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Rescue Toaster posted:After doing more research I think a flow for me doing panels for electronics projects might be: Do not do combination machines with a laser unless you plan to roll your own safety enclosure to make sure the laser doesn't blind everyone within line-of-sight of the machine and/or ignite the sawdust particles in the air if you don't do a perfect job of cleaning up when running a laser job after doing a milling job.
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Jul 20, 2021 14:36
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If you start looking at a bigger machine I'll say I'm really liking the Onefinity I bought so far. I have a 3018 ProVer and followed a similar path in some ways. The 3018 just didn't cut like I wanted. Luckily I had got a kit with a laser so it just became a small dedicated laser and it's not bad at that.
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Jul 20, 2021 14:40
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Thanks for the input guys. I did order a 3018, with that same intent. It should work OK for ABS/PVC/Wood for me for now and eventually may become a dedicated laser for my wife if/when I upgrade.
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Jul 20, 2021 22:27
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If I wanted to make a set of large dominoes on my Shapeoko, what might be a good material? I'm looking for ivory or bone colored, maybe a little under half an inch thick, and something that can hold a decent amount of detail from engraving. I liked working with the Corian samples I got but can't find anything the right size or color otherwise - they're all flecked or speckled, and I want just a solid ivory color.
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Jul 21, 2021 01:56
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Do you need the density and toughness of Corian too? If not, 'natural' color acetal, HDPE, polypropylene, or expanded PVC board (a.k.a. Celtec or Sintra) all should be available without a texture finish. They all machine well but that means they scratch fairly easily too, they're not as tough as Corian. Get some samples to evaluate the ivory or bone color though.
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Jul 21, 2021 02:26
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Wandering Orange posted:Do you need the density and toughness of Corian too? HDPE and PP machine well enough if you have the right bits and can go ABSURDLY fast. If not, they melt and jam and break bits. I went through this last year. Solid PVC machines REALLY well, but also scratches somewhat easily. For bone-white and scratch-resistant, I'd mix up a batch of polyurethane epoxy and color it to taste, let it cure, then machine it.
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Jul 21, 2021 18:24
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:HDPE and PP machine well enough if you have the right bits and can go ABSURDLY fast. If not, they melt and jam and break bits. I went through this last year. Yep. If you can't crank at least 14,000RPM and 200+ inches per minute on feedrate don't bother machining HDPE/PP. We do this as our primary material where I work and machines that can't hit those speeds just give you cuts that look like poo poo.
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Jul 21, 2021 18:40
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biracial bear for uncut posted:Yep. If you can't crank at least 14,000RPM and 200+ inches per minute on feedrate don't bother machining HDPE/PP. We do this as our primary material where I work and machines that can't hit those speeds just give you cuts that look like poo poo. I'm running 36kRPM and 100IPM on my shapeoko and my parts come out looking good. I'm only doing standard shaping cuts, though, not engraving. Pockets, slots, that kind of thing. I don't even know what an engraving tool would look like for HDPE.
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Jul 21, 2021 19:14
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An engraving tool would probably be the one thing you could get away with running at lower RPM/Feedrates in that material because of how the chip evacuation works (high speeds would just burn/melt it on the tip of a tapered engraving tool because the geometry doesn't really lend itself well to discharging the chips like your O-flute type end mills for plastics). We just use a center drill and run it at 8000RPM/100 inches per minute because at most we're just engraving/tracing text at .015" deep.
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Jul 21, 2021 19:41
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Harvey Baldman posted:If I wanted to make a set of large dominoes on my Shapeoko, what might be a good material? I'm looking for ivory or bone colored, maybe a little under half an inch thick, and something that can hold a decent amount of detail from engraving. I liked working with the Corian samples I got but can't find anything the right size or color otherwise - they're all flecked or speckled, and I want just a solid ivory color. Juma probably fits your application perfectly: https://www.makermaterialsupply.com/collections/juma I think Delrin feeds and speeds are probably a good starting point, it's what I saw compared to. I'll see if I come up with something more specific.
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Jul 21, 2021 21:42
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Any suggestions on polycarbonate/lexan? About 1/8" thick sheet. Normally I think of it withstanding fairly high temp, but probably not during milling. Same basic idea of single flute end mills, and try to go as fast as doable?
