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Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot
across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message ... I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. What will you pay for the best idea? Only kidding. Gang cut as many pieces as you can fit on a table with an overarm track with a 3HP router(or other motor available) equipped with a 1 -1/2" end mill. Dave |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner wrote:
I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. It's custom tooling time. How much are you willing to invest in multiple station equipment? Lew |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner wrote:
I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Stack a bunch of workpieces together, use a (possibly CNC) router on an XY table with stops? Maybe a mandrel, supported on both sides, with an extra-wide dado set and a custom table? Chris |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" writes:
I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. How long is the beech block? I'd setup a RAS with a dado head and cut 4 of them at a time. scott |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message ... I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. How long are the blocks? This only works if they are square - or close to it. Router table with 2 inserts, offset by 3/4". Fence on one side, featherboard on the other. Use a 3/4" bit with end milling capabilities in each router. With another long featherboard over top, you could just keep pushing them through and they will fall off the outfeed side into a bin. If the pieces are long, you could use the 2-router setup with a miter slot and sled. Put a stop block on the infeed side of the cutters, set the pieces (gang as many as you like) on the sled, set the ends to the stop block, pass through the cutters. Toughest part would be the initial lineup of the inserts/miter slot. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
On Thu, 28 Sep 2006 17:12:21 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Dedicated shaper with an end mill cutter, a stack feeder onto the table and than a stock feeder through the cutter with roller featherboards hard fastened. Will have to experiment with cutter profiles depending on what you can live with for exit tearout. With that kind of volume you should be able to rig up some simple hard automation for feeding and handling and make it a load and walk away. Frank |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message ... I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Good ideas so far, thanks. We now have a Hitachi 3 hp TR-12 with a 1-1/2" router bit in a table with a jig sliding on Thomson linear bearings. The operator drops a block in the jig , slides it through and it drops in a barrel. The routers last about 6 months then we throw them away as they are not worth repairing. I'm at about 4-5 seconds each now. I thought of a dado but 1.5 is too wide. I have a spare shaper with a powered round table but the cycle time would be hard to beat 5 sec. and the cost of building a table is about $800 in house. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
ShopBot with a straight cutting bit and gang the
blocks as much as possible. http://www.shopbottools.com/ Tom Gardner wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
How about something like a Williams & Hussey molding machine with a set of
knives that cuts a 1 1/2" wide, 3/64" deep groove down the middle. Then just feed the blocks through or, better yet, if possible, feed the stock through and cut it into blocks after the groove is in it. Lee -- To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon" _________________________________ Lee Gordon http://www.leegordonproductions.com |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message ... I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Is that for 5 days or 500 days? That makes a difference in how much you can afford to spend to automate. There are industrial machine cutters that can knock that out in a short time, but you will be investing far more than the cost of a dado setup on a cabinet saw or router. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Edwin Pawlowski wrote: "Tom Gardner" wrote in message ... I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Is that for 5 days or 500 days? That makes a difference in how much you can afford to spend to automate. There are industrial machine cutters that can knock that out in a short time, but you will be investing far more than the cost of a dado setup on a cabinet saw or router. Yep. I'd think you could really crank out a bunch with a dado stack and some featherboards on a table saw. I envsion a flume type set-up on an infeed table, and a box on the floor behind the saw to catch them. Have one guy line up 15 or 20 blocks (how long are they?) and another guy push 'em through with a long push stick - the kind that sits on top with a heel at the back to catch the last one. I bet you could cut your cycle time significantly. JP |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
note: you could do a similar type operation with a shaper.
