Messages

1

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Video of my milling process - need advice on improving efficiency

« on: June 05, 2009, 01:22:18 PM »

vmax549,
Thank you. I'll have to read this over a dozen times or so to get it all to sink in. I'll post my need for any clarification.
Thanks again,
-Aaron

2

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Video of my milling process - need advice on improving efficiency

« on: May 25, 2009, 10:39:22 PM »

one of the jewellers/machinists on the other forum does similar when milling brass.. will find out what compound he uses..

That would be great! I'd guess brass and 6061 aluminum would mill similarly.
Thanks.

3

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Video of my milling process - need advice on improving efficiency

« on: May 25, 2009, 09:13:23 PM »

why not mount your aluminium onto a Chellac base...

Awesom idea. I'll look into this more. I've never heard of this solution- seems sound thought.
Thanks!

4

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Video of my milling process - need advice on improving efficiency

« on: May 25, 2009, 01:16:09 PM »

Changed the file suffix on my web server to .html.
You've got to love Microsoft for making IE the only browser that understands .htm files.

Try this: http://gaugerfamily.com/cnc/milling_handle6.html

5

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Video of my milling process - need advice on improving efficiency

« on: May 25, 2009, 12:52:14 PM »

Hello fellow members,
I run a tiny company part time that makes small aluminum parts for a rather niche market. I have sold over 600 units of our first product and have since developed 2 additional products (this handle is one of them) that I expect to be even more popular- and profitable. I’ve created a video documenting my production process for a cam style quick release handle to show, in detail, the steps I take to make these parts.
I’ve made over 100 of these parts but it took me nearly 6 weeks to do it. Actually, it’s not as bad as it seems. I have Fridays off from my real job so that is my day to work in the shop. I also spent many additional hours working on them during the weekends when the kids will allow (two girls, ages 2 and 5).
My problem is this… it takes far too long to make these parts and there is far too much labor involved! I’m looking for advice on cutting these parts out in such a way that tooling marks are kept to a minimum and cutting speed is at its maximum. Obviously there is only so much that my little Taig CNC mill can handle and perhaps I am already getting all I can out of it. Hopefully those who are more experienced in the world of machining can make some suggestions to a young pup like me that will increase the efficiency of milling these parts.
I’m also not opposed to moving into a bigger machine. I’ve been researching a 3 axis full servo drive turnkey CNC Mill by IH CNC & Machinery (http://www.ihcnc.com/pages/cnc-mill.php) and it seems like an impressive machine. This is a huge step up from what I have and, if it’s necessary, I can justify the nearly $12k investment. In the meantime though, I’m looking for shortcuts, tricks, and improved techniques to make my life easier. Heaven forbid these new products take off once I begin advertising them and I’m unable to keep up with demand because I didn’t tool up correctly or was doing things the hard way because of my inexperience.
I’ve only been at this for about 6 months so don’t beat me up too badly, but everyone’s advice, as well as criticism, is welcome.
Thanks,
-Aaron 

View the video here:
http://gaugerfamily.com/cnc/milling_handle6.htm

...or if you're not using IE, try this instead:
http://gaugerfamily.com/cnc/milling_handle6.html

6

VB and the development of wizards / Re: How do I get my X, Y, and Z axis DROs to reset in this script?

« on: May 21, 2009, 06:34:32 AM »

Well, the END command did not change anything. I also added the G04 P0 command but the DROs are still resetting to values other than zero. I even tried a 10 second wait command (G04 P10) but this did not change anything either. Interesting note though, the DROs changed value prior to the 10 seconds expiring.
By placing the DRO reset commands in a separate script, I can successfully get all 3 axis to reset to zero as they should.
Can you give me an example of how I would call this second script containing only the DRO reset commands from within the first script? I’ve heard calling scripts from within scripts is bad practice but it may just be the fix I’m looking for.
Thanks,
-Aaron

7

VB and the development of wizards / Re: How do I get my X, Y, and Z axis DROs to reset in this script?

« on: May 19, 2009, 06:42:10 AM »

Try this, Delete the resetting of the DROs from the script. ADD an "end" to the end of the scriptThen let it run to completion.
Then from a seperate script do the dros resetting to zero.

I ran the probe script and the DRO reset script seperately. They both wook as they should. I'll try your suggestion using the END command as well as the G04 P0 command this evening to see if I can get everything working in a single script.
Thanks!

8

VB and the development of wizards / Re: How do I get my X, Y, and Z axis DROs to reset in this script?

« on: May 17, 2009, 09:18:46 PM »

vmax549 - OK are you saying that at the end of the macro the DROs are readiing something other than 0.000 Or do you mean the machine is out of postion by those amounts while the dros are reading 0.000. ??

When the probing script completes, the mill is directly centered on the part both on the X and Y axis. Additionally the mill is at the top of the part- just touching. This is the exact position that I manually reset the X, Y, and Z DROs before running my slot cutting program. The machine positions itself exactly where it should when the probing script completes, it just resets the DROs to something other than zero.
When the DoOEMButton(1008), or Setdro(0,0.000) cammands run at the end of the script, the result is as follows.
The X axis DRO is changed to +0.6105 (this number does vary slightly on occasion)
The Y axis DRO is changed to +0.0000
The Z axis DRO is changed to +0.4000
I have yet to try adding a delay before running the DRO reset command to give Mach3 a chance to catch the mill up to the executed code.

vmax549 - BU I do see a couple of things that may leave it OUT of postion.

If you see specific problems with the scipt, please let me know. As I mentioned before, I'm very new at this and would like to corect any mistakes I've made before they get to be habbits.
Cheers.

9

VB and the development of wizards / Re: How do I get my X, Y, and Z axis DROs to reset in this script?

« on: May 17, 2009, 05:38:28 PM »

IF you just go to the VB editor and type in     Setdro(0,0.000)  then run it doe s the x axis DRO change to 0.000?

Yes...
I tried this for each of the 3 axis - (Setdro(0,0.000) for X, Setdro(1,0.000) for Y and Setdro(2,0.000) for Z. They all work perfectly. The problem must be within the script. I'll see about rewriting the script slightly simplified and see if I can identify the issue(s).
At least I know the Setdro(0,0.000) command works on my machine. This is a milestone in itself.

10

VB and the development of wizards / Re: How do I get my X, Y, and Z axis DROs to reset in this script?

« on: May 17, 2009, 03:51:40 PM »

The problem here is that the axis will always move a little just after the probe trippes, it can't stop immediately and the distance directly linked to the feed rate used for probing. The location where the axis stops is not the same location where the probe tripped so you will have to take that difference into account either by moving back to the probed location or calculate the delta before setting the DRO.

This is true but I'm not sure it is a factor in this case.
First, the feed rate during the probe sequence is just 2 IPM. Once the touch point is reached, the mill should stop within a few thousandths.
Also, the 2 touch points (YPos1 and YPos2) are noted and the average (center) between the two points is assigned to a new variable, YCenter. The same is true with the X axis (XPos1, XPos2, and XCenter). Once the X and Y center points are both determined, the mill returns to this position and lowers the Z axis to the recorded touch point at the top of the part. It is this point that I'd like the DROs to be reset to X=0, Y=0, Z=0. Given that the touch points are recorded during the touch probe routine and then the mill later returns to this point, there should be no overtravel of the mill, at least I think there wouldn't be. I'm still very green at this stuff.
I have a semi-working solution but it is the principle of the problem that will keep me searching for a solution.