Supporting > Tooling & Machines

Attaching a Dremel to an RF-45 milling machine

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JCvdW:
While building the Pennsylvania A3 Switcher, I continually have to drill small holes, (e.g 1.1mm for M1.4 taps). I do have a micro drilling attachment for hand feeding small drills on my RF-45 clone.



 It works reasonably well for shallow holes with diameters down to 1.5mm, but the maximum speed of the milling machine is only 1600 rpm, which is way too low for small drills.

Hand feeding a Dremel will solve the speed problem. So I decided to mount my Dremel on a vertical drawer slide attached to the mill, to still have the benefit of the XY-table and DRO's.

The pictures should be fairly self-explanatory:















All that is still needed is a light spring to pull the slide upwards and keep the Dremel in its top position when not in use.

redhouseluv:
I've seen the drill press for made for Dremels, but that hasn't got any of the measuring advantages you get from attaching to the mill.....nice idea, do the bands hold it solidly enough??

BTW there are many aftermarket cheap 3-d printed gadgets and holders for Dremels as you may already know

JCvdW:
Thanks for the comments Sanjay. The hose clamps are quite sturdy and holds the Dremel nice and tight. I had a look at 3D printed clamps, but they are quite bulky given the little available space on the side of the milling machine.

In the mean time, a spring was added:



And also a depth stop:



I am quite happy with the final result. Here is a link to a short video showing the mount in action:

https://youtube.com/shorts/mcVVuz7eaQQ

A little bit stiffer spring may be needed.

Charles Lamont:
The drawer slide is a good piece of lateral thinking. Do you have a soft close to the parked position?!

JCvdW:

--- Quote from: Charles Lamont on April 19, 2025, 08:41:51 AM ---Do you have a soft close to the parked position?!

--- End quote ---

Thinking was not that lateral.  :)

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