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Jul 22, 2021 23:22
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Rescue Toaster posted:Any suggestions on polycarbonate/lexan? About 1/8" thick sheet. Normally I think of it withstanding fairly high temp, but probably not during milling. Same basic idea of single flute end mills, and try to go as fast as doable? Pretty much. Smallest diameter end mill you can get. High RPM, really high feed, shallow depths of cut to minimize heat generated (25-50% of diameter per pass on roughing depth, then a spring pass no greater than 2% of diameter side-cutting at full depth). Onsrud O-flute carbide end mills typically give me the best finish, but no matter what if dimensional tolerances are less important than cosmetic finish you can carefully heat any blemishes out with a hot air gun.
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Jul 23, 2021 01:13
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I would like to buy a large cnc router sometime in the next year. My main use case is wood signage, furniture, and some light plastic/aluminum use. I'm looking at 4x4, 4x8, and 5x10 systems like the Avid (PCCNC). I've also looked at the Lagun/Powermatic units due to their being a local scratch and dent importer at the ports. Are there another systems in this class a fellow goon might recommend? the spyder fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Jul 25, 2021 |
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Jul 25, 2021 05:26
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the spyder posted:I would like to buy a large cnc router sometime in the next year. My main use case is wood signage, furniture, and some light plastic/aluminum use. At that size class you might want to watch the machinery auctions close to you. You can probably pick up an industrial unit with vacuum table and a HSK63F or ISO30 spindle for less than the price base price of one of the hobby class machines. Bidspotter is the site I use to find the local auctions but once you have been to a few the local auctioneers will start to notify you directly.
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Jul 25, 2021 14:36
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Do not under any circumstances purchase a ShopBot. loving awful machines. Tormach do a neat one, but it's both too big and too small at like 25 x 50. Great suggestions above, I didn't really know what the rest of the space in that format looked like
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Jul 25, 2021 14:52
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I will start watching auctions - I've got a ~10-15k budget. A friend buys at industrial auctions for a living and it never crossed my mind to have him keep an eye out. Thanks!
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Jul 27, 2021 03:19
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the spyder posted:I will start watching auctions - I've got a ~10-15k budget. A friend buys at industrial auctions for a living and it never crossed my mind to have him keep an eye out. Thanks! Keep in mind that unless you're real comfy with industrial electronics and engineering that buying used can come with a bunch of super frustrating "why the gently caress doesn't this do what I want? Is it broken? Am I a moron? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" Also rigging and delivery on one of those machines can be as high as 50 cents per pound, plus 3 phase power requirements, etc. There are a lot of hidden costs once a machine is much bigger than a drill press that you might not see right away as part of the bid price at auction.
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Jul 28, 2021 19:09
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Methylethylaldehyde posted:Keep in mind that unless you're real comfy with industrial electronics and engineering that buying used can come with a bunch of super frustrating "why the gently caress doesn't this do what I want? Is it broken? Am I a moron? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" Yeah, when you win an auction on a $500 mill and the rigging company's first two questions are "can we see the engineering drawings and compression tests for the concrete pad you're putting this on" and "where's your nearest rail station" you realize you might be paying more than $500 when it gets to your door.
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Jul 29, 2021 03:59
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What happens if you say "nah imma just load it in the trunk of my Civic" and wait for them to answer?
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Jul 29, 2021 13:52
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They'll probably chuckle and watch.
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Jul 29, 2021 14:11
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NewFatMike posted:They'll probably chuckle and watch. They ask to see proof of your $5000000 comprehensive liability insurance coverage and then chuckle and watch. Big equipment at auctions usually have a rigging fee noted in the auction listing. This is using the rigger the auctioneer has arranged for the sale. Sometimes you can use your own rigger but this is not usually the case. The rigging fee only includes loading the equipment onto your truck at the site. It does not include transport or unloading at your end. My experience is that you can get the rigger to transport and unload at your site for an additional fee. The couple of times I have done that, it worked out to roughly the auction rigging fee again. This is for smaller stuff that would fit on a flatbed with a forklift and a local move though. Smaller items that you can't lift and need a forklift to put in your truck will also usually be charged a "lift fee" at the site by the rigger. Typically $25-50 cash per lift so factor that in to your purchase decisions as well. Since this fee goes into the riggers beer fund, they are usually very happy to help. I always like watching the price that really big equipment goes for. Equipment the size of house will go for peanuts because it costs so much to move.
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Jul 29, 2021 19:02
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This is hitting me right in the feels... I'm watching a surplus equipment auction, and there's some stuff I'd definitely bid on for near-future-desires... but I know any real rigging company would probably not be willing to go along with my "put this in a barn" plan.
