Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.



Set your feed rates low until you know what you do not know at the moment. Parifin sticks
available in the canning section at your local grocery might make decent test work pieces.

Do everything in G01 until you know what you are doing. I hope you have a working
feedrate override control switch.

Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

On 2010-07-24, Wes wrote:
Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.



Set your feed rates low until you know what you do not know at the moment. Parifin sticks
available in the canning section at your local grocery might make decent test work pieces.

Do everything in G01 until you know what you are doing. I hope you have a working
feedrate override control switch.

Wes, yes, I try to be careful.

i

On 2010-07-25, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

Abused some machinable wax,

Machinable wax is great stuff, isn't it? Did you buy it, or make it
yourself?


I bought it, but after that I read on how to make it. I bought a slab
of wax and stearine at a crafts store.

Actually the next project is to make molds for wax pieces that we'll
cast for the kids railroad.

i

Ignoramus8473 fired this volley in
:

I bought it, but after that I read on how to make it. I bought a slab
of wax and stearine at a crafts store.

I have a couple of hundred of pounds of stearine. It's not free, but a LOT
cheaper than craft store prices.

LLoyd

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed, their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

RogerN

On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed, their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's one

http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc/probe.htm

They are a switch that operates when the probe is barely touched. EMC saves
the position data when this input changes. It basically makes your mill a
3d digitizer. I think there are plans to build a probe somewhere on the
internet, could be an interesting project for your CNC.

RogerN

On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's one

http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc/probe.htm

They are a switch that operates when the probe is barely touched. EMC saves
the position data when this input changes. It basically makes your mill a
3d digitizer. I think there are plans to build a probe somewhere on the
internet, could be an interesting project for your CNC.

This is REALLY interesting, how would I use it with EMC and my mill?

Say, I am trying to replicate some foobar, could I do that sort of
thing with this probe?

Are there some terms to watch ebay and local auctions?

i

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the
expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the
Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's one

http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc/probe.htm

They are a switch that operates when the probe is barely touched. EMC
saves
the position data when this input changes. It basically makes your mill
a
3d digitizer. I think there are plans to build a probe somewhere on the
internet, could be an interesting project for your CNC.

This is REALLY interesting, how would I use it with EMC and my mill?

Unfortunately I'm not to that point yet but I think you could set up a
nested loop to probe an area at intervals that made sense with what you're
probing, a lot of detail needs fine probing to catch it... If you used a
probe with a 2mm ruby tip, and then used a 2mm ball end mill, you should be
able to cut to your probed positions. Other than that you know the surface
probed is 1mm from the center of the probe. I think you can import these
coordinates into something like Rhino and generate a surface from your
probed positions. Then CAM software would be used to generate CNC code for
your tools. I don't know much about this from first hand experience but I
asked about it before and that's basically what I found out. There could be
cheaper or free software for this now, I'm not sure.

Say, I am trying to replicate some foobar, could I do that sort of
thing with this probe?

Yes, search for info on this, I've found some info on it before. One guy
probed a penny with a sharp tipped probe, it captured good detail but the
penny had a bunch of little stick marks all over it.

Are there some terms to watch ebay and local auctions?

i


The name brand I usually see on these probes is Renishaw. Maybe you can
find a broken CMM for next to nothing and get a good probe!

RogerN

On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:
Say, I am trying to replicate some foobar, could I do that sort of
thing with this probe?

Yes, search for info on this, I've found some info on it before. One guy
probed a penny with a sharp tipped probe, it captured good detail but the
penny had a bunch of little stick marks all over it.

This is pretty interesting.

Are there some terms to watch ebay and local auctions?


The name brand I usually see on these probes is Renishaw. Maybe you can
find a broken CMM for next to nothing and get a good probe!

Kind of like this?

http://ef.algebra.com/e/140430855255

i

Ignoramus1880 wrote:
This is REALLY interesting, how would I use it with EMC and my mill?


EMC has a script that can be set up to probe a rectangular region and
record the surface. You just need to connect the probe to one of the
digital inputs and set up a couple lines of hal code to connect it to
the software. It is described somewhere in the EMC2 docs, look for probing.
Say, I am trying to replicate some foobar, could I do that sort of
thing with this probe?

Are there some terms to watch ebay and local auctions?

Renishaw and contact probe would be good search keywords. I just
checked, and "cnc probe" seems to be the most productive on eBay.
Don't expect good probes to go cheap, though. You can actually make one
pretty easily, I think there was an article on the metalworking dropbox
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/ or maybe the EMC list.