jp |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. 3/64" deep? I'm curious, why do you need to cut this (I hesitate to use the word) "slot" anyway? If I had to do 2000 of these a day, I believe I'd take this old 4" jointer I have but seldom use, and and grind an old set of knives to give the 1.5" width. Cut the blocks to length afterwards. -- No dumb questions, just dumb answers. Larry Wasserman - Baltimore, Maryland - lwasserm(@)charm(.)net |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner (in ) said:
| I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep | slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at | least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to | influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster | cheaper way. Lots of ways to skin this cat. A 1-1/2"x3/64" +/-0.002" is easy and 14.4 sec/block (28,800 sec per 8-hour shift divided by 2000 blocks) is actually pretty slow. The limiting factors appear to be [1] ability to cool the cutting tool and [2] material handling ability. [1] isn't a big problem; but the method used will depend on [3] below. [2] is a larger issue - material handling might be much simplified and labor content minimized if the tooling solution inputs boards, and outputs slotted blocks. The big questions a [3] How many of these blocks would you really like to produce in an 8-hour shift/day? I think that 25,000 blocks/workcenter/shift isn't an unreasonable target. [4] What is the value of production volume (IOW, how much does it make sense to spend to achieve your production target)? "As cheap as possible" is not an answer to this question. -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner (nospam) wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block In terms of force applied and energy used, two of the recommendations are appealing and can be hybridized to make a solution similar to the Roy Underhill style of work. Saw the edges of the slot, then chisel out the waste. Two thin-kerf blades in a dado-like setup (with washers as spacers instead of chipper blades) can define the slot edges on a table saw. Then a jointer with custom blades can hog out the waste. The benefit is: buried in a cut, the thin-kerf blades will cut true and have plenty of cooling, and only make a little sawdust. Then the jointer blades will take out big chunks of toothpick-shaped waste, taking very little energy (because the fibers are already cut at the ends). In terms of energy required and stress on the wood, there is one better way to do the job, with a succession of passes with the right kind of plane (with knives to slit the edge and a rabbet iron to hog the waste, it can ALL be little toothpick-waste with no sawdust). Is it acceptable to set up several shapers together? |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner wrote:
I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. How about a Woodmaster http://www.woodmastertools.com/s/index.cfm or similar machine with 2, possibly 3 molding heads for the slot. You'd have to use longer pieces, then cut to length because of the 8" minimal planing length. With a custom bed board you could have 2 or 3 pieces running through at once. It might even be worth a custom head from Byrd Tools http://www.byrdtool.com/shs1.html to speed blade replacement. Joe |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner (nospam) wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Outsource this to China. Americans are unable to handle anything that requires more then 3 repeat activities |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"warbler" wrote in message oups.com... Tom Gardner (nospam) wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. Outsource this to China. Americans are unable to handle anything that requires more then 3 repeat activities Close! I had to farm out 90% of my woodworking to an Amish company. I just couldn't find anybody that actually would work. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Morris Dovey" wrote in message ... Tom Gardner (in ) said: | I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep | slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at | least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to | influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster | cheaper way. Lots of ways to skin this cat. A 1-1/2"x3/64" +/-0.002" is easy and 14.4 sec/block (28,800 sec per 8-hour shift divided by 2000 blocks) is actually pretty slow. The limiting factors appear to be [1] ability to cool the cutting tool and [2] material handling ability. [1] isn't a big problem; but the method used will depend on [3] below. [2] is a larger issue - material handling might be much simplified and labor content minimized if the tooling solution inputs boards, and outputs slotted blocks. The big questions a [3] How many of these blocks would you really like to produce in an 8-hour shift/day? I think that 25,000 blocks/workcenter/shift isn't an unreasonable target. [4] What is the value of production