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Jul 29, 2021 19:58
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the pro move is to make your first heavy equipment acquisition be a forklift, then simply use the forklift to carry another large item home. recommend living very very close to the auction house. one weird trick from a goon that drives riggers crazy
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Jul 29, 2021 21:36
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I'm probably one of the few people who won't have an issue with it. My neighbor has a heavy equipment company and is always happy to help transport and unload. We have machinery skates and a toe jack for when it's in the shop. My brother has been rebuilding an old bridgeport NC that clocked in at 6k, converting it to AC servo drives. Both him and myself have a small yet notable background in debugging 1990's CNC machines. The shop has a 15HP phase converter and I'm looking at a 225amp service to replace it. I just acquired a 120gal Champion 30CFM compressor from a friend which should provide plenty of air for our needs. Time seems to be our biggest issue now-a-days. I might start with a smaller machine in the 2x2 or 2x4 size - I would like to start on some signage and decorative trim recreation projects that would fit in that table size. Is there a rigid machine in that smaller form factor with a decent spindle? I see all these youtube dudes on various machines, but it's been a few years since I've done any research.
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Jul 30, 2021 00:43
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Check out the Onefinity. I'm enjoying mine and it's certainly rigid. I'm in the midst of upgrading my table and bought the new wasteboard subframe they just released. Other than the wait time it's been very solid so far. Wireless connection on it seems spotty but I'm betting an external antenna on the control box would solve it.
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Jul 30, 2021 02:28
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mekilljoydammit posted:This is hitting me right in the feels... I'm watching a surplus equipment auction, and there's some stuff I'd definitely bid on for near-future-desires... but I know any real rigging company would probably not be willing to go along with my "put this in a barn" plan. I don't think they would have any problem with it to be honest. I had a 12000lb machine moved into my residential garage and the head rigger thanked me for giving him an interesting challenge. They did have to put down 8'x24' 1" thick steel plates to keep their forklift/machine from sinking through my driveway (asphalt) but it was otherwise fairly easy. Note that they had those plates on hand as this is a regular thing to move equipment across surfaces that can't support the point loads. As long as you tell them where it is going and what the conditions are they can handle it. Now if the machine sinks through your floor when they put it down, that is on you. The rigging for that machine cost $3000cad. It included pulling it out through the wall of the building it was in, transporting it 200km, and moving it into my shop through a door that had 1" of clearance on any side. It took 3 guys, two heavy flatbed trucks, and a 20000lb capacity forklift. Total time was about 5hours. I thought I got a bargain all things considered. The guy I bought the machine from suggested hiring a guy with a flatbed to winch it out for $1000. I can't imagine that would have ended well. In keeping with the moving being more expensive than the machine, the machine only cost $2000 and that included a pile of tooling. Here is a timelapse video moving the mill into my shop. The bald guy in the blue jacket is me  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhU-SnGCfjc
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Jul 30, 2021 05:45
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Wow, I just watched your first cuts video. That's an incredible machine, you must make some cool stuff on it.
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Jul 30, 2021 07:28
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biracial bear for uncut posted:The one I linked is supposed to be that one. Mainly waiting for the weather. Spending that much time in the garage in this weather is pretty much suicide right now.
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Jul 30, 2021 20:03
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mekilljoydammit posted:This is hitting me right in the feels... I'm watching a surplus equipment auction, and there's some stuff I'd definitely bid on for near-future-desires... but I know any real rigging company would probably not be willing to go along with my "put this in a barn" plan. As long as they can drive the forklift without it sinking right up to the axles, the riggers generally don't give a poo poo. Most of the time they'll come out to see what the job is before delivery, and they'll let you know what needs to be done for it to work out.
