F360 CAM for Johns Edge Clamps

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I see, though personally I would want to have the minimum stickout possible and would look into doing away with the plastic sleeve particularly if it is not needed for manual tool change.

I see that the makers supply a tool library that can be downloaded into F360 which would give you a good starting point regarding rpm & feed rate. Just start of will very shallow cuts.

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

I do believe that the collars aren’t strictly necessary for the Air version but are a leftover from the original Carvera mill which has the automatic tool changer.  I will experiment with tool stick out when I have more experience with the machine or broken too many bits, whichever is sooner.

I have already downloaded and installed the Makera tool library into Fusion.  The Makera-supplied CAM software is a useful supply of speed and feed information though as I’ve said elsewhere it’s difficult to read with their colour choices.  Hopefully the new software Studio due out soon will be better in that respect.

John

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

If the threading tool is detailed in there then I’ll run through how to use that.

I might even do one in a bit of Corian

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

For some reason, selecting a threading tool in the Makera CAM software doesn’t bring up any information on speeds and feeds etc, but googling gives some pointers.  Perhaps I’ll use a tap for the moment.  Those threading tools look remarkably slim and fragile, unlike me.

I’ll try emailing Makera support if I have no luck trawling through the tutorial videos.  Their support is very helpful, sorting out a problem I had after delivery.

John

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Using a tap would probably be th ebest option for now, then find something not too hard to practice the thread milling on. Cutting speed would be the same as similar diameter cutters on teh same material. As would feed rates for a similar dia cutter with the same number of flutes. What you have to decide for yourself is DOC which given the fragile nature of these cutters is best kept quite low. You do this by having the tool make several passes slowly cutting deeper each time.

A bit of a teaser while the video uploads.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

My piece of Corian was a bit short but otherwise all went well.

Towards the end of the outside contour I move the camera away to show that the swarf is contained in the trough with very little elsewhere but the narrow nozzle keeps it away from the area immediately around the tool.

Depths of cut and stepovers were a lot too fine for Corian but I had used my Aluminium settings. I did wind up teh feed rate which can be done on the fly with some of the contour being done at 900mm/min feed rate but knocked it back down to 700 for the tabs. Run time was approx 35mins but could easily have been 20mins in Corian.

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Nicely done, Jason. Blooming clever isn’t it? Glad to say the compressor arrived today as did the air line.  Still waiting for the blow=down gun and now that I’ve had a good look at the pipe fittings I’ve ordered some to connect a metre of 8mm tubing so that I can use the air assist.

I still haven’t switched the mill on. I’m waiting until I’ve got all my ducks in a row and then there’ll be no stopping me!

I found that the dust shoe that fits on the bottom of the spindle – doesn’t, because the magnets that stick it on are missing either in transit or manufacture.  I’ve hunted high and low for them inside the enclosure to no avail, but Makera are sending me some replacements, by air mail I hope.

TTFN

John

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Had minimal luck getting info on the thread milling front though I did glean the following from the Makera Wiki manual.

For the M5 threading tool in aluminium they recommend:

Spindle speed of 12,000 rpm

Feed rate of 500 mm/min

Plunge(entry feed rate) of 200 mm/min

DOC 0.2 mm

Step over 60% (?)

That’s assuming I’ve read the details correctly.

Until I find out definitively I’ll stick to the old fashioned tap method.

John

 

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Further to the above, I think that I’ve successfully created a thread milling tool and applied it to the model in F360.  The simulation works OK but I’ll try it on something more forgiving than aluminium to test it.  I derived the information from this YouTube video.

Screen grabs include this:

from which I nicked the basic dimensions, and this

which gave me the shaft dimensions of the Makera supplied threading tool.  I made the thread with 3 passes.

John

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