Do you guys prefer code with many indvidual point to machine S spline ( example) or multiple arcs?

I feel that arcs are less code per second for machine,so its easy to " digest"?

Am I wrong?

Our shop is looking for a couple experienced mill operators. As most know, it’s easier said than done. We are a small shop in rural PA with about 10 machinists but we aren’t keeping up with our customers demands.

We fired a decent machinist about 10 years ago because he was one of those toxic elements in the shop. He drank a lot and missed some work, and liked to stir up drama in the shop whenever he was bored.

Fast forward to now… Hes cleaned up his act and wants to come back to work for us. He went to rehab and has new hobbies, a family, a kid, seems like a totally new man. We want to hire him back, but we have 2 guys in our shop that are very hesitant. They were the ones that he really bothered the most when he was working for us. We don’t want to lose 2 good guys to get 1 good one back. Thoughts? I think everyone deserves a second chance. We are thinking of hiring him and if he goes right back to his old ways, firing him immediately.

Prototyping shop that's about to get a sinker and with it a bunch of electrode holders. Which means it's finally time I can push palletizing for the wire, conventional machining, and inspection side of things.

What are your opinions on the erowa's ITS system vs system3R's macroGrip? I'm preferring the ITS system because of it's simpler design and what looks like more workholding offerings than system3R.

Have you found their marketing claims to be true? 2 micron repeatability?

Just for curiosity sake, anyone tried out Innolite's nanogrip stuff? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDlNUAybzZE

Just cutting some material, thought it’d be funny.. lol

So im in the UK in a small machine shop (20 or so staff)

We are not allowed radios or an earbud because its apparently unprofessional and garage like

Also we are not allowed red toolboxes because it looks too much like a garage

The place is quite clean apart from moldy coolant and dirty stained concrete floor but its no NASA laboratory.

An earbud would massively improve staff morale despite having a real terms pay cut for the past 2 years plus bonuses removed recently.

Are my bosses C**ts or should i just wind my neck in and be glad i have a job in this industry paid a few pound above minimum wage?

I'll be milling some cast acrylic with a desktop cnc that has no air. What's the smallest aircompressor I can get that will still blow away the chips?

Looking at a potential job offer that would include training and certification and I have no idea what to ask for.

Looking to pull my differential for a pinion seal. While it is out I want to fix this gouge.

Is this an easy fix or perhaps I should swap the case and reshim everything. This option is expensive.

It's probably cast steel. Local machinists said he would probably sleeve it versus weld and machine back to true.

No clue what the chisel marks are though. The gouge was my oopsie but I partly blame it on the chisel marks. Made me think I was clear of the housing.

Hello Machinists!

We've got an old Colchester lathe standing around, and I've taken a liking to it. I want to use it for some of our smaller projects, and sometimes just for giggles. I'm not sure of it's age, but it's probably 30 years old or more.

The problem:, The motor is 220V, and we only have 400V in our shop. Newer machines are usually labeled 230/400V, but this one is only labeled 230 on the external machine sign. Does anyone know these machines well enough to tell me if they can be rewired for 400V (Star/Delta)?

I haven't had the time to access the internals to check the motor specs yet, and I probably won't have the time for a few more days. My curiosity won't let me wait, so I had to see if anyone here would know.

Thank you for all responses, I hope someone here knows these machines well.

I need to machine this feature into a part. It is two concentric holes with a chamfer. The larger diameter is .447 at a depth of .173 and the smaller is .360 THRU. The chamfer width is .0435. How can I do this using a Mazak’s circle milling function?