volume (IOW, how much does it make sense to spend to achieve your production target)? "As cheap as possible" is not an answer to this question. -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Morris Dovey" wrote in message ... Tom Gardner (in ) said: | I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep | slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at | least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to | influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster | cheaper way. Lots of ways to skin this cat. A 1-1/2"x3/64" +/-0.002" is easy and 14.4 sec/block (28,800 sec per 8-hour shift divided by 2000 blocks) is actually pretty slow. The limiting factors appear to be [1] ability to cool the cutting tool and [2] material handling ability. [1] isn't a big problem; but the method used will depend on [3] below. [2] is a larger issue - material handling might be much simplified and labor content minimized if the tooling solution inputs boards, and outputs slotted blocks. The big questions a [3] How many of these blocks would you really like to produce in an 8-hour shift/day? I think that 25,000 blocks/workcenter/shift isn't an unreasonable target. [4] What is the value of production volume (IOW, how much does it make sense to spend to achieve your production target)? "As cheap as possible" is not an answer to this question. -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto I do it now with a 3 hp router swinging a 1.5" bit. The block fits in a sliding jig on linear bearings. The operator slides the jig across the bit and the block drops in a barrel. It takes about 4-5 seconds. Not too bad, but I'm worried about repetitive motion injuries and the routers only last 4 months. My production requirements are only 800 per day but I can only dedicate so many man-hours so I need 300 per hour. Cycle time has to include material handling and pee breaks. My biggest concern is the possibility of repetitive motion injury so, I'd rather spend the money to automate rather than taking the chance of somebody getting hurt. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
wrote in message ... In article , Tom Gardner wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. 3/64" deep? I'm curious, why do you need to cut this (I hesitate to use the word) "slot" anyway? If I had to do 2000 of these a day, I believe I'd take this old 4" jointer I have but seldom use, and and grind an old set of knives to give the 1.5" width. Cut the blocks to length afterwards. -- No dumb questions, just dumb answers. Larry Wasserman - Baltimore, Maryland - lwasserm(@)charm(.)net The blocks are 7" long and I buy them. I can't make them cheap enough anymore so I farmed it out to an Amish company, they do a great job! I only have to do 600-800/day but I can't dedicate 8 man-hours to it, only 3-4. See: http://www.smithrestaurantsupply.com...cfm/4,2134.htm this shows the parts and how they fit. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 08:35:23 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote: wrote in message .. . In article , Tom Gardner wrote: I need the best, cheapest way to cut a 1-1/2" wide by 3/64" deep slot across a KD Beech block that is 2-1/4" wide. I need to do at least 2,000/day. I already do this but I won't say how as not to influence you. We are trying to come up with a better, faster cheaper way. 3/64" deep? I'm curious, why do you need to cut this (I hesitate to use the word) "slot" anyway? If I had to do 2000 of these a day, I believe I'd take this old 4" jointer I have but seldom use, and and grind an old set of knives to give the 1.5" width. Cut the blocks to length afterwards. -- No dumb questions, just dumb answers. Larry Wasserman - Baltimore, Maryland - lwasserm(@)charm(.)net The blocks are 7" long and I buy them. I can't make them cheap enough anymore so I farmed it out to an Amish company, they do a great job! I only have to do 600-800/day but I can't dedicate 8 man-hours to it, only 3-4. See: http://www.smithrestaurantsupply.com...cfm/4,2134.htm this shows the parts and how they fit. A dado stack or molding cutterhead would do the job quickly. Even if the stack isn't wide enough, it'd be pretty easy to bolt a sacrifical fence to the miter gauge (or make a crosscut sled) with two blocks screwed to it as stops at 6.25" from the center line on each side (assuming a 3/4" dado stack) Run the first cut with the block tight to one side, then slide the block over to the other side and finish it off. Simple, cheap, and quick- and you're not going to burn out a table saw every few months. If the cut is rough from the dado stack, but needs to be smooth, easiest bet might be to use the above method, then clean the groove with a 1.5" sanding belt. Easy to make a jig for that, too- just get a standard industrial deburring sander and put a couple of blocks on a mount behind the belt to make sure the depth remains consistant, and a couple of stops on either side to ensure that the corners don't get knocked off when aligning the