Jon

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's an example of an inexpensive one:

http://www.wildhorse-innovations.com...d&productId=80

The really good ones by Renishaw run around $2k or more - keep your eyes
open for one while browsing auctions.

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the
expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the
Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's one

http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc/probe.htm

They are a switch that operates when the probe is barely touched. EMC
saves
the position data when this input changes. It basically makes your mill
a
3d digitizer. I think there are plans to build a probe somewhere on the
internet, could be an interesting project for your CNC.

This is REALLY interesting, how would I use it with EMC and my mill?

Say, I am trying to replicate some foobar, could I do that sort of
thing with this probe?

Are there some terms to watch ebay and local auctions?

i

If you just need to reverse engineer a 2-D design, you might try this
shareware camera scanner:

http://www.tormach.com/blog/?p=1038

Mike

On 2010-07-26, Mike Henry wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's an example of an inexpensive one:

http://www.wildhorse-innovations.com...d&productId=80

The really good ones by Renishaw run around $2k or more - keep your eyes
open for one while browsing auctions.


Mike, this is very exciting. Why is not not quite as good as those
Renishaw probes? Can I use that one for light home hobby purposes?

Ignoramus2966 wrote:

On 2010-07-26, Mike Henry wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's an example of an inexpensive one:

http://www.wildhorse-innovations.com...d&productId=80

The really good ones by Renishaw run around $2k or more - keep your eyes
open for one while browsing auctions.


Mike, this is very exciting. Why is not not quite as good as those
Renishaw probes? Can I use that one for light home hobby purposes?

I'm not sure how useful this type of probing really is for typical HSM
uses. The point cloud you get from the probing will still require
substantial manual CAD work to translate into eventual G-code to
actually cut a part. If the item is 2D, you can probably just put it on
a flatbed scanner, scan an image, pull it in as the background in your
CAD software and trace it far faster than trying to point probe it. For
simple 3D parts the probe won't do much for you that a surface plate and
height gauge wouldn't do. Perhaps if you were working on reverse
engineering injection molding molds the probe would be helpful.

"Pete C." wrote in message
ster.com...

Ignoramus2966 wrote:

On 2010-07-26, Mike Henry wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I
may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the
expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the
machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make
something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and
digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the
Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I
already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's an example of an inexpensive one:

http://www.wildhorse-innovations.com...d&productId=80

The really good ones by Renishaw run around $2k or more - keep your
eyes
open for one while browsing auctions.


Mike, this is very exciting. Why is not not quite as good as those
Renishaw probes? Can I use that one for light home hobby purposes?

I'm not sure how useful this type of probing really is for typical HSM
uses. The point cloud you get from the probing will still require
substantial manual CAD work to translate into eventual G-code to
actually cut a part. If the item is 2D, you can probably just put it on
a flatbed scanner, scan an image, pull it in as the background in your
CAD software and trace it far faster than trying to point probe it. For
simple 3D parts the probe won't do much for you that a surface plate and
height gauge wouldn't do. Perhaps if you were working on reverse
engineering injection molding molds the probe would be helpful.

They're popular in China. g

--
Ed Huntress

On 2010-07-26, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

On 2010-07-25, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

Abused some machinable wax,

Machinable wax is great stuff, isn't it? Did you buy it, or make it
yourself?

I bought it, but after that I read on how to make it. I bought a slab
of wax and stearine at a crafts store.

I didn't put any stearine in mine - just plain paraffin wax and freezer
bags from the local supermarket.

How much polyethylene you used per lb of wax?

Great fun, in a watch-you-dont-burn-
yourself-or-set-the-shop-on-fire sort of way. I poured a 24x14.5x3.5
inch slab, out of which I carved a prototype dry sump for a BMW V8;
I learned a lot of machining thanks to the wax, & will definitely
use it again.

I bought a "Presto Kitchen Kettle" and an aluminum loaf pan at
KMart. This combo works pretty well. I will cast a few wax "loaves" to
be machined.

Actually the next project is to make molds for wax pieces that we'll
cast for the kids railroad.

Sounds great - casting followed by machining? One thing I found about
the wax, it shrinks _a lot_, you'll need to make your casts about 10%
oversize.

We will experiment. I do want to write the scripts for making the
molds scalable. This is because we have N scale and HO scale
railroads. So adding extra size should not be difficult.

i

On 2010-07-26, Ignoramus2966 wrote:
On 2010-07-26, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

On 2010-07-25, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

Abused some machinable wax,

Machinable wax is great stuff, isn't it? Did you buy it, or make it
yourself?

I bought it, but after that I read on how to make it. I bought a slab
of wax and stearine at a crafts store.

