CNC milling projects for newbies...

[llahets]

Hi all, hope this is the right place to post...I'm teaching CNC milling to apprentices, I only get them for a month at a time, and they come to me with no CNC knowledge. I teach them the basics, using Fanuc and in metric, with aluminium as material, with cutters such as 10mm slot drills, 6mm ballnoses, 20mm rippers, 80mm face mills and various drills. I have them making a few nice projects, such as a clock housing, a pair of dice and so on, but I'm out of ideas. Can anyone suggest anything a basic apprentice could mill, preferably out of the vice, that will grab the attention of a teenager? Any suggestions, photos, drawings or programs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading folks

[doorknob]

This may be too simple a project for your purposes, but my experience a few years back while taking an Introduction to Machine Technology class along with a number of younger students (in their early twenties, perhaps aged 21 or 22) was that several of them decided to create aluminum signs or nameplates as their class projects. They milled the letters into blocks of aluminum or aluminum plate.

The Haas CNC machines were not available for our use at the time, but there were several Bridgeports outfitted with conversational controls (Accu-rite Millpwr) that could be programmed after a fashion. I remember that one of them did his own name in a fancy font and with some kind of geometric outline design. Another one made a F* You sign that would work well as a paperweight (even at that advanced age they were still little different from a bunch of rowdy teenagers). And another one made a PRNDL shifter panel for use on an older car.

[Bob Adams]

Hi all, hope this is the right place to post...I'm teaching CNC milling to apprentices, I only get them for a month at a time, and they come to me with no CNC knowledge. I teach them the basics, using Fanuc and in metric, with aluminium as material, with cutters such as 10mm slot drills, 6mm ballnoses, 20mm rippers, 80mm face mills and various drills. I have them making a few nice projects, such as a clock housing, a pair of dice and so on, but I'm out of ideas. Can anyone suggest anything a basic apprentice could mill, preferably out of the vice, that will grab the attention of a teenager? Any suggestions, photos, drawings or programs would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading folks

Hi, I have at my site How to make milling clamps.
Check it out.
Bob A
CNC Programming Software Tools

[llahets]

Thanks folks, some good ideas there