pieces. Same deal as above works here, too- if it's cheaper or easier to get 1" belts, get them and make the side stops a little oversized to allow the operator to slide the piece back and forth. Probably a good idea to make the sanding jig out of steel- it costs a little more, but will hold up a lot better to industrial-type use. Should be able to make 800-900 pieces really quickly that way, unless your employees are masters at wasting time. Nice thing about what you're doing there is that you can just make a single jig for each step and lock it in- no excuses for boneheads to mess up a whole order of them. As far as the repetitive motion goes, I don't think you're going to avoid that entirely unless you make a robot to do it. Which isn't a terrible idea either- a guy could do that mechanically for a couple of grand, and then set it to run and walk away. There, the router is probably the best bet, but you could get a heavy-duty motor and just mount a collet to it- no need to go out and buy a router with any bells and whistles if you are just going to mount it in a carriage. Of course, if these are a real pain the butt for you and you'd like to outsource, |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Tom Gardner (in ) said:
[ Paragraphs reordered ] | My production requirements are only 800 per day but I can only | dedicate so many man-hours so I need 300 per hour. Cycle time has | to include material handling and pee breaks. Ok - this essential info was missing - and is necessary to have a starting point. | I do it now with a 3 hp router swinging a 1.5" bit. The block fits | in a sliding jig on linear bearings. The operator slides the jig | across the bit and the block drops in a barrel. It takes about 4-5 | seconds. Not too bad, but I'm worried about repetitive motion | injuries and the routers only last 4 months. I suggest hitting E-Bay until you find a good price on a 5-10 hp industrial spindle and a VFD. If the spindle hasn't been abused, it should last a very long time. I use a 5 hp Colombo spindle and Delta (not the tool co) VFD for CNC routing and expect that they'll outlast me. It would not be difficult to move your sliding jig with one or a pair of micro-steppers and set up the jig to clamp while in motion and release at extremes of movement. That would allow the operator to drop the block into the jig and press a pair of buttons (one for each hand), then reach for the next block while the cut is being made. You should be able to feed the block past the cutter at 3-4 in/sec (180-240 ft/min). Once the cut block has been dropped, the jig can be retrieved at a still higher speed. You'd need a PC (an old, recycled 386 would probably do) and a stepper controller to drive the motors. Using steppers makes it easy to control feed speed and acceleration/deceleration of the fixture. If you follow the link below, you can see what the controller would look like. Your machine, of course, would only be a single-axis machine and only 1/3 as complex as the JBot shown on the web page. | My biggest concern is the possibility of repetitive motion injury | so, I'd rather spend the money to automate rather than taking the | chance of somebody getting hurt. Well, the operator will need to move - and the movements will be repetitive... unless you set up a system to pick blocks off a pallet or out of a box. :-) Actually, I think it'd be fun to build something like this! E-mail me if you'd like help. -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood (fixed link)
Morris Dovey (in ) said:
| If you follow the link below, you can see what the controller would | look like. (corrected) -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/JBot.html |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message . .. The blocks are 7" long and I buy them. I can't make them cheap enough anymore so I farmed it out to an Amish company, they do a great job! I only have to do 600-800/day but I can't dedicate 8 man-hours to it, only 3-4. Have you asked your Amish supplier how much they would charge to supply the blocks already to your spec? -- Roger Shoaf If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Roger Shoaf" wrote in message ... "Tom Gardner" wrote in message . .. The blocks are 7" long and I buy them. I can't make them cheap enough anymore so I farmed it out to an Amish company, they do a great job! I only have to do 600-800/day but I can't dedicate 8 man-hours to it, only 3-4. Have you asked your Amish supplier how much they would charge to supply the blocks already to your spec? Gentlemen, we are in the presence of genius. Good question, Roger! -- Mark |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Have you asked your Amish supplier how much they would charge to supply the blocks already to your spec? -- Roger Shoaf If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent. Well, kinda'! The idea was brought up but dismissed due to the fact that the slot has to be indexed to one end of the block. The tolerance is +/- 1/16" and if the block is but in the