We've seen a lot of interesting emails over the years of people taking apart there PCNC 1100s to slide them into basements, sneak them into apartment complexes, etc. Since it was clear we couldn't really stop people from doing this,
we decided to see if there was an easier (and safer) way to take apart your mill - if that's the only option. What we ended up coming up with was a Moving Kit: a spindle head support fixture and a pivoting hinge for the the PCNC 770. It lets you disassemble the mill into 3 pieces, and protect the fitted surfaces from damage in the process. Things are still heavy, but at least a lot more manageable. [nggallery id=12]. I think its kind of hard to visualize how the kit actually works, so I put together a movie. The movie is intended as an overview and visual reference - please refer to the detailed instructions that come with the kit as the master document.
In the movie, we've condensed the process to about 8 minutes. In reality, it take about 3-4 hrs. I use a hydraulic table cart, like this one from Habor Freight, to support the column and also lift components in to position during reassembly. In my opinion, its a worthwhile investment if your going to do this. Once you have one, you'll find a lot of other uses for it as well - like lifting up the 8" 4th axis, for example.
