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Project Logs / Re: Making the best of Global Warming
« Last post by awemawson on Today at 03:45:55 PM »
That footing and bolt circle look more like the gun mounts found along the south coast for repelling unwanted  visitors in 1939-40!
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CNC / Re: My CNC Router
« Last post by vtsteam on Today at 11:46:18 AM »
That's a great idea, Bill! I bet 90% of what I want to do in future will be small parts. I could make up some bracing clamps that are removable. Also good idea about asymmetry!  :beer: :beer:

Thanks Country Bubba!  :beer: :beer:

I have to think about this part. I thought I'd done calculations that showed chip load around .001 but after playing with Little Machine Shop's calculator I see I was still thinking single flute, rather than the change to two flute, and my speed of 8 IPM is wrong by half for 8000 RPM.

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All I did there was limit artificially the speed of the machine to 8000 RPM. The chipload at 16 IPM will be the recommended .001" then. I'll try doubling the speed. The mfr also gives a max depth of cut in slotting of 1/2D, which is .062" I'm presently at .020" but I'll try .032" next.

I wonder about the Little Machine Shop's calculator's results for the very high speeds you found for an 1/8" milling cutter. While it may be theoretically correct for optimal cutting, I wonder if a 1/8" mill shaft would snap under the kind of side force that would generate when slotting.

The depth of cut at that speed must be very low. I could probably snap a 1/8" dia carbide milling cutter held in a vise with my hand. Not that I would try!

But thanks for that calculator, if the other adjustments go well, I might eventually bump the router speed up a notch and the IPS to suit.

GREAT! very appreciative of any and all advice!

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CNC / Warco and DDCS V3.1
« Last post by Joules on Today at 09:36:07 AM »
I see Warco have announced a new CNC mill and it will be equipped with our old friend.   I just pulled my old units out the projects box, the CNC router being sold many years back.

https://www.warco.co.uk/home/303783-warco-dnc18-cnc-milling-machine-r8.html

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Project Logs / Making the best of Global Warming
« Last post by Joules on Today at 09:28:08 AM »
Been away from the forums for quite a while, busy playing with my peddle car and other stuff.  I put some extra solar panels up on the wife's Studio/Shed a few years back using both sides to make better use of afternoon sun.  It didn't perform as well as I had hoped especially during winter months.  Don't get me wrong it did produce, no longer needing to top up the battery during winter just to keep it alive.

So, onto Plan B (sub project 359) installing a tracker mount in our urban garden.  Not a huge amount of space and with fencing and buildings around, could be a bit challenging.

New project, start with a big hole, serves dual purpose if project goes tit's I have somewhere to bury it.  The tracker used is a commercial one from Eco Worthy, I just couldn't fabricate it for the cost !!!

Get measuring the base and work out hole positions, as it is supplied with 10mm expansion bolts for drilling into your concrete slab.   Hmmm, sod that, it needs to be able to survive earthquakes and tornadoes.

I fabricated an M12 stainless steel frame with 3D printed spacers for the whole lot to be cast in the foundation.  A template was cut for the hole pattern as the tracker base was not symmetrical (correct spelling), laser cut out of card, this being the third attempt.  It was used for spacing the holes in the 3D printed rings holding the stainless steel studding.

The actual supplied tracker mount was of course modded, to improve fit and finish plus shim for bearing surface to remove slop.  It has no quality bearings and not expected for the price, but it has room for improvement.  I am putting a smaller array than it is designed for, keeping the loading and area reduced should allow it to function longer in windy conditions.  It is supplied with sensors for tracking the sun and also monitoring wind conditions so it can go level if gusts start to pick up.   One fly in that idea is the fact it goes to an extreme location, before motoring back to level on an estimated time, not great if the wind has picked up, plus the location I would fit the anemometer would be quite shielded.  So we level it manually based on conditions and forecasts, it really produces a lot of power just looking straight up.  We don't need it tracking every day so it is lashed level with rope that also acts as shock absorber in windy conditions.

Finally got the tracker installed after wife and me mixed about 800kg of concrete in a large plastic bucket....  She's a keeper.... :)     All the frame work above the tracker is modified from that supplied and fitted with 100W panels as they are manageable as I get older.  The added benefit of a tracker is being able to keep the panels clean and free of snow.

At last fully installed and producing power, better than I had hoped for on a bright day and installed a few weeks before the current UK heatwave.   Great, more power for tools and toys....  Uh oh, wife bought an air conditioner for the dog (long haired Shepherd)  The air con is now run off the tracker mount, both wife and dog very pleased... :doh:     Not my intended use, but hey I get to use more power outside of crazy hot days.

 





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CNC / Re: My CNC Router
« Last post by Country Bubba on Today at 07:31:34 AM »
My first thought is your spindle speed it to slow. So I pulled up "Little Machine Shop" on line and plugged in your 1/8" 2 flute Carbide cutter and sure enough, they recommend 27500 rpm! and a feed of 55ipm!  In my experience on a less rigid machine, I tend to slow the feed down a bit, and keep the speed up.
For chip control, as you have a permeable base, I would recommend keeping a vacuum close by and apply the WD as you are. You don't want to recut the chips as it will mess with the finish and "gum up" your cutter.

https://littlemachineshop.com/mobile/speeds_feeds.php

Just one's opinion.




