Hey everyone new here, so basically I work at a steel factory where we bend pipes and cut metal every day. We use Super Brown 350 cold saw machines—got about six of them at the plant. I’ve noticed something odd about these saws: they cut from the back of the blade rather than from the center or front, which seems counterintuitive to me. I feel like this cutting angle might not be optimal and could be slowing down production, plus the noise is pretty intense.

Has anyone else worked with Super Brown 350 saws? Is this rear cutting normal for them, or could there be something off with our setup? And if anyone has recommendations for the best type of coolant to use, I’d love to hear it. We’re aiming for smoother cuts and hopefully a quieter operation if possible.

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

As the title says, not a machinist but looking for some help. I have a customer who has a part that they need to cut a 1” hole in 16ga stainless. They need to know what type of cutter to use which will dictate if they need to buy a cnc mill, knee mill, radial arm drill, etc. The surface is at a 45° angle to the hole’s centerline axis so a 1” drill is out. I would think a cutting tool that can plunge straight down would be preferred so the machine they buy would be cheaper (don’t need cnc to helix the hole). Not sure if a 1” end mill would like plunging straight down. Not sure if an annular cutter would be better. Not sure what I don’t know so advice is appreciated. Thanks!

EDIT: Part is a preformed and welded assembly, no option to laser cut or punch the ellipse while it is flat.

We are students in a university research group working on manufacturing a free-form surface object using a Mori Seiki NMV5000DCG with a Fanuc 31i-B5 control. Our goal is to utilize all five axes simultaneously. Although 3+2 axis milling functions correctly, we encounter issues when attempting true 5-axis simultaneous machining. The machine appears to work around a different position than defined in the CAM / workpiece. We measured the position of the actual workpiece and shifted the position in the CAD/CAM Fusion to align. We use Fusion360 for CAM programming with the provided Fanuc post-processor.

The problem seems to be linked to the definition of the Euler angles, specifically in the context of our machine's kinematic chain: V [w-C‘-B‘-b-[Y1, Y2] – X – [Z1, Z2] –(C)- t]. We are uncertain about the correct order of rotations for our setup in the post-processor.

We have tried our numerous combinations and none seemed to work, although some of them appeared to be close to the simulation of the milling process in our CAM software, but none seemed to work and trying out random combinations/guessing is definitely not the way to go.

Our specific questions are:

1. Does anyone have a similar kinematic setup and could provide an insight on how the order was defined there?
2. Why are three axes specified in the configuration despite only having two rotary axes on the machine?
3. What is the practical difference between defining rotations with for example “EULER_XYZ_S” versus a definition by roll, pitch and yaw?

Any insights into setting up these rotations correctly or advice on handling Euler angles for 5-axis operation would be greatly appreciated.

I am a fresh graduate production engineer and I got a job in workshop to manage the system , actually I found out there is no system there . So in order to implement a system I think I need to calculate the machining time at the beginning before machining. to do that I need to get the catalog that comes from tool manufacturer to know the optimum speed and feed with different materials. The sad part comes now , all the tools here are brazed tip and there I didn’t find any recommendations to tell the optimum cutting conditions , now , can anyone help me to handle this issue ?!

I just ordered a precision mathews benchtop mill. I would have loved to get a Bridgeport, but do not have the space. After watching blondihacks videos, I am 100% certain that I don't need any more machine than she does.

My #1 question is on end mill purchasing. I will primarily be doing guard fitting and shaping for a knifemaking hobby. I would like to be able to plunge in brass, bronze, and steel in sizes up to a maximum of 1/8th, then side cut channels.

Should I buy individuals off of McMaster or is there a maker I should be looking for? Are there sets that are well regarded?

Hi thinking of purchasing a drill press for my metal works, saw one on a site which meets my budget but it's 350W bench press, the maximum thickness of metals am going to need it for is no more than 8mm. Should I go for it?

Has anyone had issues with rocol coolant?, this past year it seems like the quality of coolant has went down at our place, I appears very corrosive now and has been going bad quickly

Are there any good alternatives to Langmuir Crossfire Pro in EU?

I'm making a piece of code shared by a teacher, but when I simulate it I get this error and I think it's also on the other lines, but I only have the problem in x, by the way the simulator is called cnc pro simulator, I'm a newbie in this an apology

https://preview.redd.it/eztvbs0v510e1.png?width=1918&format=png&auto=webp&s=71b387e73ed4ff6e553a370b285d4860d68828f1

When I try to finish by powermill on my 3 axis vms It splits the toolpath like show The vertical path gives perfect finishing But horizontal is so bad creates horizontal line Also the split area between those path is very obvious

I'm cutting a 3.75" OD bar (with a .332 hole) with a feed of .001 (Originally .002) and a speeds of G96 S260 and a G50 S1000.

Anytime it makes contact, it's makes a really rough screaming noise as if the tool is broken and is just rubbing against the part.

I used a .086 wide cut-off originally and swapped it out for a .118 wide since those are the only two inserts we have that can cut that deep.

