X2 cnc finished for now maybe

[Bob Adams]

Hey project5k, This would not require Tapping or epoxy, just press in the nut.
checkout my software at:
http://www.cad2gcode.com/millshapes/
Bob A

[project5k]

i dont know if i can reliably press a nut into solid alum... and i would allways be worried that they would vibrate out over time... Plus i'm using square nuts, not hex... but thanks...

[Bob Adams]

Originally Posted by project5k i dont know if i can reliably press a nut into solid alum... and i would allways be worried that they would vibrate out over time... Plus i'm using square nuts, not hex... but thanks...

How do you plan on cutting and drilling that many squares?

[hoss2006]

Making progress.
Have the tooling plate milled flat and all the holes drilled, reamed and counter sunk.
Now on to tapping.
Changed my tapping program to retract less for the chip break and increased the feed rates
so hopefully I should get the holes all tapped this weekend.
I would post a little video but my site is down again, freakin Canada.
My server is in Ontario, must be iced up.
Thinking again about Godaddy.
This is costing me money, Can't get any ad clicks,
if everyone that visited just clicked one ad on their way out, that would be awesome.
They are on here too so take a sec and help out the zone.
Hoss

[Oldboy]

Hi Hoss
Sent you a email a week ago. Not sure if you got it.
Anyway I like your site and will try to click on a few AD's every day if it will help you out. Im very interested in your 4th Axis Lathe CNC set up.
Would like to know more about it. To see if it would do 12 TPI threads on 4340 Steel 30 inch long Barrels? And could be made to do Tapering & Flutting barrels?

[hoss2006]

Hey Oldboy,
I replied but got a network error.
I didn't think my setup could turn those threads on aluminum yet alone steel.
Maybe with a much bigger motor (1000 oz/in +) and a larger pulley ratio 4:1, perhaps.
Tapers are no problem and flutes should be possible if there's enough X travel.
Got me thinking about the threads.Hmmm.
Maybe I could use bit in the spindle for Thread Milling, then rotate the head 90 degrees.
Use that to cut the threads along the X axis, should be able to cut anything that way.
Now I have another project to try out.
Hoss

P.S. Got about 150 holes tapped tonight, got it down to 25 seconds per hole.
A lot faster than doing it by hand.
http://www.hossmachine.com

[Oldboy]

Hi Hoss
May be you got my email address wrong some how? Any way I will keep in touch. Another email.
25 Sec. per hole? Thats FAST. It would have taken you a week to drill by hand. Thats if your hand holds up.
Yes I was thinking of a large stepper motor to drive the 4th axis.
And for Tapering Barrels or just lathe turning use the existing lathe motor like you did. But with a slower RPM for steel.
I was all so thinking of purchasing a End Mill for threads. They make them you know?
But you dont need to rotate the head 90 degrees.
Just make sure tip of end mill is center on part to be treaded and go.

[hoss2006]

Good point, just have to locate some 60 degree end mills.
These at Harvey Tool may work but really for drilling and not recommended for steel though.

I have the Tooling Plate video up at

youtube

youtube

.
Hoss

[project5k]

ok, so hoss, i'm drawing up my plate and the machining that goes with it, inserting square nuts in from the backside and then epoxying them in, but it dawned on me pretty early on that the tooling plate is larger than the working area of my mill, so how do you suggest that i do one section, move it and do the next and actually get it lined up correctly?

[hoss2006]

Hey Proj,
Truthfully, if you're just putting in bolt holes for clamping, the locations don't
need to be all that accurate. The clamps can put anywhere.
But if you want location pins like I also added, accuracy is a must.
I want to be able to push in a couple .250 pins then butt the work, vise, etc.
up against them. Then I can clamp it down knowing the edge is parallel with the axis.
My work area is 12 x 18.5 but the plate bolt pattern is 12 x 19.
I just removed the home switch trigger(bolt) so I could overtravel the X axis.
If I wanted to go farther, I would pick an edge to use as the datum, I wrote BACK on the plate in the picks.
I indicated that edge parallel with the Y axis, machined the plate, then flipped it around to the opposite side.
I reindicated the same BACK edge parallel with the Y again and finished the other side.
If you want to just slide the X axis down to finish a few more holes, you could use pins in the table.
Like I did when milling the new longer X axis.
Machine a bunch of holes, slide the tooling plate down keeping it against the pins and reclamp.
Indicate the last hole drilled and the rest will line up.
There just has to be something in common (datum) with the first setup and the second, plate edge, hole, whatever.
Hoss

[project5k]

yea, i was figuring that i had to have a common denominator.. i was thinking about using the machine itself... something along the lines of mount it, cut the first set, then using the head in a hole, unclamp the part, and move the x and y axis, using the onscreen DRO's to know exactly how far, then reclamp and verify the theory being that the head would hold the plate in place and not move in relation to the world, but the table could slide under the part.. then reset my zeros, and procede.
and your right, for this, where i'm just making holes it dosent need to be perfect, but this is an excercize for the future, i can afford some error on this, but if i can learn in my shop how to tackle an oversized part, then when the real need arrizes, i know what i'm able to do...

[hoss2006]

I uploaded a video showing the 60 tooth timing pulley milling procedure.
It's the one I used for the Tapping Attachment for the spindle.
Haven't been doing much this week except cleaning up the shop getting
ready to build the flood coolant enclosure.
Looks like it's gonna be about 42 x 55 inches at the base.
I should just use this big tub that I have sitting unused in the basement.
Hoss