Hello all,
I'm tasked with outfitting a maintenance/fabrication repair shop for a car factory. We need to machining capability but don't need a true CNC machining center so I've opted for a CNC Knee Mill. I'm torn between two choices, any thoughts? The first option is ProtoTrak K3 2 Axis CNC and the second option is an Acer E-5VK Knee Mill with an additional Acurite Mill Power 2 axis CNC kit. Note aesthetics are important but not a priority (everything in our factory is painted white)

Trade offs:

Trak k3

All in one out of the box

robust high quality controller screen

Ugly Color

Large Rigid and box ways

have not used mill before, only looked at in person and made it cut air , but no machining done

A little less ergonomic and usable and fully manual machining applications

$28,000 with full package

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Acer E5VK + Acurite

I prefer the Acurite conversational programing style (shows more on the tool offset side) and is easier to navigate through especially for new users

Great Color scheme

I have used this mill before and really enjoy it

Very Ergonomic for manual use

A little less rigid (still box ways)

Have to assembly the ball screw and servo motors + controller after receiving the mill

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I’m trying to get a part machined (it’s an optic mount for a firearm) and the part requires a dovetail. The dovetail is .9mm tall with a 45° angle. I thought a 5 axis machine might work but I was informed by 2 machine shops that they couldn’t machine to a .01mm tolerance or couldn’t make the part at all.

Ideally in a perfect world it’s machined to a .005 mm tolerance so it slots in perfectly to reduce recoil stress but I’m not sure where to go from here.

I have very little experience in this department, just an idea for a part. Hopefully I can learn a thing or two and modify the part if needed.

Thanks

I apologize in advance if this post is not allowed or in the wrong sub, but I’m looking for someone that would be able to help me make an aluminum soft plastic bait mold. I don’t have access to the tools to make it, but I can make and provide a “master” made from wood and any measurements. Any help is appreciated.

Hi all!

I’m pretty new to all of this but I have a tormach 8L I’ve been messing around with.

So far I’ve had pretty good luck with softer materials. Tried 304, 304 is the devil, I don’t make eye contact with the remaining bar stock I have from my 304 experiment.

All that to say, I’ve been wanting to mess around with some Damascus but I’m not sure what it’s comparable to. Is it considered a more machinable steel or is it going to be neighbors with my 304?

Thanks for any insights.

Hello! I was curious how you guys would justify CAM software for a machine shop that does very simple parts. I previously worked in a machine shop that did small quick turn jobs on 5-axis mills and I always used CAM software to program the machine, so it just makes sense to me.

But this new place makes very simple bushings and bearings out of one common material on mainly 4-axis lathes. Most of the orders are custom, but generally consist of ID, OD, some threads maybe, some holes, or oil grooves.

The 1 programmer there just made a program to enter in your various features and dimensions like ID and OD etc. then it spits out g-CODE. From there, if needed, they hand program. Then on some jobs they have a little sketching CAD to recreate the customers drawing if they need info/dimension on a complex feature that isn't easily figured out. They only get drawings from customers as they have no 3D CAD software.

For the bulk of their stuff, the program they use probably covers half of what they do without too much alteration to G-code, but for me, I need CAM software to visually see there are no collisions and see how the tool is moving.

There is some work they pass on because they wouldn't be able to program it, but not too much since they only deal with 1 type of material generally.

Anyone ever use an electro-arc or cammann style tap burner to sink a pocket? Does it work or is there a significant amount of or uneven kerf. What kind of profile tolerances (not concerned about positional). It looks like the oscillation only happens in the Z axis so if you could make a hex profile electrode with a through-hole for coolant would it work to make shaft connecting pockets like hex/square/splines?

I’m having some trouble with my 3d milling parts oversized (about 0.05mm material on per face) Using a 5mm end mill with 0.5mm radius (there are features on there that need the use of 0.5mm) Anyone got any tips to get rite size. I’m testing in telling the software in using a smaller cutter (ie4.95mm) Dose this type of thing happen a lot as lots of 3d milled parts are damaged hard to measure

How do you quote a job like this? Do you find out your optimized program time after you’ve tweaked it to perfection and give that price? What should my shop rate be here in TX?

I can’t quote high then go low because they want the best price out the door. Any help on this?

A coworker once again