible I go that route instead. Do I need 0.0002 " resolution no, but could it be worth the extra cost? HMMM
I will have to think about that one.

Google Ditron. I used them on my lathe and they were very well priced at the time. Bought from Alibaba.Also very good quality with good mounting hardware. Even had a metal case. 1 micron scales were only $10 more. You'd need to think about the maximum encoder count you can handle.
see www.dcoee.com/Download I found that all I needed was to mill a wedge to counter the draft on the casting to mount them. I also tapped a hole into the wedge and added a grub screw so I could adjust the angle but in the end, I did not need the adjustment.

There you go again Rod, costing me money.

Something else I need to add to the list for the old Myford. Still gotta be cheaper than changing everything to metric.

Looking forward to seeing how your conversion goes.

BeagleBrainz wrote:

I used BD Tools kit on my BF20 conversion. Quality stuff.

DMM servo for the spindle wont be exactly cheap, once you account for the require filters, AC Line reactor, contactor & other sundry items. But in saying that it is really nice quality kit.And man is that mill quiet now.

In all honestly I've thought about cnc'ing mylathe, but I really find it relaxing twiddling dials. I really like the 3phase motor and VFD on it, nice and smooth.
Even with my mill I still find myself using it in manual mode a fair bit.

Mesa Ethernet is the way to go.

Thank you BeagleBrainz I will deffinetly keep those points in mind when I purchase the rest of the stuff required.

I’m guessing you’re in the US, might not be as expensive as postage shouldn’t be so high.
Price wise DMM are good to buy from directly. And it’s really nice kit.
Even thought about swapping the steppers for servos, but the steppers are working nicely.

yes I am in the US. The hilarity of the DMM stuff is the price can't be much worse then the cost between
the G0602 and the G0752. But the A/C servo is way more accurate.

Hi! G0602 is a very popular machine to convert to CNC. Recently I helped to my father in law to convert his. I don't like stepper motors, so we have used Leadshine BLDC servos: 90w for X with 1:2 reduction and 180w for Z with 1:4 reduction