loveeye719 asked:

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samuel o asked:


differences between a cnc milling machine and a cnc machine center

Ivan Irons asked:


Keeping your shop clean

My first inclination is to say that it can’t be done in your home shop. My experience in my home shop has been that machining creates dirt. I use the term dirt very loosely. Dirt in many forms like plasma dust, machining chips, and cutting fluid spray. All of these forms of dirt are very invasive and get into everything. You constantly have to be cleaning just to keep up.

In my home shop experience, I treat every one of my machines differently. My CNC plasma cutter is the dirtiest by far. I built a special room for it to try to contain the plasma dust it creates. My milling machine is in my main working area. I usually just have to clean around it from time to time. My CNC Wood Router is located in my woodworking shop. It creates a lot of wood chips and wood dust, which all my other woodworking machines do as well.

Factories invest in thousands of dollars in extra machines to keep things clean. These machines purpose is to reduce the amount of dirt in the shop. Some of these machines clean the air and some of these machines take care of the physical chips leftover from machining.

Here are some examples:

Automated Chip Augers - Chip augers are generally in the belly of machines. As chips fall down the augers move them over to a collection area. These chips can then be shipped out and recycled.

Downdraft tables - Downdraft tables are usually associated with plasma or laser cutters. As the machine is cutting, air is drawn downward from below it. This air is then moved through filters, which clean the air and place it back in the shop. They put the air back in to the shop so the building doesn’t have to be continually heated in colder areas of the country.

Updraft Table - An updraft table works the exact opposite. It pulls the air upward, then through a system of filters.

Water Tables - Water tables are used mainly with plasma cutting operations. There is water directly under the piece of metal being cut. The dust and debris of the plasma cutting process is captured by the water table. Over time, the table fills with this debris and must be cleaned out.

Janitorial Services - Some factories maintain a janitorial service that cleans the facility every night. This is usually dependent on the cost in the area the factory is located.

My CNC Story

One day I knew I had a problem. I just spent 4 hours with my plasma cutter in my right hand. I had been cutting out patterns I had traced onto a sheet of metal. These shapes were going to be my new coffee table. Everyone complained to me that I didn’t have a coffee table. I thought, “I’ll show them” and began to build one.

Why make a coffee table out of metal you ask? The quick answer is that I wasn’t much of a woodworker at the time. On the other hand, I used to weld professionally and knew I could make anything out of metal. That is how it all began, making a coffee table out of metal.

Now if you knew me, you know that I can’t just make something normal. My brain is the scheming type that has to do things differently then the norm. I wanted to make a table that would knock people’s socks off. I thought a funky looking table, made out of metal, with casters and lights would do the trick. You know what? It did.

I really had a ball making this table. I mean I had serious fun. So much so that I started to design others. I began showing photos of my work to everyone I knew. On top of that, I was getting good feedback. I had just found a new hobby, furniture making. Who would have ever thought I would pick up furniture making as a hobby.

While making this first table a problem arose. It is the one I mentioned above with my right hand. After plasma cutting all those parts my wrist really began to hurt. While welding professionally there was always the threat of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Welders are constantly afflicted by this injury and others because of Repetitive Motion.

If you repeat something over and over and over and over, your body gives out at some point. After cutting up these table parts, I knew I couldn’t go on doing this for a hobby. I knew something would have to change or the new hobby would break my body.

That is when I began investigating Hobby CNC. I call it “Hobby” CNC, because that is how I found it. There were small groups of enthusiasts on the Internet that were building these machines for the fun of it. I thought this was the ticket.

My Initial Thoughts on CNC…

I thought, “If I could build a CNC Plasma Cutting Table?”

I could hook my plasma cutter to it

Create a program of the part I wanted

Cut out multiple parts to my hearts content

Save a lot of time

And Finally…

Save my wrist from the dreaded Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

I really wasn’t scared of the technology to start with. I grew up in fabrication shops across the Midwest and had seen these machines in action. These machine “Operators” were always held in high esteem at the shop. They always made more Money and always had as much Overtime as they wanted. I decided if they could do it, I could do it.

CNC hobby projects were not cheap at the time. I figured I would have to invest $4,000 - $5,000 to build my table (they have come down considerably). Keep in mind this was in 2000-2001. For some reason that didn’t scare me off. I always liked a good challenge and this was it. With blind faith, I ordered up a CNC Controller and went down to my local steel yard to fill the back of my truck with steel.

Little Did I know…

There was a steep learning curve with CNC. Building a frame for the machine is only a small part of the project. Today it is much easier. The software, components and suppliers are better. There is an entire cottage industry that has sprung up around CNC to support it. Some of the best people in the world make their livings servicing CNC Hobbyist needs.

For some reason I figured if I just build this machine it would spit out parts whenever I wanted it to. Simple, Simple, Simple ran through my head. Over time, I started to get it. I didn’t have a teacher, but I started to learn the ins and out of what I was doing.

