Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW

These look like micro bits used to drill PCB holes.

cheers
T.Alan

jw wrote:

Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

"Breaking a few" is seldom a good plan. If you're
cutting G10, get an 1/8 diamond endmill from Mcmaster
and use it carefully. It will last a long time and
make a beautifully clean cut. It will be about $30
well spent.

Breaking a few is conservatively saying I don't know what I am doing
with this machine yet. I don't have a manual and Roland no longer
supports this thing.

I fully expect that it will "overdrive" it's cutting capability at
least once. I don't want to be breaking $30 bits as a regular
circumstance.

I agree it's not a good plan, but during R&D I think it is to be
expected. After some familiarity with the machine I may invest in some
good bits, but not until I am reasonably confident.

JW

Jim Stewart wrote:
jw wrote:

Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

"Breaking a few" is seldom a good plan. If you're
cutting G10, get an 1/8 diamond endmill from Mcmaster
and use it carefully. It will last a long time and
make a beautifully clean cut. It will be about $30
well spent.

I got several boxes of these from Grizzly a few years go. The ones I
got are a mix of drill bits and burrs, not end-mills. They are designed
to turn 20,000-30,000 rpm with a vacuum to clear out the dust. We have
a DOALL drill press that runs this fast and does a good job of drilling
with the tiny bits.

I have used lots of them to drill out broken taps, etc. Sure they
break, but the price was really cheap a few years ago.

Sometimes handy to have around!

Paul

Most likely these are "burrs" or rotary files. If you keep the
feeds down you can make your own engraving style cutters out of
drill or carbide rod. Goodle for 1/2 round 1/4 round and facated
engraving tools. Won't be as good as the "store bought" ones but
will work. You might want to get a few "store bought" ones for
models.

Looking at the picture, it looks like these might be pretty good
to modify to 1/41/2 round style cutters by grinding back past the
"file"

Uncle George

On 17 Jan 2006 10:12:44 -0800, "jw" wrote:

Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW

I've used these in my CNC mill setup. The tiny ones are fragile as hell,
as would be expected. Plus it's mix-n-match - you can't guarantee what
sizes you're going to get, so if you program for one - break it - then
oops! The .050" units and above I've had pretty good luck with.

Still, I find them useful (finally). HF isn't the only supplier, these
are available from a variety of places. The price in your link is pretty
agressive from what I've seen in the past. If the freight is low, not
much of a loss.


jw said the following on 1/17/2006 12:12 PM:
Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW

On 17 Jan 2006 10:12:44 -0800, "jw" wrote:

Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW

Those are carbide drills for drilling printed circuit boards. They
drill holes just fine but they will not tolerate side thrust at all;
they snap if you even look at them crosseyed.

I would suggest getting some small cobalt HSS endmills from Enco.
They'll dull much faster than carbide when cutting PCB's, but they're
also a lot cheaper and not as easy to snap. Then go to carbide
endmills when you have things all sorted out so you are less likely to
break things.

jw writes:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

They are mostly tiny PCB drills, with perhaps one or two tiny endmills. It
is a grab bag of sizes, typically not well assorted. They have been
resharped and perhaps out of size or length spec, so that's why so cheap.

But they are otherwise good quality, and have worked great drilling
miniature holes for me on a few rare occasions when I needed to. They're
worth buying a few packs just to have on hand if you ever might have a need
for something that small.

As others have said, carbide is brittle and in that small size you need a
very sensitive, low-runout, high-speed machine to use them without a
problem. I used them on a Bridgeport, but the quill is a bit heavy handed.

They are good, sharp bits, but VERY fragile and brittle. Overload them
just a little, and you better be wearing eye protection.
JR
Dweller in the cellar
jw wrote:

Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW



--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

If you are in the Bay area - or a PCB area - go to a grinding shop.
You will find boxes of un-claimed drills and mills and other shaped cutters.

LPKF trained - ran the software on computer and later on the machine.
Interesting blazing along with a 7 mill endmill or drilling holes...
Important to have a vac cleaner on it - to keep the glass fiber down.