brush machine the wrong way, and the block was over or undersized, by even the 1/16", the pattern would interfere with the mounting holes. The clamps on the brush machine leave a witness mark that orients it in all the rest of the operations. However, I intend to revisit it now that you bring it up. If the Amish can mark the orientation, it'll work. Good idea, thanks! |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Mark Jerde" wrote in message news:JABTg.14266$gF3.1@trnddc02... "Roger Shoaf" wrote in message ... "Tom Gardner" wrote in message . .. The blocks are 7" long and I buy them. I can't make them cheap enough anymore so I farmed it out to an Amish company, they do a great job! I only have to do 600-800/day but I can't dedicate 8 man-hours to it, only 3-4. Have you asked your Amish supplier how much they would charge to supply the blocks already to your spec? Gentlemen, we are in the presence of genius. Good question, Roger! -- Mark You're right, he's right! |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Morris Dovey" wrote in message ... Tom Gardner (in ) said: [ Paragraphs reordered ] | My production requirements are only 800 per day but I can only | dedicate so many man-hours so I need 300 per hour. Cycle time has | to include material handling and pee breaks. Ok - this essential info was missing - and is necessary to have a starting point. | I do it now with a 3 hp router swinging a 1.5" bit. The block fits | in a sliding jig on linear bearings. The operator slides the jig | across the bit and the block drops in a barrel. It takes about 4-5 | seconds. Not too bad, but I'm worried about repetitive motion | injuries and the routers only last 4 months. I suggest hitting E-Bay until you find a good price on a 5-10 hp industrial spindle and a VFD. If the spindle hasn't been abused, it should last a very long time. I use a 5 hp Colombo spindle and Delta (not the tool co) VFD for CNC routing and expect that they'll outlast me. It would not be difficult to move your sliding jig with one or a pair of micro-steppers and set up the jig to clamp while in motion and release at extremes of movement. That would allow the operator to drop the block into the jig and press a pair of buttons (one for each hand), then reach for the next block while the cut is being made. You should be able to feed the block past the cutter at 3-4 in/sec (180-240 ft/min). Once the cut block has been dropped, the jig can be retrieved at a still higher speed. You'd need a PC (an old, recycled 386 would probably do) and a stepper controller to drive the motors. Using steppers makes it easy to control feed speed and acceleration/deceleration of the fixture. If you follow the link below, you can see what the controller would look like. Your machine, of course, would only be a single-axis machine and only 1/3 as complex as the JBot shown on the web page. | My biggest concern is the possibility of repetitive motion injury | so, I'd rather spend the money to automate rather than taking the | chance of somebody getting hurt. Well, the operator will need to move - and the movements will be repetitive... unless you set up a system to pick blocks off a pallet or out of a box. :-) Actually, I think it'd be fun to build something like this! E-mail me if you'd like help. -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto Good solution, we'll toss it around in this week's meetings...you'll get the credit though! |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Tom Gardner" wrote in message om... Well, kinda'! The idea was brought up but dismissed due to the fact that the slot has to be indexed to one end of the block. The tolerance is +/- 1/16" and if the block is but in the brush machine the wrong way, and the block was over or undersized, by even the 1/16", the pattern would interfere with the mounting holes. The clamps on the brush machine leave a witness mark that orients it in all the rest of the operations. However, I intend to revisit it now that you bring it up. If the Amish can mark the orientation, it'll work. Good idea, thanks! You might be able to facilitate this with your Amish vendor by offering to supply him with a jig of some sort. +- 1/16" is a whopping big tolerance, The craftsmanship of the Amish wood workers ought to be able to give you at least +- 1/32". -- __ Roger Shoaf Important factors in selecting a mate: 1] Depth of gene pool 2] Position on the food chain. |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
