Above 1200 Sq/FT Eastern Washington Workshop
- Thread starter slodat
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
Been a minute since I've posted. Been busy making a lot of parts, grew the team a little. Four of us now, with an incredible outside contractor that helps with some CAD and drawing work. I snap a lot of photos. Thought I'd share some of them..
I picked up a shop truck. It was time, and I need a one ton for when I need a one ton. I really like this BuiltRight molle panel with the hitch storage. Keeps things tidy and at the ready.
None of this is my design. I rarely design the parts, we just make them.
Welded assemblies like this are really satisfying when they are done.
The best part is they fit! Everything leaves powder coated. That continues to get better, and occasionally harder.
This is a full height door in progress.
At 90" tall they are a two man job to man handle at the sander and brake.
Turns out white is a real pain in the *** to get right. Thanks to @lilscorpion's help on the powder coating, I got this one out the door. It's really difficult to see coverage with white.
I picked up a shop truck. It was time, and I need a one ton for when I need a one ton. I really like this BuiltRight molle panel with the hitch storage. Keeps things tidy and at the ready.
None of this is my design. I rarely design the parts, we just make them.
Welded assemblies like this are really satisfying when they are done.
The best part is they fit! Everything leaves powder coated. That continues to get better, and occasionally harder.
This is a full height door in progress.
At 90" tall they are a two man job to man handle at the sander and brake.
Turns out white is a real pain in the *** to get right. Thanks to @lilscorpion's help on the powder coating, I got this one out the door. It's really difficult to see coverage with white.
The more problems we solve, the more challenging the problems folks bring us. This one is for a steel ring that is a little handle of sorts. To my surprise, it worked the first try.
I cut two slits:
Small punch, eased it down until I got what I wanted:
Completed part:
Everyone was happy! The next one was new to me. It's a 3/4" inlet to account for a breaker that's not quite where the design called for. I hadn't done the mitered corners. This one also worked first try. Feels like I'm pushing my luck:
This was welded to a flat panel. Didn't snap photos of the easy part on this one
This is a small latch. There are no datums to reference the part on the backguage on the brake. So, I made a small 3d printed fixture to hold the part for forming. I've seen this idea around. It worked a treat!
In the brake:
Cleaned up the slight blowout inherent in this approach to making the part and it worked out well.
I cut two slits:
Small punch, eased it down until I got what I wanted:
Completed part:
Everyone was happy! The next one was new to me. It's a 3/4" inlet to account for a breaker that's not quite where the design called for. I hadn't done the mitered corners. This one also worked first try. Feels like I'm pushing my luck:
This was welded to a flat panel. Didn't snap photos of the easy part on this one
This is a small latch. There are no datums to reference the part on the backguage on the brake. So, I made a small 3d printed fixture to hold the part for forming. I've seen this idea around. It worked a treat!
In the brake:
Cleaned up the slight blowout inherent in this approach to making the part and it worked out well.
I know I shared my challenges with vented covers in the past when still cutting with plasma. This one is a whole new level. 1/8" holes. 123 per row, 14 rows if I recall correctly. I used the flycut feature on the laser. When this is used, the head stays down and it flies. Literally. It's so fast!
The sheet was starting to lift on the end. Not a surprise.
That was on the test part. I checked temperature and was quite surprised:
It was cool to the touch. The holes are so small the laser is not putting any noticeable heat into the material. The 16bar compressed air also helps keep things cool.
The part after cutting:
And after a two passes through the sander:
I'm really happy with how this is going. I'm here now to finish these parts.
The sheet was starting to lift on the end. Not a surprise.
That was on the test part. I checked temperature and was quite surprised:
It was cool to the touch. The holes are so small the laser is not putting any noticeable heat into the material. The 16bar compressed air also helps keep things cool.
The part after cutting:
And after a two passes through the sander:
I'm really happy with how this is going. I'm here now to finish these parts.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Steven, OEM's have nothing on you and your team. Those parts are excellent! 
Congrats on the addition of shop personnel and equipment. It has been great watching you from the beginning to build this into a very successful business.
Cheers!
Congrats on the addition of shop personnel and equipment. It has been great watching you from the beginning to build this into a very successful business.
Cheers!
Thanks guys! We do the best we can given the constraints we’re working with. Some days are better than others.
Finished the nested panel flange parts. It is slitted where the offset flange is. In the future I’m going to try a 3d printed die that’s a little shorter than the die used for the rest of the bend.
After forming:
Things fit like they are supposed to:
Weld it up:
Some metal finishing. It’s not a hot rod
And powder:
I’m really happy with these.
Finished the nested panel flange parts. It is slitted where the offset flange is. In the future I’m going to try a 3d printed die that’s a little shorter than the die used for the rest of the bend.
After forming:
Things fit like they are supposed to:
Weld it up:
Some metal finishing. It’s not a hot rod
And powder:
I’m really happy with these.
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Steven, things are looking good and I understand completely good and bad days. Just step back and take a look! You are doing amazing things with what you have built!
dchasins
Well-known member
Just one thing to say: wow!
MadeByMiller
Well-known member
Stop it, I'm blushing!
I bought a used/rebuilt horizontal CNC press brake recently. It took some diagnosing and troubleshooting with their engineer.. it’s up and running.
This is a whole new class of machine. New, as it’s equipped it is exactly double what the 8’ vertical brake cost. They gave me a substantial discount and deal. Then when the included measuring v die looked like what was wrong, they discounted a new one in consideration of the time and effort I’d put into getting the machine going. I’m proud to say I never got truly frustrated. The new measuring die arrived today. One small parameter change and it is up and running.
This is a big deal for the company. No more test coupons for bending bus. The roller die faces mean no tooling marks on the parts. They also won’t obscure the engraving should it fall in the die area. Lastly, it’s in the newest building, completely dialed in and commissioned, and it’s really simple to use.
This is a whole new class of machine. New, as it’s equipped it is exactly double what the 8’ vertical brake cost. They gave me a substantial discount and deal. Then when the included measuring v die looked like what was wrong, they discounted a new one in consideration of the time and effort I’d put into getting the machine going. I’m proud to say I never got truly frustrated. The new measuring die arrived today. One small parameter change and it is up and running.
This is a big deal for the company. No more test coupons for bending bus. The roller die faces mean no tooling marks on the parts. They also won’t obscure the engraving should it fall in the die area. Lastly, it’s in the newest building, completely dialed in and commissioned, and it’s really simple to use.
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I wondered if it might have been Austin....nicely done gent's!
gearhead1960
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Happy New Year! Hope lack of updates is a sign business is good. Love to hear what’s new….