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-Tips and Tricks- |
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General Tips |
![]() 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. |
![]() 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. |
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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. |
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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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