CNC, Milling, & Metalworking Equipment?

brokenjack

brokenjack

Active member
I've made alot of my own gear, and I'd like to take it to the next level. I've heard mention of milling and CNC work. What decent benchtop stuff is out there, and how does one approach learning how to use the stuff.
 
I am interested in a cnc machine myself and I am in the market to buy one now anyone have any suggestions on models to look at?
 
brokenjack,

You might want to try out a local tech college and see about taking machining classes. It is a good place to start and many times you can have access to some pretty good equipment while you are learning. As for equipment, I'd suggest taking a look at it after the class(es). That said, check out www.homebuiltstabilizers.com There is a lot of good info there on equipment.
 
Bob Hill said:
brokenjack,

You might want to try out a local tech college and see about taking machining classes. It is a good place to start and many times you can have access to some pretty good equipment while you are learning. As for equipment, I'd suggest taking a look at it after the class(es). That said, check out www.homebuiltstabilizers.com There is a lot of good info there on equipment.
Click to expand...

I plan on doing that, but since I got a baby and all, reading is about the only thing I have time for these days, and the retreat to the garage after he goes down.
 
Shred, I don't think that will work with metal, and for the price he is much better off with the Taig Tools Micro Mill in my opinion.
 
I would learn to write the code first, that's the time consuming part of the process. I'm sure you can find a shop with a CNC that will run your program once it's written.
 
writing code?

How does that work TroutPro?

I thought you could use a CAD software (like Autocad or so) and integrate that with a CNC software (like Mach 3 - http://www.machsupport.com/) and once you adjust settings and get it all figured out, you wouldn't have to write any code.

Am I wrong thinking this would be the process?
 
webdog,
man that is pretty bad ass. nice work. as much as I love building things, I don't think I have the patience to build one myself. (maybe if I had a full shop)
Great work though. :)
 
"I've made alot of my own gear, and I'd like to take it to the next level. I've heard mention of milling and CNC work. What decent benchtop stuff is out there, and how does one approach learning how to use the stuff."



Start off with learning the machine manually, then all of the tooling first. This is not something to just jump into, there is alot of practice and reading involved (Gcode/CNC is a whole another animal).

Example

If your code is off by a few thousands and your machine crashes, it's nothing but blood or money. I couldn't tell you how many bits I've broke from just the littlest mistake and at $15.00 - $120.00 each bit this can add up. This is why I say learn everything manually first, believe me it will help you in the long run. Now they have simulator programs that help check your work/code for crashes, but these programs only help so much, it really comes down to experience.

If you do decide on a machine, definitely build an enclosure for it. That way if a tool or part breaks, you're somewhat protected from flying objects. I've come very close to almost loosing my hand, finger and an eye. Oh and WEAR EYE PROTECTION! :) When getting into metal working machines, it's not a toy. It's taking me almost two years to finally get a brief understanding of things.

Here are a few pictures of my CNC mill working on steel, pictures aren't best of quality (cheap camera), but you get the point. :)

attachment.php



Now it's kind of hard to see in these photos what happened. My girlfriend thought it'd be a great idea to take photos of my bloody hand just before she fixed them up (She's a nurse).

attachment.php


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Here's the new machine I plan to purchase in the next month or so. If interested check out the packages, very well priced.



http://www.tormach.com/Product_PCNC_main.html
 
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I am a big proponent of starting out with manual equipment before jumping to CNC. CNC is the way to go if you have to make a quantity of parts or for certain specific operations. That said if you are doing one offs it is often times faster to just do it manually.


Twocik,

I think you'll like the Tormach machine. My wife used to work for them before I put her to work with me ;)
 
twocik23 said:
"I've made alot of my own gear, and I'd like to take it to the next level. I've heard mention of milling and CNC work. What decent benchtop stuff is out there, and how does one approach learning how to use the stuff."



Start off with learning the machine manually, then all of the tooling first. This is not something to just jump into, there is alot of practice and reading involved (Gcode/CNC is a whole another animal).

Example

If your code is off by a few thousands and your machine crashes, it's nothing but blood or money. I couldn't tell you how many bits I've broke from just the littlest mistake and at $15.00 - $120.00 each bit this can add up. This is why I say learn everything manually first, believe me it will help you in the long run. Now they have simulator programs that help check your work/code for crashes, but these programs only help so much, it really comes down to experience.

If you do decide on a machine, definitely build an enclosure for it. That way if a tool or part breaks, you're somewhat protected from flying objects. I've come very close to almost loosing my hand, finger and an eye. Oh and WEAR EYE PROTECTION! :) When getting into metal working machines, it's not a toy. It's taking me almost two years to finally get a brief understanding of things.

Here are a few pictures of my CNC mill working on steel, pictures aren't best of quality (cheap camera), but you get the point. :)

attachment.php



Now it's kind of hard to see in these photos what happened. My girlfriend thought it'd be a great idea to take photos of my bloody hand just before she fixed them up (She's a nurse).

attachment.php


attachment.php




Here's the new machine I plan to purchase in the next month or so. If interested check out the packages, very well priced.



http://www.tormach.com/Product_PCNC_main.html
Click to expand...

I agree it's a good idea to learn the manual machine first.
That looks like a nice unit your thinking about getting. I like the fact that they are so open about their parts sourcing and the quality they demand. You don't see that very often. lol
 
as some one who has recently started making my own gear and self teaching the art of metal working,I agree with the learning manual stuff first, there is soooo many other things to learn before doing any CNC will help. things like material selection, what order to do the machining steps,holding down the material and setting up tooling for squareness and alignment,how to measure mark and machine with PRECESION, etc. metal work is so much more unforgiving than wood working especially when working in small scale. but I have found it to be very rewarding and is feeling quite similar to the feeling when editing a really good piece, when things align and fall into the right places and the whole is soo much greater than the parts. its a blast
 
Wow Bob it's a small world. :) Yes I've heard nothing but good things about this mill. The only problems that I've read was, a leaky coolant tray and few things with the control software.




"I am a big proponent of starting out with manual equipment before jumping to CNC. CNC is the way to go if you have to make a quantity of parts or for certain specific operations. That said if you are doing one offs it is often times faster to just do it manually."


Yes it's great for precision and time, but of no use if don't understand how to use it properly, following with the tools, measuring devices, and material. Now if you're fabricating something with a curvy design, then CNC is essential for this operation.



Here are a few links to get you started (note that all CNC machine controller software uses these codes and different codes , so you'll need to read the manual before you use any machine/control software)



http://xdobs.com/cnc/gcode-introduction.html

http://www.nfrpartners.com/cncfaq.htm#whatisagcode

http://www.linuxcnc.org/handbook/gcode/g-code.html


This site shows what each command does

http://www.cncezpro.com/g00m.cfm


Now when I said learn your tooling, here are a few things to read. Rake angles, helix angle, flutes, chip load per tooth, which cutter tool for the job, Conventional & Climb milling etc... Here's a good one


http://www.americanmachinetools.com/how_to_use_a_milling_machine.htm

http://www.mfg.mtu.edu/cyberman/machining/trad/milling/index.html
 
Well if anyone is interested, I'm probably going to sell my CNC mill (along with all tooling $$$$$) pretty soon (waiting on the Tormach), maybe I'll take a few pictures and put it in the market place...
 
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