Other things I had to learn along the way:

CAD Software

Designing Parts

CAM Software

Preparing parts for machining

Simulating Machining

Machining Basics

Cleaning parts

Kwikiewit asked:


I have a product, i know exactly how it needs to work, and how it should look etc etc. I just need it made on a CNC, and a little bit of a friends engineering help to perfect it. What kind of options are common for being able to get help and compensate someone on your invention. I’ve heard of giving them a percentage of sales for a certain number of years or ongoing. If thats a good one, what is the average percentage i should expect to give, being fair and still being able to make money. I would imagine it would retail for about $74.99 with attachments that would either come separately or as package.

ElektorIM asked:

Watch Profiler mill a circuit board in the Elektor Electronics lab! The Profiler milling machine is suitable for a wide variety of jobs. From making mechanical parts for models to milling printed circuit boards. http://www.elektor.com/profiler

ifyousaysooooooooooo asked:


I am applying for a job that sells these. It is just an administrative position, but I am trying to learn something about the company.

Kevin O asked:


I’d like to cut some designs in aluminum diamond plate and I was curious to know if a CNC router with a laser or plasma torch could do the job. I know a waterjet works pretty well, but the price of the machine is currently not in my budget. Thanks!

ivanirons asked:

CNC Project that is shot in a tutorial sequence. It goes from the Design, CAD, CAM, Control, CNC Plasma Cutting and then final assembly. Check out this CNC How-To.

http://www.cncinformation.com

Martin J. Aguilar asked:


SolutionWare Corporation in Silicon Valley has enhanced their product line to include MazaCAM CAD/CAM and Editor’s ability to output Mazatrol programs directly from SolidWorks: this product is PowerCAM, the CNC programming assistant, which for many parts can reduce programming time typically by 75%.

This software module in conjunction with SolidWorks, programs parts drawn in SolidWorks or solid models imported as STEP, IGES, XT, PAR, etc. from other software. It outputs Mazatrol for both mills and lathes, including live-tooling for machines such as the Mazak Integrex Matrix or earlier controls.

The ability to take a Solid file with its feature data allows PowerCAM to designate tooling to make smart decisions in the form of pockets, drilling, tapping, etc., including tooling. These tools are selected from a predefined materials- and tools-library to include speeds, feeds, chip-load for various depths, and much more. The library is accessible to the user for customized materials and tooling.

PowerCAM was first introduced to the machining industry as a 2.5-axis milling programming system and has now been enhanced to include live-tooling lathe which includes programming the main and sub-spindle, and the Integrex B-axis. Machine-shops may now take in files from their customers, program them in PowerCAM and machine the part for example on the Integrex with typically 75% of the programming time reduced.

Mazatrol does not have to be a point-to-point programming system anymore: with PowerCAM, the points are calculated for you — typically all you have to do is make sure it cuts it how you want, that the tooling is set correctly and sequences are in the order of your preference, and run it on the machine.

For over thirty years, SolutionWare Corporation has been providing full-featured, easy-to-use CAD/CAM solutions to machine shops and plants the world over. In addition to the new MazaCAM 4.5-Matrix Edition, SolutionWare has developed GeoPath, Mill module, Lathe module, EDM module, Fabrication CAM, PowerCAM and Solid Verify. For more information, call 408-249-1529 or toll-free 1-888-322-3226.

www.solution-ware.com/powercam.html

Ivan Irons asked:


When I went through college I learned how to read prints and draft. We had a bag of physical tools that we purchased and hauled around campus. T-Squares, French Curves, compasses, pencils and erasers filled this bag. Then you had a pad of drafting paper and a drafting desk. You would pin or tape the paper down and begin drawing or drafting.

Drafting paper has a grid to help keep you aligned as you began you design. In CAD, there is a grid you snap to, or guides to keep you straight. We had hard plastic templates to draw curves. CAD has numerous tools to draw curves and lines. We had calculators to figure out distances and ratios. CAD does this automatically.

Overall, you can view CAD as replacing Drafting. CAD moved the same type of process into a more flexible and efficient environment. CAD has also helped out with networking of designs. Different designers and engineers can work on the same assembly in different parts at the same time. This team effort really moves the overall process along much faster.

However, as far as print reading goes, that is about the same as it was before. Drafting outputs prints and CAD outputs prints. A human still needs to be able to read them and make sense of them. A plus with CAD is that it is much more standardized and clear. Many times before, prints were unique to their maker. Similar to handwriting, you could not always figure out what the engineer wanted to convey to you. CAD cleans all that up.

CAD is the way we work today. I would be very surprised if you could come across a shop that has hand drawn prints. It just isn’t practical. Precision and accurate prints are the way manufacturing increases efficiency.