Can Watr jet cutting and laser cutting make endmills obsolete?

[philbur]

Not really a major technology jump though.

Phil

Originally Posted by Geof In some cases radically different flute/helix geometry, carbides with an impact resistance and coatings that were not even dreamed about 30 years ago.

[cyclestart]

Originally Posted by escott76 . You've already got SLS (selective laser sintering) for 3D parts as well, but it will take a while to get it down to the level of a fast mill in terms of speed and overall cost.

I just googled that term. Interesting stuff. Sinterrring (sp?) reminds of Oilite bushings. Anyone here handled a product created by one of these machines ? Could it for instance build sharp corners or a smooth ss mold ?

[slashmaster]

Originally Posted by philbur People where using endmills 30 years ago and they are still using them today, where's the advance. 30 years ago I had a small manual lathe sitting on a bench, it's still there and I'm still using it. Nothing wrong with dreaming, but holding your breath can be fatal. Phil

Only 30 years?

[kweierbach]

if someone would have said 30yrs ago that someday they use a lazer to improve your eye sight I'd said only in the movies. so the thought of a pulse controled water jet to do pockets or 3d surface work I don't think is imposable

kevin

[kweierbach]

Originally Posted by philbur People where using endmills 30 years ago and they are still using them today, where's the advance. 30 years ago I had a small manual lathe sitting on a bench, it's still there and I'm still using it. Nothing wrong with dreaming, but holding your breath can be fatal. Phil

But 30yrs ago you didn't think that if you wanted to you could cnc it.

[escott76]

Originally Posted by kweierbach if someone would have said 30yrs ago that someday they use a lazer to improve your eye sight I'd said only in the movies. so the thought of a pulse controled water jet to do pockets or 3d surface work I don't think is imposable kevin

Many things are "possible", but their utility may not be where it needs to be to make it common enough to replace existing tech. The OP asked if he should forget about learning about end mills. In that sense the timescales do not seem likely to produce said results quickly enough to make sense to just forget technology that has been useful and will continue to be useful for many years to come.
That all being said, take a look sometime at the pierce sites on laser or AWJ cut parts, especially thick ones. Both AWJ and laser work well when through cutting. The lasers use assist gas to blow the molten metal clear of the cut line. Before that it's just hammering the surface until it can penetrate. Makes an awful mess, and it would make pocket machining tricky at best. I'll bet you would see pulsed power lasers before you saw that level of pulse control in an AWJ, but pulsing the kind of power needed to cut metal is going to be tricky in and of itself. Never stop shooting for the stars, but to just ignore all the history up until that point seems silly.

[Boots]

After watching the video I see the Water jet has advanced a bit sence it's eariler days...this is good as we all need more options doing our work.

[LongRat]

Originally Posted by cyclestart I just googled that term. Interesting stuff. Sinterrring (sp?) reminds of Oilite bushings. Anyone here handled a product created by one of these machines ? Could it for instance build sharp corners or a smooth ss mold ?

Yes, I work with parts created by an EOS M270 machine. You can build sharp corners (internal and external) and build in various hard steels, titanium, inconel, cobalt chrome and other materials. Off the machine, the surface is like a very fine casting. You have to hand finish the parts if you want a high finish, but the results can be excellent. The best uses for these machines are working in materials that are very difficult to machine, or to create geometries that are impossible any other way. You only use as much material as is required in the part - important when the material is expensive such as 24 Carat solid gold, which can be done on the M270.

[escott76]

Originally Posted by cyclestart I just googled that term. Interesting stuff. Sinterrring (sp?) reminds of Oilite bushings. Anyone here handled a product created by one of these machines ? Could it for instance build sharp corners or a smooth ss mold ?

There are a bunch of ways to make "a part" with 3D tech such as SLS. We run several different types of rapid prototyping equipment here. Good stuff, and although the tech has come a LONG ways in a relatively short amount of time, it is still limited in it's utility, accuracy and certainly in it's cost factor. Where many of these technologies really make sense is in the design and proto stage, where it's quick to make one to test, rather than commit traditional resources to programming and manufacturing. For instance you might produce pieces of a housing on a RP machine. Test the fit of the circuit boards, display and buttons, maybe even use it as promo material or for a pitch to investors. When the times comes it's going to be hard to beat injection molding for low overall cost per part. You've got the investment in tooling, which is what you save in buying a rapid prototyping machine for design itterations.

[serriadh]

Laser sintering is capable of doing some very impressive things; not all of them necessarily useful right now There are quite a few artists working with laser sintered metal, Bathsheba is an interesting example. There's a way to go yet before you'll be making serious parts this way, but it is coming. Laser technology is still in its infancy, after all. The only limit of the technology is being unable to make sealed vacancies in the part; not a major issue in the long term, I'd say.

[Torsten]

Originally Posted by slashmaster I'm starting to wonder if I could waste too much time and money learning about and collecting endmills, drill bits and collets when Lasers or water jets might be able to do the same thing better without tool changes? Can some other technology ever make endmills obsolete?

Sure they will be obsolete. I am quite convinced that 200 years from now people will look at you funny when using a endmill.
So best thing to do is just relax and enjoy life untill then.
Good Luck

[Matt McColley]

there's more to life than extruded 2D geometry