Hi guys i have one of the first mr1 mill’s and i am looking to buy one more to do mods to it in the X only .
I am happy with the one i have BUT there are some things i need to do for the drag bike parts that will not work .
I will use all the part from the mr1 base unit parts .
what do you think
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If starting from scratch, I would think adding more Y would be easier mod, just need longer flat bar, linerar rail, and screw.
a longer x gantry would be a lot more work.
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Make a pass through table sled to get by for now. Remove the doors and just have registration pins in baseplate. Might lose 1.5-2" of height in Z, but make lift blocks for the gantry and you might be able to wing it…
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where do i get the ball screws for my new X it needs to be a lot longer for this project.Any ifo will help me on the way with this new big boys toy
I want and MR-1 with covered rails and a BT30 spindle. 
If I had the extra time and money that would be the mod I would make. It would be the most useful.
what is this spindle BT30 ??? and why this one over the one on the MR1 ?? Help me out here i do not know what this is
BT30 is a standard tool holder for milling machines that you find on small mills with automatic tool changers.
My MR-1 has an ISO30 spindle, which is similar (same taper, same size, but some differences in details) which is more commonly used on routers. I programmed but don’t really use fully automatic tool changes, but I do very quick manual tool changes. You can see an example here:
The tool holder that comes out of the spindle has an ISO30 taper and each tool holder has it’s own ER collet. No wrenches are involved in tool changes.
Note that this isn’t a cheap upgrade. First you need to change your control system to something besides CutControl, which isn’t expensive (budget roughly $500), but does take a chunk of time. That change will also be required for any changes to machine envelope – but opens up tons of opportunities for upgrades in the future.
Then you need to get a new spindle. The CNCDepot FM30F spindle that I use started at about $3000 when I bought it, and I think prices have gone up. It also requires a constant air source because compressed air is blown out through the bearings. Inexpensive tool holders (which I’ve good luck with) are about $25/ea and I found it useful to have at least 10 of them, 20 is even better.
Here is a good photo of one setting in an automatic tool changer.
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I dream of the days when I can have preset tooling! Right now I’m always running a small enough tool so that I don’t have to do any tool changes. I also use fixtures so I can run 4 parts at a time on that tool. There are work arounds but and ATC would be epic! If I had a bt30 and and centroid acorn controller I could set up and ATC.
Blockquote what is this spindle BT30 ??? and why this one over the one on the MR1 ?? Help me out here i do not know what this is
@AlexW explained it really well. I don’t have much to add to his explination.