[jl123]

I can vouch for the x3 being a great mill.

 

[velmeran42]

I'm personally looking to get a machine from MaxNC , we have one in my deparment (the 10 open loop) and they're pretty cool little mills. I would move up to the 15. They aren't super powerful machines, but can handle aluminum nicely and are simple to use. I'd also like to get an X3 (in one of its forms) for heavier, simple work.

All these musings are at least a few years out still since I have to save up for a downpayment on a house first.....

 

[velmeran42]

Update time: Well I'm not done yet, I fell behind schedule since there was snow, ice, and tests to contend with. I had fun in the snow, but wasn't able to go driving around to pick up supplies easily. I still made it in to school every day this week though, since it wasn't that bad.


After I took the case to the vertical belt sander and the buffing wheel.


After I decked it flat w/ 320, 400, 600 grit, and polished it up w/ compound. I also have the input jack, volume pot, power jack, battery and LEDs in the case. I need to back-fill the logo before I proceed further with soldering.

I'll hopefully have time to work on it this weekend... Time is always hard to come up with this late in a quarter.

 

[Gross]

That is pretty damn slick. Good job, Dude.

 

[jonnywolfet]

looking forward to seeing the finished product!!!

 

[splaz]

You're loaning out your services to us head-fiers for mates rates right... ?

Very nice work.

 

[labmat]

That thing looks tight... I can't wait to see it complete!

 

[jirams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velmeran42 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Update time: Well I'm not done yet, I fell behind schedule since there was snow, ice, and tests to contend with. I had fun in the snow, but wasn't able to go driving around to pick up supplies easily. I still made it in to school every day this week though, since it wasn't that bad. After I took the case to the vertical belt sander and the buffing wheel. After I decked it flat w/ 320, 400, 600 grit, and polished it up w/ compound. I also have the input jack, volume pot, power jack, battery and LEDs in the case. I need to back-fill the logo before I proceed further with soldering. I'll hopefully have time to work on it this weekend... Time is always hard to come up with this late in a quarter.

How are you going to protect the finish from finger mark etching ?

 

[velmeran42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jirams /img/forum/go_quote.gif How are you going to protect the finish from finger mark etching ?

At the momment the case has a nice layer of carnauba wax on it. Hopefully that'll keep it looking clean for a while, if not, that's life. I can always bring it back to a high shine if it gets too ugly looking.

 

[velmeran42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by splaz /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're loaning out your services to us head-fiers for mates rates right... ? Very nice work.

Right now I'm using the Mechanical Engineering shop, so I don't think it'd go over to well if I started dragging in even more projects that obviously aren't ME related. Plus I'm graduating in a few weeks.

Once I have my own CNC mill I'll get back to you.

 

[velmeran42]

Alright, it's been days since I've posted any updates to my project.....

I was getting a bit burnt out at school and have just been way to busy lately, so I decided to just take a break from being productive. I had a nice few days of watching movies, hanging out with friends, and being otherwise non-productive outside of class time. A break was needed and in my opinion needed to stay sane. Not much new on my amp case....


Epoxy backfilled now, final wiring still to come since it's currently sitting in the shop with all the other projects waiting to be graded.

.... but I did manage to whip out a little something over the last two days in a few spare hours (things are so much quicker the second time around)....


That'd be a case for an AlienDAC. I have to round off the corners of the board so it can drop in, but I figured that was prefferable to making the case larger. I still need to strip the polishing residue off and wax it, but I just got home from school and have little motivation to do so before heading off to a party.

Updates as always to follow.

Comments are always welcome as well.

 

[dcheming]

Lookin' good there velmeran42! Since raw polished aluminum doesn't stay that way very long have you considered getting it coated with something? Anodizing is the obvious choice, but something like an iridescent bluish-purple titanium coating sure would be unique.

 

[velmeran42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcheming /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lookin' good there velmeran42! Since raw polished aluminum doesn't stay that way very long have you considered getting it coated with something? Anodizing is the obvious choice, but something like an iridescent bluish-purple titanium coating sure would be unique.

I'd love to get a nice HA-III ano job done on both cases but, most of the local places will charge at least $40 for a small batch. I payed all of.... $10 for the 1/8" cutter to make the cases, the metal was from the scrap bin. Just a nice coat of carnuba wax keeps it pretty enough and I have it on hand. Not the ultimate answer, but it works well enough and is free.

Thanks for the kind words though, Maybe next time I make something I'll get it anodized, by then I'll be pulling down a paycheck.

 

[velmeran42]

Just in case it seemed like this project had fallen off the face of the Earth....



I'd been away from the soldering iron lately due to other distractions such as finishing up my mech. eng. degree, squaring away the details of my new job, and the general holiday hustle and bustle (not to mention new toys I bought myself for graduating). This morning I had the urge to set up the soldering iron and solder something, the parts for the AlienDAC were sitting on top of my soldering station's box, so it was the winner of my attention.

I managed to put it all together in a couple of hours while chatting with a friend who was over and explaining how to solder the main IC to him. Much to my suprise I got it going the first shot, I'd managed to find all the bridges (two of them) and correct them before I even moved on to soldering anything else.

I'll be breaking out the iron again tomorrow morning to finish up the amp barring any major distractions (friends, natural disasters, or the urge to drive around / tweak my Mini Quake).