Above 1200 Sq/FT Eastern Washington Workshop

[macgyver37]

If you don't think you will use that chamfer mill, have your sharpening shop resharpen it to 90 deg, my local guy modifies cutters for me for a good price.
Speaking of that, since you are making your own products, it may be worth it on an operation in the future where a custom cutter an make a huge difference in time. Something as simple as a drill and countersink combo can save a ton of time.

 

[slodat]

If you don't think you will use that chamfer mill, have your sharpening shop resharpen it to 90 deg, my local guy modifies cutters for me for a good price.
Speaking of that, since you are making your own products, it may be worth it on an operation in the future where a custom cutter a make a huge difference in time. Something as simple as a drill and countersink combo can save a ton of time.

Great suggestion! I will use the 100 degree chamfer though. The point of the post was more that I didn’t notice the included angle in the eBay post. Because of the way Fusion does 2D chamfer toolpaths, there’s no easy chamfer step over, or roughing, or similar. I do the step overs by using multiple toolpaths with increasing chamfer widths. So, I wanted to try a 3/4” chamfer mill on one of my parts. It’s probably a tiny bit better if the feature is 100 degrees.

I’m trying to keep my tooling simple and costs low for now while my part quantities are low. Custom tools will make sense at some point I’m sure. The time savings on the tool changes alone in your example are huge. Today, I’m excited to have a tool changer and 400ipm rapids!

 

[zanyad]

I’m trying to keep my tooling simple and costs low for now while my part quantities are low. Custom tools will make sense at some point I’m sure. The time savings on the tool changes alone in your example are huge. Today, I’m excited to have a tool changer and 400ipm rapids!

IIRC, tool change is about 6 seconds on my TM-1P.

 

[Finallygotit]

Steven, about those ISO-Tunes ear muffs, you said you wore them all day. Are they really that comfortable? I have a pair of muffs that have circuitry to kill noises over a certain db level. Up to that point the mic lets in sound so one can converse, or listen......but they are uncomfortable after wearing them for a while.

 

[slodat]

Steven, about those ISO-Tunes ear muffs, you said you wore them all day. Are they really that comfortable? I have a pair of muffs that have circuitry to kill noises over a certain db level. Up to that point the mic lets in sound so one can converse, or listen......but they are uncomfortable after wearing them for a while.

Dan, yesterday was my first day with them. I probably wore them an hour at a time without taking them off. I tend to step out of the machine room for one reason or another about once a hour. They didn’t bother me while wearing them and I’m happy with the level of noise reduction. I am use to wearing other muffs while running machines. That may play into it. They aren’t over the top comfy, but they didn’t bother me. I can report back after another long day.

 

[Finallygotit]

BTW, I had a thought about those Storm cases for you. Not knowing your clientele, what do you think about a little marketing idea. If your customers return the Storm cases for more product, give them a slight discount. You could market it as keeping the cases out of the landfill and such.

Just a random thought. YMMV

 

[rvieceli]

@slodat Do you put your logo on those cases?

Since you have the laser, I'd be tempted to laser engrave every single one of those aluminum pieces in that case as well.

Ron

 

[slodat]

Ron - yes, each case leaves the shop with a custom laser engraved label, and each component is engraved with the fiber laser as well. This is why I bought the fiber laser.

 

[slodat]

New tooling is always fun. By the looks of it, the Haas tooling is nice. The price is excellent on this package, and free shipping. This came as a ready to go setup that Haas offers. It includes the holder, pull stud, insert end mill, inserts, and tool for $150. This is hard to beat for the price.







I suspect I may end up with a 3/4 version of this insert end mill. The YG1 hydraulic chuck:



This is my first hydraulic chuck. I'm excited to see if it makes a difference on the wall finish. Another excellent bang for the buck tool. This is over $100 less than any other options I found, including Haas.

 

[macgyver37]

I’m trying to keep my tooling simple and costs low for now while my part quantities are low. Custom tools will make sense at some point I’m sure. The time savings on the tool changes alone in your example are huge. Today, I’m excited to have a tool changer and 400ipm rapids!

Yeah, I figured you didn't need any yet, but it is nice to remember when you do.

My example of the countersink drill combo, I sometimes do air table tops for an oem, they can be anywhere from 24x24" and we have done one that was multiple pcs that made up 8x22ft. Standard layout is app 980 holes for a 4x8, so that combo drill is a huge time savings on even just a single part order.
I'm looking at getting one that does 3 diameters at once but haven't reconciled how to account for wear on the one critical ID yet, so I keep circmilling for now.

 

[RickP]

Thanks for the update on how your business is going. Also, those Storm cases sound pretty nice -- I've been looking for a reason to buy a Pelican, but I think I'll try Storm instead based on your comments.

 

[ODIS]

Always interesting. Thank you.

 

[slodat]

A lot of what I do involves varying degrees of reverse engineering. Today's subject is a circuit breaker. I need to get measurements off it for the engineers I'm working with. First, I have to rack it out of the gear. I don't have the racking tool. It goes in here:



This shaft is turned to withdraw (rack out) the breaker. Take a few measurements and some CAD work:



All of the machining was manual, except the square drive hole.



