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-Tips and Tricks-


*** ORDER OF PAGE ***

- General tips
- Faster Tapping on the Lathe 
- Manual tool changing g-code.

*** OTHER TIPS ***

MY CNC SETUP
LINKS

*** TIPS FROM OTHERS ***

For other tips and tricks visit CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO, CNCZone, and Sherline Group or your favorite newsgroup. Please note some/many
of the tips probably come from these sites. Thanks guys!

 

Have a simpler better way to do the same things as below? Have a tip? Please share! 


General Tips

scotchtape.jpg (70102 bytes)
Scotch Double-Side tape
,
The thinner stuff you can find at office supply stores has been a life saver in holding work. Try it out, you will be amazed!

Superglue (CA)
I use a lot of superglue and scrap pieces to mount work. I glue the metal or whatever to the scrap piece and hold that in the vice.
Tightening Endmill
Tighten your endmill so the screw is at the top part of the flat. This way the endmill cannot be pulled out further. Keep your endmill as short as possible.
Join the lines
in  your CAD drawing so the converting program does not put in extra Z movements. This can be a real time saver.
Cutting Oil
Use light cutting oil on the lathe and mill, I generally use 3-in-1 oil as it's thicker then WD-40. Both will work, use something. 
0000 Steel Wool
Use #0000 steel wool to give your parts a great shine while on the lathe. Start SLOW and careful as the wool will grab any burr left on the part. 
Use the proper buffing compound and buffing wheel on the bench grinder, it's wonderful!  While tightening down your stepper motor mounts,
 check to see if the leadscrew deflect. If so, your mount is not parallel to the axis and you will find binding in the system. File, add shim, do what you need to to make the movement of the axis smooth though out its range. 
Do not open up
 and pull apart any stepper motor! It will instantly lose torque and become less effective! Don't ask me how I know this :):)
Curiosity killed the cat right.
frouter.jpg (75547 bytes)
Fish Tail Router
Need routers to cut carbon or foam, get them from jtg1969 
on ebay! Awesome price, shipping, case, etc. Thanks!
Vinyl Graphic Cutting Blades
Buy them from www.uscutter.com  Awesome price on ebay.

Tapping Faster on the Lathe

I finally figured out a way to tap faster holes. I will add pics soon. Basically what you want to do is put the tap into the hole using the tailstock and spindle. Normally, you should tap in 1-2 turns and then out half. I have found if your tapping a hole correctly (the tap is going straight in and your using oil) you don't have to back out for quite a few turns. In fact, on one test with 6061-T6 aluminum, I turned my 3mm tap 6 times and then backed it out 2 and then in again about 5. It never broke a sweat. I don't suggest this, as this was just a test. Of course USE OIL.

-HERE IS THE KEY- you want your tailstock chuck to be "free floating" so you can back out much faster! It works perfectly! Of course the tailstock cannot be locked either. Use either your hand to turn the "free floating chuck" (keep moving the tailstock closer as the tap goes in) or turn the piece on SLOW rpm (be very careful if you do this) until the tap is in a few turns. Then every so slightly pop out the tailstock chuck (just like your removing it) but leave it free floating in the holder. Now you can use your hands to back it out much faster to clear the chips.

Pics to come.

My Manual Tool Change Technique

Here is the code I put into the program.



Questions? Comments? Ideas? I would love to hear from you!
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