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CNC / Re: My CNC Router
« Last post by BillTodd on Today at 03:33:17 AM »
Rigidity, rigidity, rigidity.

Since you are cutting small parts you might get som milage out of bracing the guide rods (effectively reducing their length ) .

If you can do asymmetrically on the X it might reduce resonance in the paired rods (there is zero torsional strength in the pair  because of the bearings)

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CNC / Re: My CNC Router
« Last post by vtsteam on July 01, 2025, 06:39:59 PM »
This evening, I did an experiment with the CNC router. I have no more single flute bits, so I tried a cheap (5 for $20) double flute 1/8 carbide bit that I had on hand. It's a SpeTool M03008. I set the router at its slowest speed (8000 rpm) and ran it at 8 IPM and a shallow 0.020" DOC. I was cutting .250" scrap aluminum -- probably 6061-t6.

I periodically sprayed WD-40 from the can on the cut. The router cut the piece out quite cleanly, but naturally took a long time, since it was 13 passes at only 8 inches per minute. Swarf built up all over, while cutting. I need something to remove it. (Suggestions?)

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I'm surprised the cheap two flute cutter did better than the specialty Amana single flute designed for aluminum. I'm going to work on increasing DOC -- this first trial was just an experiment to see if it would cut at all.
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CNC / Re: My CNC Router
« Last post by vtsteam on July 01, 2025, 01:27:30 PM »
Here's a pic:

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CNC / My CNC Router
« Last post by vtsteam on July 01, 2025, 12:50:08 PM »
I have a CNC router, which I have used very infrequently over the last ten years or so. Like ten times. It's basically a bare bones 22" x 11" usable table machine with a Bosch Colt router for a spindle. It has microswitches for stops. It is controlled by a parallel port type controller with opto-isolated I/O and three drivers. It has the usual range of available ports. It runs on LinuxCNC.

I've mentioned the stepper driver elsewhere on the forum, when I thought I was going to have to replace it because my dedicated parallel port laptop computer had died. That was solved when I found I could use another old laptop I had. So I'm back with the original setup.

Anyway, I'd like to get more use out of it now that I'm doing hot air engine experiments. My latest use for it is for cutting out small parts for a Scotch yoke drive in aluminum .084" thick to .25" thick. Simple cutouts, not profiling. 

So far I've only done simple cutouts, nothing profiled or pocketed, and that probably will be my lot for the near future, at least with the Colt as a spindle. Minimum speed for the Colt is 8000 rpm, and max is 35000. I just use the onboard switch for speeds, and on/off. I don't have spindle control.

I have used only one type of bit, an Amana # 51471 Solid Carbide CNC Spiral 'O' Single Flute, Aluminum Cutting 1/8" Dia Up-Cut Router Bit.

I had two of those, and just broke my last one. They aren't cheap. I'm thinking about alternatives, and would appreciate suggestions.

To cut a piece of aluminum, I have been either drilling holes in an oversized blank, and screwing it down onto the sacrificial MDF router table surface, or holding it down with small square tabs of thin plywood, screwed down with wood screws as toe clamps. I have sometimes had problems with the toe clamps not holding, so prefer the direct method of holes in the blank with screws -- but it's wasteful. I'd appreciate any suggestions of a better way to go. (However, not at great expense, or complexity. DIY best)

I generate G-code with Sketch-UP and the Sketch-U-Cam add-on. I run it in LinuxCNC (V 2.5.4).

I have no homing setup presently. I do it manually, which is very time consuming, and also not very accurate. I jog the tool to about where I think it should be on the blank. I have a small X and Y allowance before the bottom left corner of the part will start cutting and then zero X and Y. I jog over to a clear area of the MDF tabletop and jog Z down to a slip of paper on the table. When it is a little hard to pull out from under the bit I zero Z.

When writing the G-code I allow a slightly thicker material thickness to allow for (I hope) complete penetration into the table top a little. This doesn't always work out because of the approximate nature of my setting up above. Sometimes the metal is pressed down into the mdf. Sometimes I'm too far through, and I cut though my tabs that are supposed to keep a completed part from coming loose and breaking the router bit.

I'd like to do better than what I have been. I know it's far from ideal. I'm open to suggestions from everyone here about basic improvements I can make that are reasonably simple and I hope inexpensive, ideally DIY, or in methodology, etc. Not things like "buy a water cooled spindle, glass scales, there's a better machine for sale on ebay, etc." -- does that make sense? What can I do that's simple to make things better.... and ideally be specific if you have a construction suggestion -- link to how to, video, or a parts recommendation.

Thanks!
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Gallery / Re: New Office Clock
« Last post by Brass_Machine on June 30, 2025, 08:02:49 AM »
That is cool!
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