Jump to content

MEBCWD

Members
  • Posts

    169
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by MEBCWD

  1. If you want to be able to design your own grips and gun stocks and are looking for a Vectric solution then you would need Aspire so you can create the models required. If you want to use one of the many 3d modeling softwares to create the models you could import the models into VCarve Desktop/Pro and create your toolpaths to use on your CNC.
  2. Since I install my UPS I haven't had the power go out while the CNC was running so that's how mine works. Actually it should have enough power to let me shut down and home the router so I can start back up with out problems when the power is back on. I should put one on this computer so I don't loose work when there is a power outage. It happens several times a year and sometimes 7 or 8 times in a day.
  3. Thanks for all the Happy Birthday wishes. I've been so busy I haven't been around for a while but will have more time when I finish a couple of design files I'm working on right now.
  4. Pictures of the individual parts will help us picture the orientation of the parts on the CNC bed.
  5. That should be a good one to help get rid of smaller scrap pieces when they accumulate.
  6. I don't think you will have a problem finding a CNC in your price range that will cut your parts but from what I am looking at your main concern would be to make sure the machine will have plenty of Z axis height and a gantry that can handle the weight of a large spindle because you will need to use some large tooling to make it cost efficient. This project will call for 2 sided machining. Once you create modes for the parts you might also want to make some fixtures to hold the blanks for machining and alignment when the blanks are turned over to carve the back side.
  7. Congratulations to the winners of the raffle prizes. And a big THANKS to the sponsors for the prizes they donated. Thanks to everyone for making this happen!
  8. Jim thanks for adding the Easy Wood Tools turning tools. Come on turners get your raffle tickets, these are great carbide tools and remember this is not just about the prizes, it's about giving the Merlo family a great Christmas.
  9. Come on guys don't make it too easy for me to win that $500 gift certificate because It will be very hard to decide what I want to get and it will mean a lot of hair pulling and I don't have any to spare. Let's all make sure we show the Merlo family how much we value the great sacrifice that was made for us. Put some smiles on Charlie's and Camilla's faces and leave them with memories of a great Christmas. And don't forget, I'd like to keep what little hair I have.
  10. I looked at using two 3/8" layers of bendable plywood but the minimum radius is listed as 12" so I would have to do a lot of modifications the the plywood and then I would have to come back and veneer the outside and inside and hardwood cap the face to cover the joint. I opted to use solid wood. I'll have to cut the head parts in pieces and also because my band saw is limited to a 6" cut i'll have to cut 2 of each part and glue them together. I started with a 8/4 x 12" x 11' red oak board. This was enough to get 16 of the 19 head part blanks from with out glue ups at this point. Had to stop and align the tables on a new Dewalt DW735 planer so that's one less thing on my to do list. Then I got 2 glue ups done for the remaining 3 shapes and a jig glued up to use on the band saw. At this point I had to stop and move a few things around the shop so I could get to the band saw (did I say I don't have room to move around in my shop). I was in the process of getting it setup again (had not been used in about a year) and got a call from one of my other customers that had problems with his CNC (bit buried in the material and the controller program locked up on him) had to drop everything and go to his shop. Got him back up and running and didn't get back home until about 8:00 PM.
  11. I used my Aspire CNC software for design and to make the marking templates for the head shape.
  12. Love that design, like Kelly says it is simple and functional. Watching the videos of your machine cutting is pushing my closer and closer to replacing my 2 larger machines. Can I tell my wife it is all your fault?
  13. Starting a new project a head shaped bookshelf made from red oak. The customer could not find anyone that would even consider doing this project for him. I got the design finalized and emailed the itemized bid to him and I was kind of hoping my bid would scare him into not doing the project but all he said was do you want half to start. This is the design he accepted. It will be about 3 1/2 feet wide, 5 1/2 feet tall and 11 1/2 inches deep.
  14. From my experience most of the people looking for recommendations are hobbyists looking to add a CNC to do craft type projects. Most want a small footprint machine because they don't have much room in their shops. There are some like MT Stringer that bought one for cabinet work and to do crafts.
  15. I think Dan is right, that was my first thought when I saw it. The two small nuts go under the bench, screw goes through a dog hole and the two nuts reinstalled. Two nuts adjust for height and act as lock lock/jamb nuts and the large nut is tightened to clamp it to the bench top and make angular adjustments. The long bar has adjustment holes for different size stock. Thumb screws adjust to hold the project. Probably used for items like cabriole legs but could be used for just about any item you want to work.
