The Micro Mill
The micro mill is what it is, a micro mill. The micro mill should be considered and purchased for its size and not the price.
I occasionally read (like today) where someone has purchased a micro or a mini mill then reported it wasn’t up to the tasks they had in mind. I am not that kind of person who finds the micro mill design inadequate so I don’t know the full reason.
The first thought though is the mill was purchased because of the low price compared to larger machines. That means it is a good place to try out milling work for not too much money. Small projects and parts are the original consideration as well as the price. That is actually a good strategy starting out.
A bit of success with the micro mill leads to larger projects and more demands on the machine. The micro machine is soon determined to be “inadequate” which is certainly true. But that is not a fault of the machine. A tack hammer should not be used to drive railroad spikes.
What I seldom read is praise from the thousands of micro mills owners who use their machines comfortably within their machine’s designs limits. When not pushed far beyond their inherent limitations the machines will perform wonderfully for years of work and probably for a lifetime of hobby type use. The key to satisfaction is understanding limitations with a positive attitude. There is a term I like called finesse. It’s the art of getting something done in a subtle and delicate manner without exceeding limitations.
Many folks have it, some don’t. Other folks actually need the right tool, a bigger hammer.
Hey! While I have your attention, Have a Great and Happy New Year 2016!
Micro Machining
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- 10 degree 0.005 ball end mill (and #2 pencil)
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- Ball End
I am using my Taig CNC micro mill making 3D carvings in wax for my jewelry work. The very sharp pointy thing is my go-to end mill bit for doing the fine and highly detailed work. The squares are 5 x5 MM. It is a TEB10-005 Tapered Ball End Mill 1/8 x 1-1/2 10° .005. Not cheap at $37.00 each. It does excellent carving with the Taig and the results show the Taig is up for running bits this small. There is actually a ball on the end.Follow the link to BitsBits.com where I get these tiny mill bits.
The other item is of course a common #2 pencil point just for comparison. I have a digital microscope I operate on my Linux box and it is great for inspecting the ends of these tools and taking pictures. I also find the scope useful for examining SMT components on today’s very small circuit boards.
Machine tools this small are rather fragile but wax is a wonderful medium for machining. Bits & Bits has a huge selection of these micro mill buts if you are in need of doing very tiny and precise milling.
4 Inch Machinist Vise
There is now another new tool in the THMS workshop. I received my four inch machinist vise from the Little Machine Shop and have it installed on my Sieg X3 Small Mill. I think it is a great addition to the manual mill and have posted a review in The Hobbyist Machine Shop. http://thehobbyistmachineshop.com/cms/workshop/4-inch-machinist-vise
Jump over there for a close look at this medium priced precision machinist vise.
Workshop Updates
I had to decide where to publish these new photos. It’s not really a new build or project so here we are in the blog. If you have been paying attention you may know I now have two (2) CNC Taig micro mills. The first mill is about ten years old. the new mill is less than a year old.
The original mill has mist cooling available and has a metal pan under the base. It is my primary metal milling machine but has machined far more than just metal. The new machine will be primarily used for dry milling. Mostly the carving of wax masters for lost wax casting. That does NOT rule out its use for anything else I want to machine.
Original Taig Mill
This is the old warhorse. You name it, it has probably machined it. I put up a temporary chip barier on the left when the machine is active. You can see the mist/air nozzle mounted on the spindle. In the right hand corner is the set-up table I built and use for most of my projects.
Original Taig Mill with Smooth Stepper Controller
This is a different angle showing the new $80.00 refurbished computer I just bought. It under the monitor. The price included everything but the monitor. The 48Volt CNC controller is homemade and contains the Smooth Stepper. This is an excellent combination.
New Taig Mill w/4th Axis
This is my brand new Taig CNC mill. I just finished mounting it on this bench. The first mill started out here. The mill is set up for four axis milling. Of course set-ups can be changed at anytime. My intention is to use this mill and location for all my dry milling such as wax masters. With the new digital controller the Taig… Continue reading
Tight Squeeze
Texas weather has finally relented from the high temperatures and we are now into an El Niño wet spell. But it does mean that it is very comfortable for working in my unconditioned garage workshop.
I do have heaters for the winter but no air conditioning for the hot weather. So Fall is the season for me to spend more hours in the shop.
I am presently considering an addition to my Taig X3 Small Mill. I just made a repair to the DROPROS digital scales I have on the machine. Unfortunately, I haven’t been using it enough to keep the memory backup battery charged. It is a 3Volt rechargeable Ni-Cad rather than a large button cell. I killed it once a few years ago and it died on me again just a few weeks ago.
I sent it back to DroPros the first time (free repair) but I did it myself this time. I found the exact same replacement battery on-line. What happens is the Ni-CAD discharges so low and for so long that it reverses one of the cells. Then it will not take a full charge. New battery and the scales are working perfectly again.
How I discovered it was I had a project that I wanted to use the manual mill and the digital scales. I finished the project with the manual scales and ordered the battery.
The project went well but I decided I really needed a heavier and larger vice on the X3. I have been using a 3” screwless vice for years. Now I am looking for a 4” lockdown style vise. It may or may not look like the picture shown. It should weigh about 35 pounds.
The larger jaws, heavier weight and especially the screw action should make my set-ups much easier. I should also… Continue reading