Help with small parts

[Mark Stehr]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum, but I've been reading it for quite a while.

I went to school for machining (2 yrs) and also watchmaking school. I worked as a machinist for a few years now I am looking to make 1 of a kind watches (annual production under 12 pieces a year) So I am very familiar with G & M , CAD/CAM and hand finishing to very tight tolerances. I know I will have to burnish and finish all the parts by hand and I don't want to spend too much money at first (under 1000.00 up to 3000.00 would be nice!)

I will be cutting thin steel no thicker than 0.5 mm (as thin as 0.2) and also softer metals such as brass and german silver up to 2mm thick 40 mm square.

Question #1- Will I gain more accuracy with an engraver and can it be cheaper? Or is it better to go with a machine like the Taig Micro Mill? (any machine suggestions)

I am currently looking at the Taig with 10,000 rpm micro mill, around $2000.00

Question #2- What additional factors or other machines should I consider?

Any help is much appreciated,
Thanks everyone in advance.

[youngjim]

Maybe ask these guys? They seem to be in the same field - albeit on a larger scale - and might be willing to offer a little insight.

Jim

[Belzebub]

Hello.
I am also new to this forum.I recently bought the SYIL X4 standard CNC MILL.They also have the X4 SPEEDMASTER from 8000-24000 Rpm.For your line of busines i think it can make it happen.I make plastic injection molds and the X4 Standard suites me wery well.I saw on you tube the X4 speed master dealing with titanium,so the silver has no chance .I hope it was usefull.

[Mark Stehr]

I found the link to be right up my alley!

What I am mulling over now, is that I would like a small starter machine with collet/spindles I can rapidly change. I hate to think of manually calibrating every time I want to make a tool change. EXAMPLE= calibrate then spot drill, calibrate then drill, calibrate then bore, calibrate then ream. Does any one have a reasonably priced cnc mill with manual change collets that can be done fast and accurately, or am I assuming that this is a bigger problem than it really is? Can all actually be done conveniently?

[Randy Forbes]

Originally Posted by Mark Stehr I found the link to be right up my alley! What I am mulling over now, is that I would like a small starter machine with collet/spindles I can rapidly change. I hate to think of manually calibrating every time I want to make a tool change. EXAMPLE= calibrate then spot drill, calibrate then drill, calibrate then bore, calibrate then ream. Does any one have a reasonably priced cnc mill with manual change collets that can be done fast and accurately, or am I assuming that this is a bigger problem than it really is? Can all actually be done conveniently?

AN Emco PC Mill 50 sounds like it would be ideal for you. I'd show you several pictures of mine, but my web server is being moved this weekend, and the photo gallery is offline for a few days.

Well, I just checked and it's still online, so look fast, or look again in a day or so. http://www.rfdm.com/gallery/album151

[Jeff-Birt]

With good small machine tool to get very precise cuts at the scale your talking about will require fine tuning it to remove as much backlash as possible. You can get the Taig's backlash down to 0.0005" which is probably about as good as any other small mill in the same price range.

The Taig spindle is very precise, I just used one to drill a 0.096" hole in a small wave guide (RF). The hole had to have precisely square edges, no burrs or deburring marks allowed. I used a new carbide bit and backed up the backside of the hole with a small strip of aluminum. The little Taig did a perfect job according the the customer.

In your price range I think the Taig would provide the most mill for the dollar spent in terms of utility and durability. (But hey I'm a Taig dealer so I am a bit biased )

You should also consider the quality of control / drive you will be using. If I might humbly suggest you look here: http://cnczone.com/CNCPartsPage4.aspx

With any collet system you will have to set the tool height with each bit change. You can get 1/8" shank carbide tooling with depth rings installed that will keep each tool withing +- 0.001" or so. You can also use solid tool holders such as: http://cnczone.com/A2Z_ToolHolder.aspx, they screw on in place of the collet nut. You do have to set each tool up precisely in the holders with the same protrusion though. With Mach 3 you can also use a tool setting probe/macro that will touch the tool down on the touch plate and reset the Z axis to zero the tool.