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Jul 31, 2021 21:11
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I was hoping to machine some small PTFE (Teflon) parts with my 3018. Certainly even something as anemic as thins thing can handle plastic, right? I have a 3D CAD models of the parts (done in Siemens NX 12) I want to machine and I want to cut them from PTFE sheet. -I was thinking of securiing the PTFE to sacrificial MDF using double-sided tape. Good/bad idea? -What kind of cutting tool should I use, especially if I want the top faces of the part to be smooth? I have fishtail ones that do a good job on 2.5D parts but they leave the tops of 3D parts rough. -What CAM package should I use that supports GRBL or LinuxCNC (I came up with a LinuxCNC setup that swaps with the GRBL board) and is preferably free? -What sorts of feeds and speeds should I use for plastics? (tool speed is kind of relative on something with basic PWM control of the spindle with no feedback but it helps to know if it should b -Should I stand by the machine and spray coolant on the part or anything like that to prevent melting? -Anything else I should know about machining plastics? Thanks! edit: also, what's a good Canadian supplier for PTFE sheet, or elsewhere who won't annihilate me on shipping? BattleMaster fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Aug 13, 2021 |
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Aug 13, 2021 03:36
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BattleMaster posted:I was hoping to machine some small PTFE (Teflon) parts with my 3018. Certainly even something as anemic as thins thing can handle plastic, right? I have a 3D CAD models of the parts (done in Siemens NX 12) I want to machine and I want to cut them from PTFE sheet. I've always been disappointed with my ability to machine plastics so I'm no expert but: 1) I've never tried MDF but have done this plenty with some scrap aluminum. Are you sure the MDF is geometrically able to produce the parts you want? If youre machining it from a sheet you can also screw it down to the wood with screw far outside your work envelope. Material is cheap, accidentally machining the screw sucks. (Done it a bunch.) 2) You should provide an example of what smooth and rough are to you here. 3) Any cam software can spit out G code for any machine so long as you have the right post processor. Google for the post processor for whatever CAM package you desire. I'd imagine one for GRBL has been posted for all of them. 4) Ill let someone chime in with more experience but my advice is follow whats on the tool chart (or google for a toold chrt). Having a high feedrate per tooth is important here. 5) Not if its bolted to MDF which will swell.
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Aug 13, 2021 04:30
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CarForumPoster posted:I've always been disappointed with my ability to machine plastics so I'm no expert but: 1/5 - I was planning on milling a square area from the MDF to make it level relative to the tool before fixing the material to it. I'm not married to MDF though, but it's convenient to make level since the machine can handle it but not aluminum - though aluminum stock probably won't need that to be done to begin with. My parts are on the small size - less than 30 mm square - so I was planning on screwing or taping the sacrificial material to the bed, milling out a square (skipping if aluminum), then fixing the PTFE to the sacrificial material with tape. If coolant is necessary I'll definitely go with aluminum. 2 - I'm flexible on this, but I would like all surfaces to be similar in smoothness, and not too far off from the uncut material. However, these parts are electrical insulators, not cosmetic parts, so this can be compromised - the main thing is I'd like all milled surfaces to have similar finishes even if they aren't perfectly smooth. 3 - Do you have any recommendations on CAM software to begin with? That's the thing that I don't know where to start with. 4 - Thanks BattleMaster fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Aug 13, 2021 |
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Aug 13, 2021 05:09
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BattleMaster posted:. Fusion 360. Free iirc and so very many tutorials Edit: I’m only seeing a 30 day free trial. Maybe someone more informed can comment
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Aug 13, 2021 05:11
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If this is for non-commercial work, you can get a personal use licence for Fusion. They recently did add some ridiculous limitations to this (IIRC you can't do toolchanges and some other stupid restrictions), but for one-offs it's still probably your best bet. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal Or if you're a student then you can get the full software for free (one year licence but you can just get a new one when it's over.) https://www.autodesk.com/education/edu-software/overview
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Aug 13, 2021 05:20
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They hide the link because Autodesk doing Autodesk https://www.autodesk.ca/en/products/fusion-360/personal efb
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Aug 13, 2021 05:20
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Reminder that Solidworks Premium Student/Education edition through having an EAA.org membership is only $40 (the EAA membership cost) and you get the CAM software with that (though a post-processor is still tricky). There is this really old post-processor for it somebody made back when the CAMWorks/SolidCAM deal was new, but YMMV. https://github.com/gnea/grbl/issues/237 Also this one that may be closer to usable status: https://hawkridgesys.com/products/cam/post-processors?_search=GRBL
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Aug 13, 2021 11:40
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If you're a student or current/former military, SolidWorks is $20/year.
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Aug 13, 2021 13:41
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I've got a pretty decent looking post processor for GRBL and LinuxCNC should take a straight up and down Fanuc post processor. If not, I've got a Tormach post processor that ought to work as well. All for CAMworks/SOLIDWORKS CAM. I'm still not caffeinated, so I'm not sure if it came up, but I'm going to go ahead and recommend using a single flute end mill for plastics on this little machine.
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Aug 13, 2021 14:14
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Specifically, get one of these: https://www.onsrud.com/Products/65019.asp Best god drat plastic end mills I've used at my actual job. They also have feed/speed specifications cutting hard plastics here.
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Aug 13, 2021 16:05
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Thanks for all the suggestions, I am going to try Fusion360 first. I'm using my job's NX license for the modelling but my machining project is for personal use so I may as well go as free as possible.biracial bear for uncut posted:Specifically, get one of these: Thanks for the suggestion. How is the surface finish on a single-pass job with this?
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Aug 13, 2021 21:20
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