Messages

8281

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Laser cross hair tool position.

« on: April 02, 2009, 02:02:58 AM »

Bad joke perhaps but I am glad that somebody looks at my website. 

Tweakie.

8282

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 01, 2009, 11:21:44 AM »

Would that have been the 1st April last night ?   

Tweakie.

8283

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: My new CNC mill. JEH Guitars

« on: April 01, 2009, 08:08:58 AM »

That's great Jens - please post more pictures as you proceed.

Tweakie.

8284

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Laser cross hair tool position.

« on: April 01, 2009, 05:58:04 AM »

One thing that should perhaps be mentioned in this thread is the danger associated with using lasers.

These little cross hair pointers are rated at 5 mW max output but prolonged staring into the reflected beam may well cause irreversible eye damage. For tool setting the beam is only viewed for a few seconds and the worst that could happen here is perhaps a bit of after vision - a lot less damaging than looking into the sun for example.

For the measurements that I made in the above posting I wore protective goggles but these are rated for the 1064 nm YAG  laser that I am currently working on and they are only rated at Factor 4 for the 650 nm wavelength of the red pointers. If you are going to spend a lot of time staring at cross hair pointers please invest in a pair of glasses/goggles first - they also remove a lot of the fuzziness and make the beam appear much sharper.

Tweakie.   

8285

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Finished my 4th axis

« on: April 01, 2009, 03:40:59 AM »

That certainly is 'Mighty Meaty Matey' - nice job.

Tweakie.

8286

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: My new CNC mill. JEH Guitars

« on: April 01, 2009, 03:28:20 AM »

H Jens,

Nice looking machine.

Tweakie.

8287

General Mach Discussion / Re: UPDATE to Mach Specific VB routines and VB Params!!

« on: April 01, 2009, 03:15:57 AM »

Thanks Scott for posting both documents - this will help me learn.

Tweakie.

8288

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Laser cross hair tool position.

« on: April 01, 2009, 02:50:08 AM »

Hi Guys,

I only use the laser pointer on a router where precision is not an issue however, a polarizing filter is still essential. The actual beam width, as far as I can measure, is 0.3mm but our perception of coherent laser light is something different. The surface finish of the work is a determining factor here and highly reflective surfaces produce a sharp and fine image whereas sawn wood produces just the opposite. On Traffolite, engraving laminate, I am confident I could achieve a repositioning accuracy (on an engraved line or edge) of better than 0.2mm.

In reality I align my router work to a pencil line (how accurate is that ?) but this laser device saves so much time and makes positioning so easy that it is now an essential part of the machine.

Tweakie.

8289

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: ATV part

« on: March 31, 2009, 03:12:02 AM »

Hi Sam,

The magical formula is to pass the parts onto Ed  -  he says that he loves polishing the stuff.   

Tweakie.


btw. Very nice work.

8290

General Mach Discussion / Re: init.m1s

« on: March 30, 2009, 11:21:13 AM »

Thanks Bill - I understand.

Tweakie.