Atso Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Having got my old (about 15 year) CNC milling machine finially working I've been playing around a little with milling some CAD files. Nothing fancy at the moment but I like to fact I don't have to spend hours removing the stepping effect so inherent with 'affordable' 3D printing. Anyway, enough from me, here are some pictures (sorry about the quality). Milled in tooling board with a 0.5mm milling bit... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted February 6, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 6, 2012 Wow! - This "3D Printing and CAD Group" is brilliant! There are just more and more options opening up to modellers all the time. Nice work there Steve. How long did it take to mill the coach side shown in second picture? Kev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flubrush Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Having got my old (about 15 year) CNC milling machine finially working I've been playing around a little with milling some CAD files. Nothing fancy at the moment but I like to fact I don't have to spend hours removing the stepping effect so inherent with 'affordable' 3D printing. If that's a carbide cutter you're using, try some styrene sheet as your material. It works very well. HSS cutters don't on styrene. Hold the styrene down on a flat surface with Letraset low tack double sided tape. Jim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hi guys, thanks for the feedback! Kev, this part took about 7 hours to machine, both the roughing and finishing processes. This might seem like a long time but it is quicker than the 10 working days the more accessable 3D printers are currently offering! Don't get me wrong I love 3D printing but this might have just offered me a more affordable method. There are pros and cons to both methods but I am in direct control over this one. Hi Jim, unfortunately I am using an HSS cutter at present but will be looking at carbide cutters once I'm a bit more confident with the process. Being able to mill styrene sheets sounds like a great way to build some coaches and wagons! Though with the timescales involved I don't think milling production parts would prove very effective... Maybe I'll get around to seeing how well my machine will mill aluminum or brass... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 But once you have a master, you could send it for resin casting. j Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flubrush Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hi Jim, unfortunately I am using an HSS cutter at present but will be looking at carbide cutters once I'm a bit more confident with the process. Being able to mill styrene sheets sounds like a great way to build some coaches and wagons! Though with the timescales involved I don't think milling production parts would prove very effective... Certainly it would be difficult to use a CNC mill in a production line if you wanted to keep prices reasonable and be somewhere close to profitable for yourself. But it could be used to make a good master since the finish quality can be excellent. I posted a shot of what I've been doing in another thread a while ago, using styrene for an S scale Drumnmond four wheel coach http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/49746-cnc-milling-drilling-engraver/page__view__findpost__p__574630. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 Certainly it would be difficult to use a CNC mill in a production line if you wanted to keep prices reasonable and be somewhere close to profitable for yourself. But it could be used to make a good master since the finish quality can be excellent. I posted a shot of what I've been doing in another thread a while ago, using styrene for an S scale Drumnmond four wheel coach http://www.rmweb.co....ost__p__574630. Jim Jim, that looks exceptional! Well done, right what else can I try and make with this machine!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flubrush Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Jim, that looks exceptional! Well done, right what else can I try and make with this machine!!! My machine is a Seig KX1 running Mach3. It is not a very large machine, with only about 10" X travel and about 5" Y travel. So I am a bit limited to what I can undertake. But all the cutting has been with cheap carbide slot cutters (about £5 - £6 each) and the finish has always been excellent - much better that I expected. I find the major constraint on feeds and speeds is whether the thinner Plastikard materials will distort under cutting forces so I tend to keep them fairly light. I use Cut 2D CAM software to generate the GCode and I've also used Cut 3D to generate some full 3D code for bolections round quarterlights. Jim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted February 6, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 6, 2012 Thanks for your answer(s) Steve, but if I may... What RPM and lateral cutting speeds did you use? Also, with a 7 hour machining time did/are you careful about changes in temperature and humidity as they can cause changes in materials length and thus leave 'steps' in none flat/vertical faces? Kev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atso Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks for your answer(s) Steve, but if I may... What RPM and lateral cutting speeds did you use? Also, with a 7 hour machining time did/are you careful about changes in temperature and humidity as they can cause changes in materials length and thus leave 'steps' in none flat/vertical faces? Kev. Good questions Kev, I'm new to this so just set up the machine using the appropriate material from their list and didn't look at anything else! Next time I'm on the right computer I'll look this up. The time taken was largely due to the exclusive use of a 0.5mm bit for both roughing and finishing, my machine doesn't have an automatic tool changer so on this occasion I wanted to play safe and not mess with it too much! I've not noticed any problems with expansion in the part, humidity I can't control but the temperature was constant throughout. Sorry I can't answer in more depth at present. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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