Regardless of which tool I used, that noise didn't stop. I tried manually finishing the cut with an even lower feed and all it did was heat up the tool alot.

Coolant is in contact with the part initially and I can't really tell when it gets to the center of the part. But I don't think coolant is the issue since it makes noise even when it first starts cutting with coolant drowing the part.

I have a rotating assembly that needs to be disassembled and reassembled with all the parts in the exact same planar position. I need to mark the shaft and rotors with something like a pen, so there are marks to line up when reassembling. I cant make any scratches or marks in the metal.

What is the best sort of way to accomplish this? In the past I have used a permanent marker, but it is very easy to accidently wipe off if I try to clean the parts. Is there any thing else to try?

Thanks!

This is my second job as a machinist. My first was as an operator for Sanden over 20 years ago. This job, I started 14 years ago and developed my skills. I currently program, set up, and run almost all the 3 and 4 axis mill work. I over see four 3 axis and three 4 axis machines, with me operating two 3 axis and three 4 axis machines daily. The good years the mill department, what I am responsible for, makes 1.25 million to 1.5 million gross. In the slow years, it is around 700k gross. It is a big swing between the slow years and the good, but it is mainly due to the fire arms market, which is the lion share of the mill work. I have not had a raise in almost two years, but this is an election year, so fire arms sells will be higher and mill department will have a good year, but not a record year. I am salary, which kind of screws me over because of my personality. I always come to work. This year I have missed 5 days. One to say goodbye to my dying mom, two days for the out of state memorial service, and two days because my body needed to rest and heal. Sorry this is so long, but this I one of the few sub reddits I actually follow and respect. I am located in North Texas, and I work in a four man shop. So the question I have is what am I worth? Where should I be on pay scale? Please give only helpful and serious responses. I am a father and husband whose only goal is to provide for my family. Thank you

Please help me understand coolant/lubricant (CL) use when machining metal. First, I am not a machinist, so please be gentle. I am an industrial engineer with many years of experience in various manufacturing environments and I am puzzled by the use and lack of use of CLs by highly qualified YouTube machinists.

Specifically, I wonder how long CL lasts when drilling holes. In many YouTube videos, I see the machinist put a dab of Anchor Lube or cutting oil on the tip of a drill bit and watch the drill work several inches into the steel material without replenishing the CL. In other videos, CNC machines flood the workpiece with gallons per minute of coolant for all cutting operations. I understand chip removal using flooding with CLs.

My question is this: What drives the decision to use or not use CLs? For example, why use cutting oil when tapping threads but not when drilling holes in the same material? I see it frequently in videos where the machinist will squirt a bit of oil when the drilling starts but not continue to use more CL. To me, keeping the drilled hole flooded with CL would be the desired case. Not doing so makes me wonder if the cutting structure of the drill bit encounters non-lubricated material after a few revolutions of the bit. If so, then why use CLs at all?

Thanks for your help.

This is my first post on this subreddit and I was looking for advice for personal tooling, I know people will say it’s up to the company you work for but because I am only a second year apprentice I don’t get all the perks yet. I am a manual machinist in a shop that mostly does repairs and has cornered the market in the area for late notice quick turnaround repairs, I still have a lot to learn and I sometimes get pulled off jobs to do maintenance/installation/fitting at out customer companies.

Back to the point I was looking for advice for tools, like what brands to go for/stay away from as well as tools that will give me an edge over the other machinists as I am currently the only apprentice and I want to be able to take on more jobs.

I am willing to put £100-£150 per month towards tools.

Thank you for your help to those that get back to me.

Im converting an electronic throttle body for a different vehicle to mechanical for my vehicle. I want to press fit an aluminum 1/4” disk onto the shaft so i can use it to connect my throttle cable to.

The shaft measures .310” The disk will be 3” in diameter and starts with a .250” hole in the center (purchasing this way)

What tools should i use to achieve a proper press fit onto the shaft and how much press fit is correct? The tools i currently have at my disposal are a drill press with vice and a good quality drill bit set (in standard sizes/increments).

I assume heating the disk to slip onto the shaft and allowing it to cool is my best way to install?

Thank you for any and all advice or guidance.

Taking a hail mary here; The robotics team I run purchased an Ex-Cell-O 602 Vertical Knee mill a couple months back and we smoked the motor last week. We are pretty sure the windings are shot; we got quotes on re-winding the motor, but they are coming in at a price point that is pushing us to just replace the motor... Problem is, we can't figure out what motor we need for that replacement...

The motor has a plate on it with the fallowing information:

|| || |Model|5K180DJ2036A|NO|GPF|HP|1 1/2|PH|3| |||Volts|230/460|AMP|4.6/2.3| | | |||Hertz|60|RPM|1720| | | |DEG C MAX AMB|40|INS CLASS|B|SERVICE FACTOR|1.2|TIME RATING|CONT| |NEMA DESIGN|B|FRAME|180Y|TYPE|K|CODE|K |

We have tried searching the model, the Nema Design, every possible combination of "Ex-Cell-O 602 motor" you can think of... we can't find anything useful... Maybe someone here can help?

