5
votes
Accepted
CNC milling of large cutouts
I'm assuming that you are cutting on a base sheet of some sort in my answer, if not, please do. In all my shop applications I have found that double sided taping the product to the base sheet is ...
- 66
4
votes
Accepted
What is a purpose of learning G-code?
Because some programs for some operations can be written quicker than the time it takes to produce the equivalent CAD file.
Also use of variables makes the program more useful ie a program to ...
- 15.5k
4
votes
Weird texture on faces when using Shapeoko CNC
No milling operation will give you a perfectly flat surface. The level of finish you can achieve will depend on the capabilities of the mill itself, the tooling you use and how the tool paths are set ...
- 15.2k
4
votes
Why are entry-level CNC mills cheaper than entry-level manual mini mills?
The two existing comments are correct IMO, it's mostly due to economics. The price to produce comparable CNC and manual machines might be close, but the demand for CNC's is much greater than manual ...
- 2,347
3
votes
Tapping small hole on titanium
It should be doable by hand; the Quora answer missed what I found to be the most important factor for cutting Ti; use chlorinated cutting fluid like carbon tetra chloride. I once drilled small holes ( ...
- 6,112
3
votes
Asymmetrical collet nut snaps end mills
This Old Tony of YouTube fame had a video recently describing the tribulations of a three dollar collet. He discovered that the inexpensive unit had excessive run-out, resulting in snapped bits. This ...
- 6,940
3
votes
Automatic letter connection for plasma cut parts with nested holes
The capability you seek is a function of the software used to create the work on your cutter. Depending on the features of this unspecified software, it may not be possible and would then require that ...
- 6,940
2
votes
What resolution (pixels/mm) should I use in SVGs for CNC
I found one of those printer things that puts ink on dead trees and tested to print a simple SVG file.
...
- 139
2
votes
Design for CNC -cut sheet+bolt connection
What you're looking for is called "Wrench Clearance". There are tables for these in Machinery's Handbook (pp 1344-1355 in 24th ed). There are also resources online like this table for box end wrenches ...
- 2,145
2
votes
End mill vs Drill Bit Flute Geometry
Take this all as very general....Flutes of a drill bit are ground only for chip extraction, where as end mills take the chip extraction flute and grind an actual cutting edge on it ( b - c ) and some ...
- 404
2
votes
Accepted
Solidworks hole table export data format
The problem is that the CSV export is including the new line characters that are part of the hole callout. So this:
...
- 298
2
votes
Accepted
Where to find springed pegs with screws for a CNC mill?
Not what you're asking for, but maybe even more suitable? These are also available in a low-profile version. Google "toggle clamp".
Or these? Google "spring plunger".
- 2,472
2
votes
Where to find springed pegs with screws for a CNC mill?
As you have the "pocket" already, one method would be to have holes in the pocket base and use a vacuum cleaner to "suck" the piece down.
- 15.5k
2
votes
Where to find springed pegs with screws for a CNC mill?
The standard solution is to use milling clamps. These consist of a screw that fits in the T-slots on the milling table, and a sturdy metal fitting that holds down the work. They're available in ...
- 736
2
votes
Scalable alternatives to CNC router and laser cutter
You can certainly drive the cost down by injection moulding the plastic parts. It has a relatively high setup cost though. Acrylic can also be extruded. In both cases laser cutting is probably also ...
- 3,597
2
votes
Low cost molds. Can such molds be produced?
Judging from the pictures, they are CNC machined out of solid aluminium.
That isn't an expensive process, so long as you have the CNC machine. A basic one that isn't junk for sale on E-bay would cost ...
- 12.5k
2
votes
Low cost molds. Can such molds be produced?
You could look into Protolabs. They provide a range of services from 3D printing, CNC machining, short run injection molding using aluminum tooling, production molding and more. They are really fast. ...
- 880
2
votes
What is a purpose of learning G-code?
Well if engineers didn't learn G-code, why even learn what tool will be operated? Does it matter if its a lathe or mill or multi-axis something? It just produces a part that's an exact match of the ...
- 205
2
votes
CNC milling of large cutouts
If the alloy is magnetic then you can use a magnet as the cut is nearly complete to fix the cut out part in place as the cut finishes.
If the CNC doesn't allow that then you can instead let a few ...
- 5,751
2
votes
Low cost molds. Can such molds be produced?
These types of molds are for casting and curing. There is basically zero injection pressure so they can be small and require minimal machining. You can keep them closed with paper binding clamps. You ...
- 101
2
votes
Professional threaded insert in plastic?
The methods available to a hobbyist are akin to that of the production world, in that one needs only a controlled heated implement traveling in a restricted manner.
A drill press with a long bolt ...
- 6,940
2
votes
Professional threaded insert in plastic?
Some threaded inserts have flanged faces for a few reasons, one being that if you press the flange flush to the surface around the hole you're tapped hole will be relatively perpendicular. These can ...
- 2,347
2
votes
Accepted
Actual Chip Thickness Calculation for CNC Machine Endmills
So basically i found the answer I was looking for, I hope it helps someone else too
- 141
2
votes
How to interpret general tolerances (e.g., ISO 2768)
In general your idea behind tolerance are ok, but for the part you've drawn it's already way more complicated then you would think.
For example, you have a tolerance on the left hole diameter of +/- 0....
- 884
2
votes
Accepted
Why continuum robots aren't common on CNC machining processes?
Most probable reason: Speed
In CNC machining, speed is everything if you want to make money. It doesn't looks like these can be very rigid which means you can't hog out large amounts of material at ...
- 5,237
2
votes
Accepted
What's the best way to zero a mill using a hole on the SIDE of the part
Honestly using another datum is probably the simplest way... (Assuming once you do the tolerance stack calcs, that the possible deviation is within acceptable limits...)
Since you are asking to use ...
- 7,726
1
vote
Low cost molds. Can such molds be produced?
cheap molded parts are made by sharing space in a larger mold used to make parts for many customers at once. such a setup is called a MUD mold; each individual customer owns an insert in the master ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
Low cost molds. Can such molds be produced?
The auto industry does/did used molds of zinc ( Zamack , kirksite) to make steel forming molds for limited numbers. I expect if you make a clay ( or equal) model of the part . Then pour molten zinc ...
- 6,112
1
vote
What is a purpose of learning G-code?
If you operate a cnc machine you will learn g-code eventually. Even if its just a subset of the g code. The reasons are numerous but mostly it boils down to:
You need to setup the machine and tools ...
- 3,597
1
vote
Accepted
Mechanical tolerances on a CNC machine
It's going to be an uphill battle from that point on. While you can get every part of the machine and the process to tighter tolerances, their errors may compound to the sort of tolerance of 0.025; ...
- 6,125
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible