On 2008-09-13, Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:
"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
On 2008-09-12, Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:
snip good stuff----
Like CNC operations, I ignored computers
until
they had grown substantially. I now realize I should have grown with
them.
Probably never be anywhere near as sharp as DoN, but at least I'd be able
to
understand them to some degree.
The main thing is to get the interest, and then play with things
to learn. Often it helps to have a project in mind to use the computer
for -- just as you can learn a machine tool better if you have something
in mind which you want to do with it.
Well, it appears that opportunity is knocking on my door, as we speak.
So I see.
Two weeks ago a CNC HAAS toolroom mill was delivered to my shop by the
rightful owner. He is selling to upgrade to a CNC with a tool changer.
The HAAS is a three axis machine, but without a tool changer. For hobby
use, while a changer might be nice, it's not a necessary option.
Agreed.
The mill is now wired and operational, and I'm to learn CNC operations with
his assistance, along with the assistance of another. The mill has safe
indoor storage, in a heated and humidity controlled environment, so the
owner gets free storage while I have access to the machine.
And -- he gets the benefit of the machine being around someone
who knows how to take proper care of machines.
No obligation
to purchase, but I'm inclined to do so. I can see countless opportunities
to achieve ends that otherwise might be difficult for me with my manual
mill. That is one of the reasons why I have regrets. I should have learned
CNC when Bandit controls were the rage. very heavy sigh
Well ... it may work out better for you in that you can do more
with the machine with fewer lines of code than were needed previously.
But mostly -- I've never been afraid to *try* things to learn
from them.
I've been a very curious type all my life, but driven only by having a keen
interest in a given subject. In fact, that is what drove me to learn to
refine precious metals, which turned into a wonderful way to make a living,
until I retired. I was self taught, with nothing more than a book to guide
me in my quest. The refining business was a pleasant surprise, resulting
from my overwhelming success refining as a hobby.
Indeed.
Now that I have turned my attention to the CNC mill, I'll manage to learn,
but in all honesty, computers have not come easily for me.
Think of it as talking someone through doing a job when they
don't know what they are doing, but are *very* good at doing precisely
what you say -- if you make each instruction simple enough. (Imagine
that you are in a wheelchair, but you know how to do the job, and have
to explain to him what to do at each point.)
And, with a 3-axis mill, you have a worker who has three hands -- one to
crank each axis at the same time. :-)
It used to be that to mill a pocket you had to separately
command the move along each side (after calculating the path of the
center of the milling cutter to cut the final dimensions you really
want), then go deeper and repeat (which would require a center-cutting
milling cutter). Now there are what is called "canned cycles" (which
*I* would call subroutines) which allow you to tell it how deep a
pocket, what the walls are, and what the diameter of the milling cutter
is, and aside from doing all of the moves needed, it will also ramp down
to the next level -- moving horizontally and (more slowly) vertically --
so you can make the descent without a center-cutting milling cutter. So
-- the assistant is smarter now than it was in the old days.
And -- a trick to bear in mind for roughing vs finish cuts is to
run the program after lying to the machine, saying that the diameter of
the milling cutter is say 0.010" larger (and the length is 0.005"
longer) than it really is, so it will cut leaving 0.005" for a cleanup
pass. Then just tell it the truth about the diameter of the mill and
re-run the program.
Where CNC
operations are concerned, I've been somewhat intimidated by the setup
procedures, but I'm slowly learning that I have almost always worked much
the same way a CNC does----the difference being I have done it manually.
And you only have two hands, so you can move only two axes at a
time. And it is very tricky to cut an angle with the cranks on a
manual machine, but a CNC can do it nicely without needing a rotary
table to set the angles. :-)
Frankly, I'm somewhat enthused with the thing------
Great!
You, however, had motivation to learn deeply about the areas of
machining which you considered your own -- and we all can learn from you
on that.
Thank you for the kind words, DoN. I hope that my presence on RCM has been
beneficial for at least a few folks. I certainly have gleaned a serious
amount of knowledge and interesting information here. Seems a person can
learn something from almost everyone.
That's why the newsgroup exists -- and continues to exist.
Have fun with your new toy,
DoN.
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