I didn't put any stearine in mine - just plain paraffin wax and freezer
bags from the local supermarket.

How much polyethylene you used per lb of wax?

And, I forgot to ask, what temperature?

i

Great fun, in a watch-you-dont-burn-
yourself-or-set-the-shop-on-fire sort of way. I poured a 24x14.5x3.5
inch slab, out of which I carved a prototype dry sump for a BMW V8;
I learned a lot of machining thanks to the wax, & will definitely
use it again.

I bought a "Presto Kitchen Kettle" and an aluminum loaf pan at
KMart. This combo works pretty well. I will cast a few wax "loaves" to
be machined.

Actually the next project is to make molds for wax pieces that we'll
cast for the kids railroad.

Sounds great - casting followed by machining? One thing I found about
the wax, it shrinks _a lot_, you'll need to make your casts about 10%
oversize.

We will experiment. I do want to write the scripts for making the
molds scalable. This is because we have N scale and HO scale
railroads. So adding extra size should not be difficult.

i

On 2010-07-26, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

On 2010-07-26, Ignoramus2966 wrote:
On 2010-07-26, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

On 2010-07-25, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

Abused some machinable wax,

Machinable wax is great stuff, isn't it? Did you buy it, or make it
yourself?

I bought it, but after that I read on how to make it. I bought a slab
of wax and stearine at a crafts store.

I didn't put any stearine in mine - just plain paraffin wax and freezer
bags from the local supermarket.

How much polyethylene you used per lb of wax?

The ratio is approximately 1:4 by weight, so 1lb of LDPE to 4lb wax, but
don't worry too much about it. If you find you cant' dissolve the full
amount, just reduce the LDPE quantity as required.

OK.

Got it.


And, I forgot to ask, what temperature?


Between about 150-180C (300-350F approx) is ideal, don't go above 200C
(400F) as you start getting towards the flashpoint of the wax. A jam
thermomemter works fine; or just use a deep fat fryer, which shouldn't
go above 200C anyway.

The Presto Kitchen Kettle has a dial that I can set to specify the
desired temperature. It is also VERY fast to heat wax to temp.

Great fun, in a watch-you-dont-burn-
yourself-or-set-the-shop-on-fire sort of way. I poured a 24x14.5x3.5
inch slab, out of which I carved a prototype dry sump for a BMW V8;
I learned a lot of machining thanks to the wax, & will definitely
use it again.

I bought a "Presto Kitchen Kettle" and an aluminum loaf pan at
KMart. This combo works pretty well. I will cast a few wax "loaves" to
be machined.

Looks ideal. The main thing is to pour an entire cast in one go. When I
made my slab I couldn't heat enough wax up in one shot, so I had to pour
it over 3 "sessions". The wax takes forever to re-melt, so the gap
between pours was quite significant; and I got quite a few fractures in
the wax between pours (where the new pour shrank away from the old).
Even so, it still hung together through a weeks worth of milling (& is
still in one piece now, several months later)...

Just buy that Presto kitchen kettle at your local KMart. It is awesome.

Actually the next project is to make molds for wax pieces that
we'll
cast for the kids railroad.

Sounds great - casting followed by machining? One thing I found about
the wax, it shrinks _a lot_, you'll need to make your casts about 10%
oversize.

We will experiment. I do want to write the scripts for making the
molds scalable. This is because we have N scale and HO scale
railroads. So adding extra size should not be difficult.

Sounds cool. I must get myself some CNC....

you will enjoy

On 2010-07-27, Ade wrote:
lid did gone and wrote:

The Presto Kitchen Kettle has a dial that I can set to specify the
desired temperature. It is also VERY fast to heat wax to temp.

Cool. I find the machinable wax takes _ages_ to re-melt, once made. It
is an extremely poor conductor of heat... much poorer than plain
paraffin wax for example.

I just made a loaf of machinable wax, using appx 3 lbs of paraffin and
almost 1 lb of LDPE (zip loc bags). I will see how well it works, once
it cools down.

Sounds cool. I must get myself some CNC....

you will enjoy

I've loved learning to machine manually; and working out ways to do
stuff (like slopes & curves) which would be a doddle with CNC. But there
are times when CNC really is the only way...


You know, as I am discovering, there is no comparisons.

i

"Ignoramus2966" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, Mike Henry wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-26, RogerN wrote:

"Ignoramus1880" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-25, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus8473 wrote:

Abused some machinable wax, drilled bolt holes, milled rectangular
pockets, faced stuff, etc. Had a friend over and he liked it. I may
make a sprocket for him.

i

Be sure to measure the results of your cuts and compare to the
expected
values, to ensure you did cutter comp. properly and that the machine
calibrations are correct, before you try to actually make something.

