[ATAT]

Very nice finish =) thats something I wouldnt try on the manual bport.

On the EM, what are you machining? 2 flutes would mostly fit that bill easily..

 

[velmeran42]

I'm just machining 6061, nothing hard. A small 2 flute cutter would be ideal, I just want to be able to come in and clean up the corners a bit (maximizing my internal real estate) after I do a pass with the 0.25" EM. I'm just finding it hard to find a place that sells such small EMs directly. Since I posted a few minutes ago I found this

Looks sufficient, but I'm still looking around.

 

[velmeran42]

One of the local tool supply companies was placing an order this morning when I called to see if they had anything. They didn't, but they are ordering me an EM and dropping it off for nothing extra (amazing considering it's a $15 order).

So I'll be getting the EM Monday afternoon, but won't be able to get into the shop till....... I don't know. Thursday and Friday there's no school due to the Turkey-day (Thanksgiving) vacation, and I normally can only make it in on Thurdays and Fridays. I think I can cram in a few hours Tuesday morning if a mill is available.

Updates to follow as actual progress occurs....

 

[velmeran42]

UPDATE (sorta): No EM yet, called them up, it'll be here tomorrow (Wed). I did make it in to the shop yesterday though. I didn't do much other than pull out a little more material from the edges of the pocket (I got distracted helping someone since the shop master was busy). I snapped another pic to help with scale (no, I'm not using a 9v, but I didn't think a picture with the Li-Po would help establish scale).

 

[velmeran42]

Another day and still no EM... I did drill/tap/countersink the holes for connecting the two halfs of the case though.

Anybody in the Seattle area know where I can just walk in and buy a really small (<1/16") EM with a .375" flute? I'm pretty much dead in the water until I get my miniature EM.

 

[jl123]

Was that shop actually able to find you a 1/16" .375" LOC EM? I've been looking at all the big catalogs (msc, enco, etc) and the smallest I've found was a 3/32" with a .375"LOC. < 1/16" with that LOC is looking hard to come by.

 

[velmeran42]

Marshall Tool (local place) ordered me a 0.047" x 0.375", 4 flute carbide cutter. It was supposed to be here on Monday, but it still isn't here, I called Tue., said it'd be here today, but I'm not seeing it. I got home too late to call them today, so I'll have to call them tomorrow, and the cycle continues.

CET has a 1/16" x 0.375" cutter. I was going to order one, but thought it'd be faster and cheaper to utilize a local company.... cheaper still, but not faster at this point.

 

[velmeran42]

I finally managed to get some good quality time in the shop today (I just skipped my two lectures and stayed in the shop all day). I managed to pretty well finish all the machining I needed to do. I obviously still need to buff and finish the case, but that's just some elbow grease and time. I'll just let you guys look at the pictures for now, I've got to fold laundry and clean house right now.

 

[quicksilver96]

That is too slick. Looks like you left a little metal bridge to the center of the headphone logo, I was curious how you would handle that. Even though it's "just a cmoy", this is one of the coolest projects I've seen here.

 

[velmeran42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by quicksilver96 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is too slick. Looks like you left a little metal bridge to the center of the headphone logo, I was curious how you would handle that. Even though it's "just a cmoy", this is one of the coolest projects I've seen here.

Thanks for the kind words. I was originally going to leave two small bridges, but decided to single side it since the strength wasn't needed, just something to hold it in place.

Here's another pic I just took. I test fit all the large components and it looks like I'll be fine for space (keep in mind the other half of the shell is just as deep as this one).

 

[ATAT]

Do you still have the cad drawings and the G-code for this? i'd be interested in looking at it.. I've never operated a cnc machine (only manuals) so I'd like to see a sane set of cad / code before I go and ruin a perfectly fine benchtop cnc mill. (considering buying a taig)

Sighs ... there goes all the money of the month for new metals.

 

[velmeran42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATAT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you still have the cad drawings and the G-code for this?

I have the CAD files (Inventor native, although I can export into IGES, STEP, or other common forms), but I didn't actually end up using any written G-code to make it. When I went to write up my process plan for the piece I realized that I could actually make the case faster using the 2-axis mill's onboard controller. The Trak mills we have have amazingly friendly controllers that are a breeze to program. Just tell it to mill, arc, pocket/frame, drill, etc, all with directions of cut, feed rates, cutter offsets and let it fly (ok, you have to manually change the Z, but man it's easy).

I have written G-code for other things, it's really not to bad as long as you have a labeled drawing and make use of comments in your code to keep track of where you are. Tools like FeatureCAM and Predator are very useful as they help keep you from crashing your mill or wasting material.

 

[dcheming]

The 2-axis mill in your shop ain't got nothing on this:

Seriously though, I operated a Bridgeport EzTrak for 10 months at a machine shop in Huntington Beach, CA. I fully agree with you about how easy it is just to use the onboard controller's operations. I only had to use CAD/CAM a handful of times for complex shapes. Just like yours, the Z axis on my machine was manual, but I didn't really mind that too much. It actually made it easier to quickly do simple things. It also had a quick-change tool-holder system which was a huge time saver. Man I miss being able to go in after hours to work on projects. All I have now is that little drill press and cross-slide vise in the above pic in my apartment.

When I finally get a house, I'll find a way to afford a CNC mill, CNC lathe, CNC router, etc. I'd even drive a crappy car to be able to swing it!

You're doing some beautiful work on this project. It's motivating to see someone go all out on a project. Keep it up!

 

[velmeran42]

Nice setup there dcheming, how good are you at free-milling circles?

If time permits I'll be making a case for my Alien DAC over finals week. I expect I'll have this project all finished up by mid next week if nothing goes horribly wrong (it's due Dec. 4th for my class, but it's done enough for that right now).

 

[dcheming]

I can safely say that trying to free-mill a circle is not going to happen with this setup.

Do you plan on doing the same type of case for the Alien DAC too? I kinda like the style of the Chord integrated amps. It would be fun to play around with a complex case like that since it will be fairly small. A single block of stained hardwood with a polished/clear-coated copper plate inset in the top would be classy.



Slightly OT, but I'm considering selling some rarely used possessions in order to get one of these:

This is about the limit that I think would be appropriate for an apartment. I plan on renting a small shop space or better yet a studio eventually.