Messages

1911

Third party software and hardware support forums. / Re: whats best 3axis for $5000

« on: July 19, 2013, 08:51:16 PM »

Nobody is offering any help

Please read the replies.
Why in the world do you need a 24"x24" table for what you described you are going to do?
You can use the CNC mill for engraving, just make an attachment for a high speed spindle. You said your not looking for
speed .....of what value is it if the engraving work takes an hour instead of 1/2 hour...?

I would say go with a mill, as it's more robust for metal work.

Funny thing about price.....you can have anything you want but once you pick what you want off the shelf you need to pay for it.  

RICH

1912

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

« on: July 16, 2013, 10:40:30 PM »

Brett,
Turn around time is terrible!
Not to much practice so far. Need to splurge and buy a medium and course diamond stone.
All of our knifes needed to start the edge from scratch. Bought two nice Hinkle knifes at the flea market
for $6 (beats $100 or so new). I think the wife uses them for screw drivers and pry bars.

If i only need to touch up an edge, then maybe 10 minutes, but from scratch 30 to 40 minutes.
I could never put a good edge on my Sakia made for Gerber folding hunting knife. Spent an hour on it doing a double
edge with the final edge lapped using 4000 grit paper and then that paper charged with polishing compound.
Talk about one sharp knife .........but..........never was able to do maintain a constant / repeatable rake angle
before and polish out the cutting edge.

BTW, You'll need to get in line as everyone wants their knifes sharpened now. I have no intent on making this
into work. Sharpening a knife should be like drinking a fine Scotch nea. Just slowly, with pleasure.......brain dead
therapy.

RICH

1913

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / KNIFE SHARPENER

« on: July 16, 2013, 09:03:43 PM »

Here is the knife sharpener I just finished. Works fantastic. I realy wanted something that is rigid,
could do just about any knife or whatever, totaly adjustable, had good feel when stoning, was easy
 to use and set, can be set and reset accurately,and had a good  hold down system. Also didn't want to spend much money. Only cost was the $15 for the digital caliper ( modified to a sliding scale) and two diamond stones.

Pic 1S is the sharpener. Everthing is machined perpendicular or parrallel as required for accurate adjustment.

Pic 2S shows the rotating bearing, sliding / rotating rod , stroke stops, and digital setting scale.

Pic 3S shows the adjustable holder for different length stones or laps and one of the holdowns that are used.

Pic 4S shows a 40x magnification of the beveled edge put on my Pro S Heinkle 10" carving knife. Yes, you can shave with it!

This was just one of those projects that I enjoyed doing since it was a usable household item.
Nothing beats a simple tool that does it's job extremely well.

RICH

1914

Tangent Corner / Re: Ballscrew End Machining

« on: July 16, 2013, 06:50:44 PM »

Russ,
When I machine ball screws anymore I make a bushing that is bored or reamer to the OD  of the rolled ball screw and then spit the bushing. I then use the collet chuck to hold the ball screw / bushing. The bushing is about 2" long for a 5//8"
diameter. The setup provides a better hold on the screw and it's centered.

To put flat on the end, ie; where the ball screw will push against a bearing, a piece of stock is bored for the OD of the screw and two set screws push against a ball bearing against the ball screw lands. This allows later removal of the
bushing or stop without damaging the screw.

Threaded a ground .375" hardened rod the other day. Only put a 40 tpi on the end for 2" long.
What a PITA.....Rexroth.........it was. Never again...........out with the torch next time I do one of them!


-----------------------------------------

Don't know how they make a rolled screw but I watched HOW IT's MADE on TV and they showed how big high
strength bolts were made. They are forged and those threads are actualy stamped / formed when hot
and come out very accurately.

RICH

1915

Tangent Corner / Re: Ballscrew End Machining

« on: July 13, 2013, 10:36:16 PM »

I was  building a knife sharpener today and used a ground hardened rod and figured it would be nice to have a threaded end.
So being lazy I didn'd anneal the end and started threading it.
 What the heck....... the good file gave a little scatch on the end. 
Well............3 carbide inserts ( they are indexable and have three cutting edges), 2 hours of machining, more crackling and poping of material then  I ever experienced, and finaly had a 3/8"- 40 thread - 1 1/2" long.
Happy i didn't try 16 or 24 tpi. 

Guess one just never pays attention to his owne advice! 

RICH
 

1916

Tangent Corner / Re: Ballscrew End Machining

« on: July 12, 2013, 08:29:18 PM »

Good comment Gary as that is how I anneal shell casings and would work for a ball screw.
One needs to remember that the stress at that point or in the vicinity of the transition will be less and you would need to go beyond some exact point.

RICH

1917

Share Your GCode / Re: trying to cut a bushing but....

« on: July 10, 2013, 06:41:40 AM »

I would suggest you use one of the wizards to create the gcode and then study the code to see how it's done.

RICH

1918

General Mach Discussion / Re: motors wont run

« on: July 10, 2013, 06:24:29 AM »

Jeffrey,
Is your PP  3.5 or 5.5 volt? Some are single voltage and some are dual and usualy there is a jumper to set the dual
ones to high or low voltage. So set it for 5.5 volts. You should see a swing in voltage from 5.0 to say .8 volts on change of direction. Also set / tick the active low or high in Ports ad Pins / Motor Outputs for what's required by the BOB.

RICH

1919

General Mach Discussion / Re: Kernel speed set to high on z axis and will not save calibration.

« on: July 09, 2013, 08:03:58 AM »

Make sure you save settings and then go out and back into Mach after the calibration is done.
Double check that the steps per are correct / were changed when you open Mach.

Frankly you should calculate the steps per unit. If the mechanics of the machine is good then when runnning the calibration check you should be spot on. Since the mechanics may not be exact the calibration check can be used to refine
the steps per but use common sense and know why your changing from the calculated number. The Kernel speed can limit the velocity, so lower the velocity setting.

RICH

1920

General Mach Discussion / Re: RE:Mach 3

« on: July 04, 2013, 04:07:28 PM »

but turn didn't work out and the turn module never really came to life

Dennis,
So what didn't work out?

RICH