Universal Retrofit Kit Apparatus and Methods Thereof

Abstract

An apparatus and methods are disclosed for retrofitting a manual benchtop milling machine utilizing servo controls and/or stepper motors. The present disclosure provides a retrofit kit for the modification of a milling machine by incorporating ball screws and ball nuts without removing or replacing the original acme nuts, which inherently have been properly configured and aligned to the machine on which they were originally installed. The retrofit kit of the present disclosure allows for the modification using the alignment of the original acme nuts in their proper location and alignment obviating the need for custom machining or alignment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for modifying a manual or automatic machine which incorporates one or more acme screws to a manual or automatic machine which incorporates one or more ball screws, in which a retrofit kit provides for the modification without replacing the original acme nut(s) from the machine, thereby eliminating the need to produce a special ball nut that ensures proper alignment. 
     
     
         2 . The system for modifying a machine in  claim 1 , in which an adapter is placed on a ball nut which is placed onto the original acme nut without replacing the acme nut from the machine. 
     
     
         3 . A method for providing a retrofit kit for modifying a machine in which the retrofit kit provides for adding a ball screw/nut assembly without replacing the original acme nut from the machine, thereby reducing the chance of the ball nut becoming misaligned. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , in which a set screw is tightened on the acme nut to lock in the ball nut adapter in place.