How would you, as the machinist, want to see this feature dimensioned. It is a pocket shaped like a halved ellipsoid. The first photo is an Isometric view looking at the top of the part and the second is a sliced section view from the side. I'm using major and minor radius and I have the depth elsewhere, is there anything I'm missing?

https://preview.redd.it/tnt1wxpt0yzd1.jpg?width=304&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20a525a9d50274261b79b27175bea32147d50ee1

https://preview.redd.it/dvfcmmpt0yzd1.jpg?width=258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70158137c25990ff790a49e46e3220763d169d5f

All,

Looking for input on how to best describe and frame the position I am looking to hire at my machine shop. My shop is a job shop that supports 2~3 main customers as a defacto in-house machine shop for them.

I'm looking to add a position to increase our capacity/improve lead time. Given the nature of the work, this person would ideally be able to program, setup, and run the parts with minimal oversight. I serve this role and hand off to an operator at the moment and we need to increase programming/setup capacity. Parts are of moderate complexity; small features, 3+2axis programming, aluminum.

I feel a bit silly but I'm not sure if I should be looking for a machinist or a engineer for this role? I haven't worked in many job shops so I don't have a great sense of what is expected for a machinist vs engineering Most job descriptions don't focus on the programming portion and some show the role as more of an operator role.

Follow up question; would I be better served separating out the programming responsibility to access a broader range of applicants? I like having programming/setup combined because the feedback loop on setups is much quicker but I'm not sure if that is limiting.

Thanks for all of your input, this will be a big investment for the company and I want to make sure it's well framed to benefit both sides.

I'm planning to buy a mill soon. When I bought my 7x20 mini-lathe, I was planning to go with LMS but at the last minute got tempted by an eBay special. That lathe has never quite felt "right". Maybe some of it is I don't know what I'm doing well enough to fix it, but there are lots of little "glitches", carriage binding up etc. So I really don't want that kind of trouble again.

My needs are relatively small-to-medium parts, a lot of parts for maker-type machines, and I just want to have a good range of capabilities for whatever comes up. I tend to design everything in metric so true-imperial isn't really a plus for me. I've had a lot of trouble getting my CNC to cut metal well so I want something rigid enough that that's not a problem anymore, but I'll probably be doing mostly aluminum and only some steel. I'm not sure I want to go too far over $2k because by the $3k range I'm getting close to CNC territory and might as well start looking at something like the MR-1 instead.

With LMS I was looking at the HT3990, then saw the 6500. It looks like a nice step up but there are not as many videos on it so I had to get most of my reviews off of the original Sieg SX2.7 it's made from. Or is there a machine better than LMS, maybe something by PM? I want a machine that will work for me to learn on but with some room to make a real difference in manufacturing capabilities. Help me not make a mistake?

https://preview.redd.it/qg42lzceuxzd1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aabec5e49a3e0bcd7b71d75e05a359d2b8297aba

Hello,

let me start off by saying I am more than amateur. I have a "Rong Fu RF-30," if not that exact model than something identical that I use for gunsmithing as a hobby. I use a mix of endmill bits and drill bits to perform these tasks required to assemble these components onto receiver/barrel. I always make sure the speeds are as close to recommended as possible by using a "Speeds & Feeds" calculator. That being said, this is my third time running into a receiver that the metal is very hard for some reason and it'll stop the drill bit right in its path. It may start off good, but suddenly will hit a dead end and have to go through some trouble to get the task accomplished.

I don't have anyone local I am able to ask, so I figure I try out here and see if there is any recommendation. When drilling for something called a barrel pin I use an endmill, but am only able to cut to a certain point because of the length of cut being too short. If I could, I would rather use the endmill bit the entire cut as it seems cleaner for me to be able to chase the hole with a reamer to correct size. Since I can't, I have to use a drill bit on this style of milled receiver. I'm not sure if I'm having difficulty here because of the material the bit has to travel through (receiver/barrel/receiver) or because the heat treat is horribly inconsistent. I've been purchasing bits from McMaster-Carr, but it seems they don't have larger lengths of cutting surface for endmill's or I'm just not searching for the correct thing.

If anyone has recommendations, I'd be more than happy to hear them.

I know my setup isn't the most expensive or elegant piece of machinery you've ever seen but it works for me.

Thanks.

Hey guys I ran into an issue that I need some help with. So I need to tap some m1.2 x 2.5 holes and I couldn’t do it on the mill with the cutting tap or what I had in stock. So essentially, I just went down around .050 or more to get the first thread started so I could hand tap later with ease. Well now I have 200 holes to tap and I keep breaking taps, even while hand tapping. After searching, I finally found a roll tap in this size and was wondering if I can put it on the machine again . I still have a depth of around .180 left to go so I was planning on using the roll tap for this.

I realize the top portion of the thread may be off, but it just might pass QC. Any thoughts or suggestions ? It’s an internal thread on 7075ALU .