hobby
Not Makin’ It
After working in my shop on a successful project I sometimes ask myself if I could make a bunch of this or that and sell them for a profit. It’s fun to think about a running a little cottage industry. I bet any reader of this blog has thought the same thing about something they enjoy doing and making.
I have published many times my thought that most of the hobbies I do involving manufacturing are not because it is the least expensive way to make something. Usually it is the only way. The onsies and twosies items hobbyists make are more like expensive prototypes than mass production.
Examining all the costs and time involved, I have satisfied myself that most people including myself won’t pay for all the costs of something that can clearly be mass produced at a lower cost. The perceived value must be greater than the cost to produce plus reasonnable profit.
What we call “original art” falls into that category. There is an emotional value with original art that makes it worth owning at higher than mass production price. A plain wooden mass produced box can probably be imported to the USA, completely built for $0.99 and after hand carving, painting or finishing at a cost of $10.00, can be sold for $25.00 at a boutique. Making the box from scratch, one at a time may have a COST to produce of over $25.00. If you are an artist with talent, the same box may be worth $250.00 to someone.
So the options are to become very good and fast at duplication or provide something special that has far more value than the cost of the time and material. I think it takes a little of both. Actually, getting paid well to make prototypes… Continue reading
Just a Coupler of Things
Helical Beam Shaft Couplings
These are the Helical Beam Shaft Couplings I ordered for the HB2 project. The size is 1 inch in diameter and one inch in length. These are the clamp on type and so will not mar the 1/4 inch shafts like a set screw.
These couplings are rated to withstand 42 peak inch/pounds of torque. That’s 672 in/ounces. The holding power of the steppers is a little over 300 oz/inches so there is a 2X safety margin in my selection.
The helical in the name implies a coil and if you look close you can see there are two coils cut into each coupling. The material is anodized aluminum and adds very little weight to the rotating mass.
This may be a bit deluxe, but the motor drive train is a critical operational part in the design of any CNC machine and I want zero binding between the motor and the screws. No steps dropped because of alignment problems.
The Color Angle
This is a little “artsy” Photoshop work. These are the steel corner angles I made for the HB2 project. For a little extra finesse, I rounded the corners and they are in their final paint color.
The color I have chosen is “John Deer Yellow”. I like that shade as it seems to have some “character” rather than bright or lemon yellow.
The background in this assembled graphic is actually an extremely out of focus shot of these same components. That way I would be sure to have a color that was compatible but not exactly the same for use as the background.
Now you know the color I have selected for HB2. Yellow is a popular tool color these days and I just HAD to be different than other versions of this machine.
There is of course more pictures and information published in the THMShop website.
Drilling
“
Hey Dan! Ya got yer arm in the way!”
Yep, I guess I do. There are better pictures in the THMS web story.
I have also opened one of the linear rail/bearing packages and taken a closer look before drilling the holes. All is well and construction is proceeding.
It is another one of those 100+ degree Texas weekends. The coolness of last weekend is gone.
Frankly Scarlet, I like doing this so much I don’t give a um… hoot. Turn up the fans another notch!
Getting the Hole Thing Done
Parts is Parts
Great weekend weather so there was some comfort working in the metal shop. Progress is being made on HB2! The picture shows a few of the components made today.
The linear rails are not here yet so that is holding me up a bit on painting the steel rails but there is plenty of other things to do. The rails are drilled except for the rail mounting holes. I feel certain the templates are fine as the rails are the same brand as recomended.
The X3 mill is coming in handy making the large holes. There are other ways suggested to make the holes but a boring head is the best.
There is a LOT of holes to drill. Anyone contemplating the full build, The templates are a MUST. Direct layout from the plans would be a killer for me. The money spent is well worth the time saved and accuracy created.
Something dawned on me whilst whittling away the hours this week end. This process of building the machine from raw stock is not the process to follow if the goal is to only save money on the purchase of a CNC router. I am doing this because I love to build machines. I am doing MACHINE SHOP work here, not CNC router work.
This is very much like my Ham Radio hobby. A few hams still like to build their radio equipment. Others buy their radios from the store and just like to operate. Others build what they can and buy what they can’t. In the end it doesn’t matter. We just do what light’s our fire!