  16. You do have a HD2 or later model. They had problems with the HD1 because of the weight of the router being cantilevered so far forward. They also had "Next Wave Automation" deeply carved into the plastic gantry plate so that just added to the weakness of the system. I have the HD1 and have done many modifications to it including replacing the gantry plate with the aluminum upgrade, added a third party 1.25" thick aluminum router clamp to replace the cheap .75" thick plastic clamp they used on the machine, replaced the original linear bearings with adjustable bearings and added aluminum angles under the blue bed to help tie together and reinforce the bed and a few other mods. Probotix might have used the larger motors to help handle heavenlier weight loads. The smaller motors might have been pushing the limits of their specs and the larger motors might allow faster feeds and added torque to handle larger routers and spindles. There has to be some point where the smaller motors just won't do the job and would limit the feeds and speeds and quality is being sacrificed, they may have found that point and replaced the motors. If you are using the angled platform a lot this might be a good addition but if it is not used very often then this boils down to "a gadget guy looking for something to play with", that's not a bad thing because that is how improvements and new tools are developed. My problem with this is I'm getting too old and can't find the time do play with things like this but if I had the time ...... For now I'll use a tilt box! Keep use posted on any progress you make with this project it is interesting.
  17. The drive for this could replace the X axis drive and be mounted on the Z axis bracket. One step motor with a thru shaft would work with left/right hand threads. but this will add a lot of additional weight. Another way would have an additional head with it's own Z axis that mounts so it uses the X axis screw but runs with a direction change gear system. The Z axis step motors would be driven together like the Probotix Y axis. Then again you could have a linear rail system that mounts to the Z axis and the two heads connect to the X axis lead screw so the heads move independently, one having the direction change gear system to mirror the other head. This would support part of the weight from the two routers so might be the best route to pursue. This would definitely not be a quick change system.
  18. Of course you are crazy, that's why you can think of things like this. This should work as long as you don't exceed the weight that the gantry will hold safely and keep feed rates within reason. You would need to make sure your design file keeps bits within the new cutting area of the two or 3 routers. I more thought would be to stack cut small thin parts, maybe 4 or 5 at a time like you would with a scroll saw so you could be cutting 15 parts at 1 time.
  19. The large companies can afford CNC machines that have auto feeders for material, vacuum tables to hold the material while it is cut and they are tight heavy machines and make all the cuts precisely and most have automated cleanup processes with more machinery. Getting the parts from the CNC to the cleanup machines often is done with other automated equipment. On to the finish department where the finish is applied by the automated sprayers then turned so the back side can be finished, air and heat dryed. Then the parts are viewed buy a computer scanner and weighed buy computer connected scales where rejected parts are removed mechanically before they go to the automated packaging machine. Of course that is all automated so parts are divided by order, boxed and labeled for shipment to each customer. I think the hobbyist CNC user probably has more hands on work on a project than most people realize. The hobby machine often leaves at least some cleanup work that the maker needs to do with smaller power tools and often hand tools to get the quality they are wanting for each piece. They handle the piece and look for the imperfections so they can correct them. They take the time to prep the part for finish going from grit to small grit paper until they are satisfied that the piece is ready for finish, They take care to apply enough finish and make sure they don't apply too much that problems develop. They inspect it one last time before they carefully wrap it for shipment to the waiting customer. We CNC users with the smaller footprint machines make hand made items, often more hand made than people realize. I have never hidden the fact that I use CNC equipment and people have never cared and saw the care I had given the piece and the value they were getting.
  20. I have some files that I need 5 or 6 bits but the norm is 3 or 4. Most of the time I try to limit the number of bits to save bit change time but it all depends on how much the smaller bits have to cut.
  21. The white might be too bright but They had dropped the price so I got a can before it went back up. I also have my eye on some tan and brown but right now they are way too high for experimenting. Maybe the white will work the way I hope and will high light the lettering so it is easier to read when the walnut is dark and the lighting is low.
  22. Love the plaque! I like the way you used the sap wood to make the back and cut panels to bookmatch to face. I bought some white spray ink to use with masking to try out on walnut. Now if I could get caught up and find a little time to play I could do some experimenting.
  23. Important thing in designing a diverter is to make sure you don't restrict the air flow because that is what keeps the router from overheating. You could be designing a bearing killer if you don't make sure there is still plenty of air movement.
×
×
  • Create New...