grain mill CAD?

Ok, I think I found a CNC shop over here (in Taiwan) that can make a grain mill for me. Does anyone have any plans for one? Something using CAD maybe that I could give to some machinists and they would understand what I am talking about. Thanks.

Nothing!? Come guys, I have read these forums, you are all engineering studs, SOMEONE has to have SOME KIND of technical drawing or something of a grail mill, or at least enough info to help me prepare my own.

This requires welding, but would make a good mill.
http://suburb.semo.net/jthornton/MegaMillPlans.htm

I don't have any plans nor do I have a mill. However, are you really going to save all that much money over buying a mill from a reputable source that you know will work correctly?

It is not that... he lives in Taiwan and the shipping $ would be murder.

Monster mill shipped international looks to be 135- 140 about the same as if I was going to get comparible mills shipped to me. I would think that would be much easier.

If he gets his hands on plans I would assume (but maybe not) that someone took them from a mass produce mill on the market. That doesn't seem like a very fair deal to the maker of the mill he copied. Just my .02

I know many have made their own mills, those are the plans I am referring to. Besides, it is a grain mill for god sakes, not exactly a complex or innovative piece of technology. I don't have any issue with pretty much copying a mill for purchase. I find the $135-$140 number to be near impossible. It costs me $60 in shipping for just a few books.

And anyway, this is Taiwan! We are the former cheap production capitol of the world, until China and Vietnam got their **** together a bit more (well, kind of, if you like roofies in your children's toys). Anyway, furthermore I have a client who produces aluminum stuff. He could probably hook me up if I had plans.

Being a mechanical designer with some machining skills an access to machines and free materials I have been planning on making some prints and building my own mill for a while now. I have been studying monster mills and barley crusher's websites for design ideas. Things have been really busy at work and I haven't had time to finish my drawings, but when I do I will send them to you.

Gusizhuo said:

I find the $135-$140 number to be near impossible. It costs me $60 in shipping for just a few books.

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http://www.monsterbrewinghardware.com/order.htm
MM-2 - NEW Model!
2-Roller Mill, 6" long
1.5" Diameter
MM-2 - $99

Mill Cost Shipping Cost

International order, No base or hopper, any ONE mill. $38


6" Long Adjustable Gap:

fully adjustable mill
dual eccentric adjusters: 0 to .070" gap - built from STAINLESS STEEL for no galling
6 lbs / minute
6" upgraded steel rollers
drill-drive - CW, OR CCW
alloy frame
SAE 841 oil impregnated bronze bushings
1.5" diameter steel rollers
3/8" integral drive shaft w/3 flats for drill driving, 2" long outside frame
3/8" integral axles
available 1/2" drive shaft w/3 flats for perfect attachment to your large 1/2" chuck drill, or pulley, 2" long outside frame

I'd agree there. You're not going to find a machinist labor + parts to beat that $140 for a shipped monster mill. If you really want to do it, here ya go. If you use them, send $5 to my paypal account.

why is that one through hole off centered? And how would one adjust the mill setting on this mill?

That offset is so that you can adjust the idle roller's distance to the drive roller as the eccentric bushing is rotated. I never really figured out how I'd turn it, maybe a knurled knob sticking out. The one thing I don't show is that you'll need to drill and tap threads that end in the eccentric bushing hole so that you can put setscrews in to keep it from turning once you set your gap.

the_Roqk said:

Hey Bobby what CAD system did you use to make those drawings?

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That looks like solidworks to me.

I have a 3D solid cad file on a mill I was going to make up. It's a lot like Bobby's mill but I have a hopper made up from sheet metal that I was going to laser cut then weld together. I also have side plates bolted on and the set screws to lock the offset bushing in place.
The file is in ProE but I could export it to any universal format that they need.
I will be back in my office on the 26th and could send it to you then if you want it.

Bobby_M said:

That offset is so that you can adjust the idle roller's distance to the drive roller as the eccentric bushing is rotated. I never really figured out how I'd turn it, maybe a knurled knob sticking out. The one thing I don't show is that you'll need to drill and tap threads that end in the eccentric bushing hole so that you can put setscrews in to keep it from turning once you set your gap.

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Instead of a straight-walled plug, make it stepped, like the bushings. Have the collar be maybe 1.5" dia. Maybe knurl it a bit.


BTW, this is almost exactly like what I came up with, but my gap is adjustable from .035" to .075".

The more I read about someone wanting to make their own mill because $99+ shipping is too expensive, the more convinced I am home beer brewers are cheap. Any U.S. based machinist worth his salt will ask for $125 minimum for the first hour and $40-$60/hr for each additional hr., not to include materials. I've sourced the materials needed to construct a really nice mill w/2" SST rollers, bearings, external roller adjustment and gear drive... this comes to approxiamately $110.00 .

I'm machining a mill for myself and one as a gift for a friend. There's no way I'd sell one to someone else. That's because I couldn't get what its worth and I don't work for free. In this case, I'd be paying someone else to work. That's insane.

But wages are lower in Taiwan and importing things can be a real pain over and above the shipping hassles. Plus, there is always the possibility of bartering with homebrew.

Also when do homebrewers figure in their time? If I figured my time (at my wage for my job) and the cost of grain, hops and LP the brew I will do tomorrow would be about $300 so that would workout to be about $2.88 per bottle. Hell I could go and by the beer for that price and save myslelf the 6 hours of brew time and the bottle/keg time.
So that makes me cheap because I would make myown mill and "save" myself a few bucks?

It's not always about saving money. It's also the feeling you get when you use what you have built to make great beer.

david_42 said:

But wages are lower in Taiwan and importing things can be a real pain over and above the shipping hassles. Plus, there is always the possibility of bartering with homebrew.

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That's true but the quality of Taiwanese machine work can be questionable at time. Bartering? What do you have to barter?

FSR402 said:

Also when do homebrewers figure in their time? If I figured my time (at my wage for my job) and the cost of grain, hops and LP the brew I will do tomorrow would be about $300 so that would workout to be about $2.88 per bottle. Hell I could go and by the beer for that price and save myslelf the 6 hours of brew time and the bottle/keg time.
So that makes me cheap because I would make myown mill and "save" myself a few bucks?

It's not always about saving money. It's also the feeling you get when you use what you have built to make great beer.

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Here's the difference... When you make and use your own stuff, price
doesn't matter. When I make what you use and have nothing to show for my efforts, it does matter.

I'm not much of a beer drinker myself. If I get crazy with beer, I might be able to put away a 6 pack in a year. Beer is just not my thing. I'm more of a Port drinker. But I do like being useful in bringing quality, well built, limited edition products to the market. To me, its not about making a buttload of money. Its about putting something in someone's hands and have them say 'Holy ****! That's Nice!' .

I drew the plans for the mill just as practice. There's a bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, it's really intuitive. There are a ton of video tutorials, watch them all, even for subjects you don't care about. One of the coolest things about it is the huge online library of "components" that you can download and import into your work. I found a few sanke style keg drawings but they were all dog poop on scale and proportion. I'm currently drawing up plans for my brewstand.

I've moved the cad package posts to another thread to keep this one on topic.