Do you have any documentation - ? Hope so - it helps.

Martin

Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



jw wrote:
Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW


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I've used those before.

They are simply Carbide - number and metric drills - with a plastic collar on it
that is set at a precise distance. When the Drill gets ground the plastic is re-set.

The ring is for automated machines - it is a seating plane.

I used to get those by the shoe box full for free every time we went to the
grind shop (all automated machines) as the counters were filling up with them.

After a grind or two - the cost of grinding and the age of drill - they dump them
and buy new. Smaller companies forget or can't pay...

I wonder what happened to my box that I brought home. We could only use a small
percentage of the ones as they are to small for most parts. They are used for parts,
feed troughs, RF parts...... Hybrid and IC stack ups.

Martin

Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



jw wrote:
Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).

Thanks everyone

JW


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http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
If you are in the Bay area - or a PCB area - go to a grinding shop.
You will find boxes of un-claimed drills and mills and other shaped cutters.


Unfortunately no. I live out in the sticks(relatively speaking).
There may be some companies around here that do this type of thing
though. I will have to do some calling and see what I can find out.

Sounds like these may be useful, but neccesarily everything I need.
Drilling PCBs is part of the goal, but still need a cutter for traces
and other modelling.

Do you have any documentation - ? Hope so - it helps.

Yes and no. I can't find a manual for my exact machine, but I have
found stuff for newer machines that is "close enough" to at least get
me somewhere. W/O that I probably would still be swearing at it.

FWIW - It is a CAMM3 PNC-3000 made by Roland. Mfg in the mid-80s.

Thanks

JW

G10 was unsafe - it caught on fire - so years ago we switched to FR4.
I used G-Tek on my last boards. They really were nice. 12GHz when 6 was
needed. The parts were toggling at 3GHz.
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



Jim Stewart wrote:
jw wrote:

Has anyone here used these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34640

They appear to be endmills or at least some sort of sidecutting bit.
Is this true?

I would call HF, but I don't expect whomever answers the phone to know
much more than what is already listed on the website/catalog.

Background info: I have a small CNC mill (Roland CAMM3), that I have
FINALLY gotten around to proving actually works. Now that I have done
so, I would like to make some stuff with it. It is a benchtop
modeller, and is designed for small bits. I could buy the bits from
Roland but they want a lot of money. I don't expect that these are
going to be "top-end", but if they get the job done they would be cheap
enough to break a few.

I would like to do some cut PCBs and also cutting some shapes in
plastic sheet(see recent thread in relation to that).


"Breaking a few" is seldom a good plan. If you're
cutting G10, get an 1/8 diamond endmill from Mcmaster
and use it carefully. It will last a long time and
make a beautifully clean cut. It will be about $30
well spent.


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----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

I went to LPKF school - it was instructive - a little obtuse due to the
software being a little that way.

We used mostly 7 and 10 mil 2 flute endmill and some stronger drill like tools
that were used to cut out slots and holes.

The pcb was mounted atop a special type of Masonite like board - flat on both
sides and dust free - more or less. Use a vac of some type - the fine fiber
can be harmful.

The board under the one we were drilling is there to protect drilling through
into the metal bed.

Martin
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



jw wrote:
Martin H. Eastburn wrote:

If you are in the Bay area - or a PCB area - go to a grinding shop.
You will find boxes of un-claimed drills and mills and other shaped cutters.



Unfortunately no. I live out in the sticks(relatively speaking).
There may be some companies around here that do this type of thing
though. I will have to do some calling and see what I can find out.

Sounds like these may be useful, but neccesarily everything I need.
Drilling PCBs is part of the goal, but still need a cutter for traces
and other modelling.


Do you have any documentation - ? Hope so - it helps.


Yes and no. I can't find a manual for my exact machine, but I have
found stuff for newer machines that is "close enough" to at least get
me somewhere. W/O that I probably would still be swearing at it.

FWIW - It is a CAMM3 PNC-3000 made by Roland. Mfg in the mid-80s.

Thanks

JW


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