"Morris Dovey" wrote Snip of some very good advice It would not be difficult to move your sliding jig with one or a pair of micro-steppers and set up the jig to clamp while in motion and release at extremes of movement. That would allow the operator to drop the block into the jig and press a pair of buttons (one for each hand), then reach for the next block while the cut is being made. You should be able to feed the block past the cutter at 3-4 in/sec (180-240 ft/min). Once the cut block has been dropped, the jig can be retrieved at a still higher speed. You'd need a PC (an old, recycled 386 would probably do) and a stepper controller to drive the motors. Using steppers makes it easy to control feed speed and acceleration/deceleration of the fixture. Hey Morris, This job is easily handled by a servo motor system. The one I'm thinking about is a stepper motor with an integral controller. This controller can be PC controlled, or you can program it to perform the very functions you describe. With four digital input/output lines, and one analog input line, you can (a) start sequence with two switches in series. This drops a shield, forces a clamp to close, start the spindle, and after a brief (programmed) delay, starts moving. When it hits the end-limit switch, it shuts off the spindle, releases the clamp (allowing the part to drop), and after another brief (programmed) delay, returns the carriage to the home position (set by the "home" switch). The analog input port can be used to set the travel speed, and you have the last output to either serve as a clamp release, or other function you may desire. I used 3-stack 34 size motors from Intelligent Motion Systems (http://www.imshome.com/mdriveplus_overview.html) for the assembly line battery tester; I was moving 45-60 pounds of fixtures on two axis and needed the torque. We used acme screw rod and nut to move, and used turned, ground, polished rod on linear bearings for low friction directional control. Hope this helps ... with this approach, it's more mechanical than electrical. You will, of course, have to provide a power supply for the motor, and will need an RS-422/485 interface (available from IMS as well) to program and/or control the motor. Nice thing about the 422 comms, you can daisychain a pile of motors on one comms line (I had 14 steppers running at once in direct comms mode with no issues). Regards, Rick |
Cutting shallow, wide slot in hardwood
Rick M (in ) said:
| "Morris Dovey" wrote | | Snip of some very good advice || || It would not be difficult to move your sliding jig with one or a || pair of micro-steppers and set up the jig to clamp while in motion || and release at extremes of movement. That would allow the operator || to drop the block into the jig and press a pair of buttons (one || for each hand), then reach for the next block while the cut is || being made. You should be able to feed the block past the cutter || at 3-4 in/sec (180-240 ft/min). Once the cut block has been || dropped, the jig can be retrieved at a still higher speed. You'd || need a PC (an old, recycled 386 would probably do) and a stepper || controller to drive the motors. Using steppers makes it easy to || control feed speed and acceleration/deceleration of the fixture. | | Hey Morris, | | This job is easily handled by a servo motor system. The one I'm | thinking about is a stepper motor with an integral controller. This | controller can be PC controlled, or you can program it to perform | the very functions you describe. With four digital input/output | lines, and one analog input line, you can (a) start sequence with | two switches in series. This drops a shield, forces a clamp to | close, start the spindle, and after a brief (programmed) delay, | starts moving. When it hits the end-limit switch, it shuts off the | spindle, releases the clamp (allowing the part to drop), and after | another brief (programmed) delay, returns the carriage to the home | position (set by the "home" switch). The analog input port can be | used to set the travel speed, and you have the last output to | either serve as a clamp release, or other function you may desire. Sounds good. I think I'd leave the spindle running and only power it down if the operator failed to initiate a cycle within some timeout period - say ten or fifteen seconds. | I used 3-stack 34 size motors from Intelligent Motion Systems | (http://www.imshome.com/mdriveplus_overview.html) for the assembly | line battery tester; I was moving 45-60 pounds of fixtures on two | axis and needed the torque. We used acme screw rod and nut to move, | and used turned, ground, polished rod on linear bearings for low | friction directional control. Also sounds good to me. I used essentially the same linear motion control approach with the JBot; but found a threadless lead screw and follower (DAGS: Rohlix) that I think I may like better. | Hope this helps ... with this approach, it's more mechanical than | electrical. You will, of course, have to provide a power supply for | the motor, and will need an RS-422/485 interface (available from | IMS as well) to program and/or control the motor. Nice thing about | the 422 comms, you can daisychain a pile of motors on one comms | line (I had 14 steppers running at once in direct comms mode with | no issues). Does help. Even nicer aspect of the 422 I/F is that it's pretty much immune to shop electrical noise over long runs. I think perhaps you should be offering Tom a proposal. :-) -- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto |
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