The past six weeks have been filled mostly with repetition and progression of existing projects. The 4th axis is progressing nicely, almost finished with the final step of making a custom adapter plate for a 3 jaw chuck. I mostly plan to use round stock material on the 4th axis so a self-centering chuck is needed for a quick and accurate part change out.
The Bridgeport mill has been getting some good ol' fashion trial and error practice making parts. After 7 attempts I finally have an "acceptable" quality part for a custom racecar project. Each piece was an experiment with different cutting strategies. There is much to learn!
The bad news is I ruined 1 drill bit and 3 new end mills trying, but the good news is I learned ALOT!
It's quite a satisfying feeling to see the mess that a running machine makes! You may notice the coolant spray that has been added to the machine :-) Once the cutting begins there's alot of heat generated! That's how the above picture has melted aluminum in the teeth of the cutter...
Not a huge pile of swarf, but hopefully a sign of bigger ones to come!
2-flute end mills! And you'll need an air-blast lubricant mister if you're not going to flood it! (Nevermind, I just saw the coolant nozzle...let the mess begin!) Nice work, you're paying your dues! And there are a lot of dues, trust me! Evan
ReplyDeleteJealous.
ReplyDeleteYour chips look pretty thin. If you have the rigidity, up the feed and load the tool more. You should be able to get 0.005-0.015" per tooth. This will make the tool cut more than rub, puts all the heat in the chip and keeps your part and tool cooler.
The concept is a little counter intuitive.. tools breaking? go faster!
I've only been cutting about 0.003" per tooth, time to step it up!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is getting hard to understand, which means you must be doing a great job. Keep it up!
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