What is your Coolest Tool??????

[tobyaxis]

Originally Posted by DennisCNC I have a 2" holder but can get a 2.5" i'm sure. I use a 2" endmill quite often, when I don't feel like taking light cuts I also have a 12" shell mill. I might have a 3" drill with a #5 morse end.

I'd like to see that 12" Shell Mill in action

[fmari]

This is a 6 part indexer I engineered and made myself for a HAAS vf-3. I can index 6 parts every 90 degrees and clamp with 6000lbs of force all by 110psi shop air. I have an encoder built inside that communicates with the machine. SO if it gets stuck the machine will know and alarm out. Also the machine knows what side it is one.

[mog5858]

now that is really cool part holder good job. did it take much to get the 2 too tock back and forth. we had a 6" and a 12" shell cutter at school uesd the 6 to squar things up regualy. as for the 12" i think i made a job just so i could use it. lol it was so heavy had all hss in for cutters.

[tobyaxis]

NICE!!!!!!!!!

[fmari]

The indexer indexes automatically. I wired an air solenoid to a spare M-code. a simple m52 in my program would make the indexer rotate 90 degrees. I would then lock when you cancel the m-code. This program runs for 5 hours unmanned and when finished all 4-sides are complete. 41 tools, over 250 holes per block. Most holes are plus or minus .001.

[trooper55]

Originally Posted by fmari The indexer indexes automatically. I wired an air solenoid to a spare M-code. a simple m52 in my program would make the indexer rotate 90 degrees. I would then lock when you cancel the m-code. This program runs for 5 hours unmanned and when finished all 4-sides are complete. 41 tools, over 250 holes per block. Most holes are plus or minus .001.

Thats quite a job! awsome holddown

[fmari]

If you look at the picture I have a limit switch on the middle body rear right side. Before any tool change I have the tool touch the limit switch. If the tool is broken the machine stops. Even though I am drilling over 100 holes that are 3/16 diameter and 3.875 deep the machine is very reliable. The probe is a must. Some of my form tools are $600 each.

[tobyaxis]

That is very wise. A friend of mine did something like this for a Swiss that kept breaking end mills. If the tool didn't touch the switch it would stop and wait for a new tool.

Lights-Out operation is a huge plus for small shops.

[pointcloud]

I love my tool.....s...

I like the 1/2" 6" flute mostest..

But the others are
1/8" tpaer 2.5 1/2" shank
1/4" 4" 3/8" shank
1/2" 6" 1/2"
1/2" 8" 1/2"
3/4"10" 3/4"
1/4" 2.5 1" ..1/2" shank

I have some tiny ones to but I don't like to talk about little tools...

Yea... I broke one... well 2... one was 1/2" 8".... BOY WAS I MAD!!!!


Nice to see this thread!!! Thanks TOBYAXIS......



Later... M

[Jim Estes]

Being a moldmaker, one of the coolest tools I use is the sprue reamer, it is a 1/2" tapre per foot reamer, that has about 6" of flute, it tapers to about 0.093" at the tip. It cost me $180.00 new but it is really worth it.

I also make special profile cutters on my Deckel Grinder. I have made tiny little 0.012" carbide cutters for machining tiny details in graphite electrodes, and have made carbide radius cutters and t-slot cutters to machine undercut portions of mold cavities.

I have also used my EDM to burn the cutting profile for a turning cutter for making special rollers that had 10 different radii and angles. After making the cutter, all I had to do was feed the cutter into the workpiece until the profile was complete and then the part was cut off and the next on started.

By far though the coolest thing I use to cut with is the EDM electode. I know that's not really a cutter but I have done some truly amazing things with it.

I once burned a full page of instructions into a mold for a vacuum cleaner, there had to be 200 words all engraved into one electrode, after burning (which took about 2 hours) I had 200 words in P-20 steel standing up 0.04". It took about 10 minutes to polish the top to a good shine and that was done. Truly amazing.

I have also set up multiple parts to be machined at the same time, setting up ten pieces in a row and using one electrode to burn the details on all ten pieces.


Jim