a random project

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stephenc
Posts: 311
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 6:13 pm
Location: youngstown ohio

a random project

Post by stephenc »

i have a tormach pcnc 440 , i have to say that i love it .
but just because i own a cnc mill doesn't mean that i am a g code wizard . quite the opposite in fact . so i spend quite a bit of time doing projects that serve no good purpose except to learn . the end goal is to learn some new 3d finishing strategies .


so to get there i need to start with making a fixture . im going to cheat here a little and use the fixture plate i have for my taig mill .
along with a modular vise .
with the vise mounted i can finish machine the bottom of the fixture and then flip the part , finish the recessed pockets for the mounting bolts .
and bolt the 60% completed fixture to the plate for finish machining .

next up ill finish machining the fixture , then ill have to make a couple low profile screws for clamping . along with prep a couple blanks for the real project . ill start giving a little more detailed explanation of what i doing with the fixture once i start the finish machining , it should make sense then i hope anyway
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stephenc
Posts: 311
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 6:13 pm
Location: youngstown ohio

Re: a random project

Post by stephenc »

i finished the fixture today along with making the part blanks .

first thing was to face the top of the fixture and then machine the two boss's ( spell or term correction please) that locate the part , then drill and threadmill for the mounting screws .

that is followed up with some contouring to provide plenty of tool clearance .

and lastly the prepped blank is test fit to the fixture which is now complete , easy peasy :D

eh , i lied the fixture still needs a couple low profile screws to hold the part down .
ill make them on the mill , just because i can and its sort of fun to do .
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FKreider
Posts: 338
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:44 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: a random project

Post by FKreider »

How do you like the mod-vise? I am thinking of getting this exact setup for my ProLIGHT 2000 machine which has extremely similar travels to the PCNC 440 machine.
-Frank K.
stephenc
Posts: 311
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 6:13 pm
Location: youngstown ohio

Re: a random project

Post by stephenc »

I have some mixed feelings about it , nothing bad to say though . But keep in mind I bought it for a taig cnc mill trying to keep things light weight .
Not saying anything against it because does work good but I wouldn't intentionally buy it for a machine the size of my 440 . If I wanted this style of vise I'd look at the 1/2" version.
My 1/4 " version realy isn't enough if you really want to hold on to something and go wild with roughing on anything but aluminum.

A tooling plate on the other hand is a nice thing to have , I'm just a guy in a garage learning how to make stuff . It sure is nice being able to just make a fixture for things and not have to work around a vise .

I go to the scrap yard and scrounge for project materials so a lot of what I do is also based solely on what I happen to have on hand at the moment along with tools that I have in holders at the moment .
I like to work with aluminum as long as I don't have to buy new material . It cuts easily enough and tooling life is great . Plastics and wood are just a pain to clean up .

I've managed to get set up to make the screws I need but not so far as to actually make any chips .
The guy who was going to put a new roof on my house in August forgot to read his calender and showed up today with people who thought maybe they would rather do it when it's not 100 degrees .
So I probably won't have any progress for the next couple days .
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