CNC
Broke My Axe
The HB2 broke a coupling on the Y axis again. The couplings have been fine for 6 months. Must be more loads on it than I thought, but it is the axis with the dual steppers. It should have ½ the loads. The X and Z axis have never been a problem.
I thought it was most likely an alignment problem causing the couplings to flex too much. I was very particular in checking the alignment in the last replacement.
This time I am ordering extra heavy couplings from PDJ. They are the same style and exact size as I have been using but are built much stronger. They are a bit less expensive too, probably because Phil buys them in greater volume.
The failure spoiled a project I was cutting. Always happens near the end don’t you just know… I am glad it was a concept part and not some valuable slab of rare wood.
Cold Weather Choices
I spent the weekend deciding weather (sic) to spend time in my 35 degree workshop or my 72 degree home office. (Pun intended). You can probably correctly guess the office won the fair share of the coin tosses.
I can warm up the garage with electric heaters and make it a somewhat enjoyable work space at approximately 62 degrees air temperature. However, I am working on installing a very precise digital readout (DRO) on my big mill and I would like the temperatures to be a bit more stable. I can get the air to 62 but it takes awhile for the big chunk of cast iron and steel (of which the machine is made) to get up to temperature.
I have the non critical work done but the fine tuning needs a few days at a bit warmer temperature. It is all in the joy of trying to maintain precision in a changing environment like an unconditioned garage shop. Open the garage door in winter conditions and “whoosh”, instantly floods in 27 degree air.
I am jealous of the climate controlled workshops of some home machinists. Actually the temperature is not a problem when it stays constant. It is the warming and cooling that is the problem. Starting a series of milling operations at 40 degrees and finish at 75, the dimension reference (datum) will change. It changes anyway because the part being milled gets hot while cutting, but it is nice to reduce some of the variables. Home shop projects usually don’t demand super tight control.
The DRO PROS project will have a full product report in The Hobbyist Machine Shop is a few weeks. Watch for it. (Tell ’em Dan’l sent ya!)
The office work consisted of upgrading two of my computers. I won’t spend much… Continue reading
Wood Plate
Here is a wood plate I made for a family friend. You can see the original in one of the pictures. It was used with a statue of a bulldog holding the plate like a butler or waiter (really).
It was given to me before I started the HB2 project but I did have the Vectric software (but before Aspire). I knew I could make it but not with the smaller Taig mill I was using at the time.
Two of the photos are renderings in Aspire (software) where I designed the plate. Simple, yes but that is all that was desired. Aspire generated the G-code that was used in MACH 3 to operate the HB2. Aspire can be made to do 3D Carve type work if the user plans it well. 3D Carve is another Vectric program.
The board seen in the photos is 12″ x 12″ x .75″ and is Poplar. I was thinking of MDF but couldn’t find it in small quantities. I searched other materials and found 12 inch wide poplar. It is a light wood but fairly stable. I deliberately choose a board that was laminated from several strips. I figure that will help reduce warpage of the thin plate. It kind of looks nice too.
The client will finish the plate and can do what she wants. You can see the original was kind of ugly (just my opinion) and was just painted over something composite like Corian. (That is why I considered MDF first.)
Bottom line, if I can draw it I can make it. Cut time was just over 2 hours but not optimized since it is a one-off project.
Be an Angel
Cherub is more accurate. I made this on the HB2 Sunday. I was of course running the Taig spindle. The roughing and the finish were both done with a 1/8 (0.125) inch ball end mill. The total run time was 1 hour and 35 minutes at 50 IPM. 10,600 RPM.
The spindle is now just slightly warm after that kind of run. The spindle break in has about 5 hours of run time. The motor was HOT but that is normal for the motor and that run time. Taig rates it as a continuous duty motor so heat is not a problem.
Another note:
The Sieg X3 mill motor controller has been replaced (lightning damage) and the machine is back into operation! Yea!
Listen, You have to see this.
Here is a video of the Taig ER spindle running on the HB2. If it will not run in IE7 or IE8 browsers, turn off the protected mode. Microsoft has gone psyco on protection!
In the close up pictures the camera microphone was about 6 inches away from the motor. Note that the Stepper “tunes” are not drounded out by spindle noise. The farther away shots give a clearer understanding how quiet the Taig spindle operates. The cutting in this video was at 10,600 rpm and the travel was 50 IPM.
I love this operation and have a complete new spindle setup on order. Actually several. I also did some V-carving as a test. Works as expected as I have been running this setup on the Taig mill for several years.
Here is a picture of the finished carving. Two passes in 45 minutes. Nothing fancy, just some pocketing to give the HB2 a bit of a workout. This is not a keeper, but looks great.
Name and Callsign