Micro computing

[Fixittt]

For the micro computing crowd!
Machined in wax.

[Jayson]

Well done, when will this thumbtop computer go on sale?
I havent made an impulse purchase for a few days now...

[todd71]

That's pretty wild. How long did it take to machine?

[Fixittt]

due to its size it only took a few hours to cut. Actually its one of the faster g codes I have cut. Some of my g codes are 50 meg in size

[todd71]

How do you hold a pc. so small? Melt the wax to the table?
I can't say I've seen anything machined with features so small. Good job.
Used to do a lot of work for Applied Materials. Which used a
PVD (Plasma Vapor Discharge) process over a stencil to etch the
features down to 65nm . It's amazing how small things are getting.
http://www.appliedmaterials.com/prod...?menuID=12_5_1

[Fixittt]

I made a fixture which holds wax slabs that I melt in a mold.

All done on my retrofitted maxnc

[jalessi]

Hey cat how you feeling?

[damae]

You machined that with a MaxNC machine? That's really impressive!

Scratch that. It's impressive no matter what machine you used. How much modification did you do? Is it running the stock steppers, or did you do some upgrading?

[jalessi]

Damae,

Fixittts Max NC is highly modified, the only part that is original is the frame.

Jeff...

[srmaietta]

Fixitt, do you use any type of oil or lube to help clear chips? I noitce wax tends to gum up and melt on me. And how do you get such fine detail? you must use .001 offset per pass? Very slow speed? great work ..
~Steve

[Fixittt]

sorry guys, been really busy lately. as for the wax, there is special carving was for the jewelry industry. It has alot of plastic in it which aids in the carving/machining process. Cuts way down on the melting of the wax. as for the coolant, sometimes i rough in the wax with a 1/16th ballnose endmill then I will switch to a 15 degree conical bit with a .005 thou inch tip. before running the finish pass I will put some mineral oil on the wax which helps in keeping the swarf from compacting into the small areas, and helps with heat.

*EDIT*
to help in the clean up of the mineral oil and chips, I use dish soap in an ultrasonic cleaner it helps remove the oil, then I blow off whats left.

[srmaietta]

thanks fixitt, thats great info.. amazing work!