Yes Pete. I wanted to wire the buttons that increase and decrease
spindle speed. After that I will try. I am not sure how well I can
measure dimensions of something made of machinable wax.

I will take some pictures of my old BP to send to you.

i

Now you can get one of those probes to put in your spindle and digitize
with
it! That always sounded interesting to me, my mill still has the
Anilam
control, if I start using it again I plan to upgrade to EMC2, I already
changed the amps out from Glentek to AMC, the old Glenteks squealed,
their
PWM frequency was in audible range.

Roger, do you have any examples of those probes, what do they do
exactly?

Sounds interesting.

i

Here's an example of an inexpensive one:

http://www.wildhorse-innovations.com...d&productId=80

The really good ones by Renishaw run around $2k or more - keep your eyes
open for one while browsing auctions.


Mike, this is very exciting. Why is not not quite as good as those
Renishaw probes? Can I use that one for light home hobby purposes?

I'm no expert, but from what I've read the Renishaw probe is designed to
minimize the effects of friction. It's probably rated at something like
+/-0.0002" whereas teh Wildhorse model is +/- 0.0005" at best and probably
more like +/-0.001" in actual practice. Aligning the Wildhorse was a PITA
to me, but you might be more patient or good at sensitive work. I'd guess
that the Renishaw will hold calibration better/longer than the Wildhorse
too. It should be fine for hobby purposes.

Aside from using it to generate 3D point clouds of objects, they can also be
used to find centers of bores and edges of flat stock, either manually or
with a macro. There is also a routine available for Mach3 that figures out
the angular error of the vise jaw surface to the X axis and rotates the work
CS to align it to the vise. Pretty fancy way to eliminate vise alignment
errors.

There are some other garage shop probe brands out there including a nice one
from Europe that runs around $300.

Don't forget the 3D sensors either - I use one of those for my manual edge
finding and it is really nice to have. Those run around $350 new.

On 2010-07-27, Mike Henry wrote:
I'm no expert, but from what I've read the Renishaw probe is designed to
minimize the effects of friction. It's probably rated at something like
+/-0.0002" whereas teh Wildhorse model is +/- 0.0005" at best and probably
more like +/-0.001" in actual practice. Aligning the Wildhorse was a PITA
to me, but you might be more patient or good at sensitive work. I'd guess
that the Renishaw will hold calibration better/longer than the Wildhorse
too. It should be fine for hobby purposes.

Very nice.

Aside from using it to generate 3D point clouds of objects, they can also be
used to find centers of bores and edges of flat stock, either manually or
with a macro. There is also a routine available for Mach3 that figures out
the angular error of the vise jaw surface to the X axis and rotates the work
CS to align it to the vise. Pretty fancy way to eliminate vise alignment
errors.

I think that I should get that probe, looks very promising.

There are some other garage shop probe brands out there including a nice one
from Europe that runs around $300.

Don't forget the 3D sensors either - I use one of those for my manual edge
finding and it is really nice to have. Those run around $350 new.


How is that difference from the wildhorse probe?

i

"Ignoramus8984" wrote in message
...
On 2010-07-27, Mike Henry wrote:
I'm no expert, but from what I've read the Renishaw probe is designed to
minimize the effects of friction. It's probably rated at something like
+/-0.0002" whereas teh Wildhorse model is +/- 0.0005" at best and
probably
more like +/-0.001" in actual practice. Aligning the Wildhorse was a
PITA
to me, but you might be more patient or good at sensitive work. I'd
guess
that the Renishaw will hold calibration better/longer than the Wildhorse
too. It should be fine for hobby purposes.

Very nice.

Aside from using it to generate 3D point clouds of objects, they can also
be
used to find centers of bores and edges of flat stock, either manually or
with a macro. There is also a routine available for Mach3 that figures
out
the angular error of the vise jaw surface to the X axis and rotates the
work
CS to align it to the vise. Pretty fancy way to eliminate vise alignment
errors.

I think that I should get that probe, looks very promising.

There are some other garage shop probe brands out there including a nice
one
from Europe that runs around $300.

Don't forget the 3D sensors either - I use one of those for my manual
edge
finding and it is really nice to have. Those run around $350 new.


How is that difference from the wildhorse probe?

i

Google Haimer 3D Taster (German for sensor, I think). It's basically a dial
test indicator that can detect deviations along any of the 3 axes. Good to
+/- 0.0004", AIR. There is no electronic output, so it's strictly manual.