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Home built CNC Mill - Gonna make a 1911


StraightUp_OG

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Thats so much handle cranking! What's the final weight? Did that comp arrive today?

"Hand cranking" I think that makes a true machinist, that slide is a lot of DRO read out..looks awesome. I've cranked the handles for 13+ years but it comes a time that you pulled to the " Dark Side" to keep up with the times and that time is now…..

Edited by GlennRasch
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Hand cranking won't make you the money a CNC will for sure. With saved programs, saved common tooling, saved offsets and fixtures that use ball locks to position them you can turn out product in minutes instead of hours and have very little scrap because once you have a process in place repeatable results are the norm. If you have very deep pockets a CNC 4 or 5 axis mill with probing capabilities is just insane.

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"Hand cranking" I think that makes a true machinist, that slide is a lot of DRO read out..looks awesome. I've cranked the handles for 13+ years but it comes a time that you pulled to the " Dark Side" to keep up with the times and that time is now..

You going to pull the trigger on a tormach?

I turned the handles and read the DRO's just long enough to build all the parts to convert my machine to CNC! Been thinking about a setup that can do all the slide machining work in one operation.

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I'm very happy with my Tormach, but it is definitely a case of you get what you pay for. I wish I could afford a VF2, but that is out of my price range, so I'll continue to make improvements to my tormach until I've resolved it's issues.

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What's up with your Tormach? If you have room for a VF2 there are likely options that cost alot less, like a Fadal.

I still have to fit whatever I do next into my garage, with all the cars out, but I can't squeeze anything but a Haas Mini Mill through the garage door opening. So I've been gravitating toward the same machine we got at work. I just need to figure out the right mix of stuff to be able to actually pay for it!

Edited by jid2
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"Hand cranking" I think that makes a true machinist, that slide is a lot of DRO read out..looks awesome. I've cranked the handles for 13+ years but it comes a time that you pulled to the " Dark Side" to keep up with the times and that time is now..

You going to pull the trigger on a tormach?

I turned the handles and read the DRO's just long enough to build all the parts to convert my machine to CNC! Been thinking about a setup that can do all the slide machining work in one operation.

YES….. I'm going to the dark side, going up to Austin next week, I'll have my check book with me, it will pay off in the long run. I have a new Acer 3VK on a pallet I bought a year ago at my wife's office ,I need to bring over also.

Edited by GlennRasch
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What's up with your Tormach? If you have room for a VF2 there are likely options that cost alot less, like a Fadal.

I still have to fit whatever I do next into my garage, with all the cars out, but I can't squeeze anything but a Haas Mini Mill through the garage door opening. So I've been gravitating toward the same machine we got at work. I just need to figure out the right mix of stuff to be able to actually pay for it!

The Brother is a beautiful machine, but is way out of my price range. I'm also working in my garage, so the VF2 would be a very tight fit, if it would fit at all.

The Tormach issues are minor, but still frustrating. I'm having problems with the tool holders pulling out of the collet. The PDB is a pretty cheesy spring loaded design, IMO, but others aren't having any problems so I probably just need to get everything cleaned and adjusted properly. The other thing I'm addressing is the base. It appears when they designed it they didn't think about using coolant. It doesn't drain very well, and when water starts to build up it leaks in several places. I'm building a new stand to address both issues.

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The real challenge with a VMC is getting it through a typical garage door that is 7ft high, if you have more than that you will likely be OK. I've seen guys pull the header in the opening and cut a notch for the machine to slip into during install. I really need more table space than a Mini Mill provides as well, the Brother has X and Y travels almost the same as a VF2. Brother is X/Y 27"x15.7", VF2 is X/Y 30"x16". But yeah it's more money, and I need to convince myself I can actually have stuff that can keep it busy.

I struggle with pull out on my machine as well, the drawbar design I used is about the same as Tormach. Keeping things clean is important, also making the pre-load as tight as possible. Use as much air pressure to the air cylinder as you have. Also tighten the drawbar to the point that the tools just barely slip in. I just found a method of manually tightening each tool with my hand when I swap it out. This gives me max tension, it wouldn't work with an ATC, but it does changing by hand. I'm basically grabbing the nose of the spindle and twisting it by hand with the tool in-place and the drawbar under a pressure and taking out all the slack in the system. I then have to do the reverse to get the tool out, but it's really just a half-turn or so.

I also did a crappy job designing my enclosure now that I understand real machining better. My initial thought was "keep the chips in the machine and not on my floor", and coolant can kinda drain through all that. The way a real machine works is "I don't want to have to scoop these chips out of this machine, I need them out of here", using the coolant flow to carry the chips out and then filter out of the machine. I would build the drains like a real machine and have them come out the back.

This sucks.

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This is way better.

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Edited by jid2
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Thats the plan, Im going to use it for 3 gun. If you look at the ELS clip it is really a thin flimsy looking thing, but once installed in the base its secure.

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As a guy who deals with 3D printed parts every day I wouldnt want them printed. The common materials dont deal with sliding surfaces well, and it really isnt that strong. Injection molding would be ideal, but machining works for right meow.

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