These are typically a speed wrench sort of thing. The socket takes up little room in the drawer, and it much less to make. Socket it is!



First time boring a blind hole on the lathe. Went well, even with the smallest insert boring bar I have. Then move to the mill.



The slot was a simple manual operation. I'm really happy with the end result.







I hit it with the buffer and it cleaned up nicely for what it is. And, most importantly, it works!

 

[slodat]

New machine day in a couple weeks. Reached a deal with the seller on these two machines. They are both older, used, and in good to excellent condition. First is an YMC/SuperMax VMC with 8,000 rpm 10HP spindle, 16 tool changer, it's enclosed with flood coolant, and Fanuc Control.





Control panel is in great shape!



It doesn't have a lot of use, supposedly under 1,000 hours. The seller bought it with the memory batteries dead and did the work to get all the parameters sorted out. Should be a great second milling machine for the shop and parts I make. It will get the same Calmotion setup the Haas has.

Second is a 1986 Okuma lathe. And, it's a beast of a machine that holds very tight tolerances and runs great.. 2500rpm, 8 position turret with through the tool coolant, and includes a collet chuck and a hydraulic Kitagawa 3 jaw, and hydraulic tailstock. It has had some recent rebuild.







The lathe will also get the Calmotion box. It makes sending code to the machines a quick drag and drop affair.

I know a lot of folks won't understand buying machinery this old. The price is really good, including delivery, some tooling for each, and they will last 5 years without much if any real heartache. At least that's how I'm approaching it. By the time I'm ready to upgrade, they will have paid for themselves many times over. I hope

 

[ptt49er]

All the toyls! Congrats!

 

[slodat]

All the toyls! Congrats!

I'll readily admit to enjoying tools, machines, all of it. These two are purely out of necessity. They are a step in the direction I hope to go. In order to make room for them, my wood working room will be a lot less wood working, and will be the new home of the CNC plasma. The wood shop will ultimately be moved to the new building. The Festool stuff will be what I use in the main shop going forward.

 

[gearhead1960]

Robots are next....

 

[slodat]

Robots are next....

Next?! These are the robots!

I just feed them.

 

[rvieceli]

Those are great looking additions to the shop. Nothing wrong with "older" stuff. I'm rocking a 16" Oliver jointer that rolled off the factory floor in 1945. Love it.

I'll readily admit to enjoying tools, machines, all of it. These two are purely out of necessity. They are a step in the direction I hope to go. In order to make room for them, my wood working room will be a lot less wood working, and will be the new home of the CNC plasma. The wood shop will ultimately be moved to the new building. The Festool stuff will be what I use in the main shop going forward.

Wait what? New building? Did I miss something?

Ron

 

[GeddyT]

What's the capacity on the lathe? It's something I mostly just can't do at the moment, yet I still look... My Grizzly is 9 x 19, but really it's about 7 x 19 in a useful sense. And even that's relatively speaking. I've had very few times I'd have wanted to go bigger, and floor space is at a premium. I've been trying to put together a list of machines that at least wouldn't be a step back in capacity but offer the smallest footprint possible. There aren't many that would work.

Sort of doesn't matter at the moment, as it's been a long time since I've seen a small footprint/decent capacity turning center at auction within a two-state radius.

 

[slodat]

Those are great looking additions to the shop. Nothing wrong with "older" stuff. I'm rocking a 16" Oliver jointer that rolled off the factory floor in 1945. Love it.

Wait what? New building? Did I miss something?

Ron

Ron - old iron and old machines are a little different. I'm 100% with old iron. Old(er) machines have electronics that are no longer available, and often quite expensive to repair. That said, these two look to be in good shape and I have to accept a certain amount of risk buying them.

The "new building" is what I refer to the other property I have down the street.

What's the capacity on the lathe? It's something I mostly just can't do at the moment, yet I still look... My Grizzly is 9 x 19, but really it's about 7 x 19 in a useful sense. And even that's relatively speaking. I've had very few times I'd have wanted to go bigger, and floor space is at a premium. I've been trying to put together a list of machines that at least wouldn't be a step back in capacity but offer the smallest footprint possible. There aren't many that would work.

Sort of doesn't matter at the moment, as it's been a long time since I've seen a small footprint/decent capacity turning center at auction within a two-state radius.

Specs I found from the internet for a similar machine:


A few of those are different from the machine I bought. This is what the buyer sent: 8 position turret with through tool coolant, 8" 3 jaw Kitagawa hydraulic chuck, collet chuck, 2500 rpm, 1.875" through bore.

As far as turning "capacity" goes, I haven't turned anything over 4" diameter in making my parts. My baby Pacemaker swings more than the 16x40 lathe. The Okuma will be for parts I'm making multiples of. I have several to make for a circuit breaker project. The thing I've found with turning is a really heavy/rigid lathe makes it a lot easier to produce nice parts. This is where the Pacemaker just shines! It's far from small though. And, I can stomach the idea of letting it go. It's so nice to use.

A suggestion on a compact 2 axis CNC turret lathe is Takisawa. They made several in the 80s and 90s that are like a small cube. Perfect for a home shop. I was hoping to find one and just haven't.

 

[GeddyT]

I've looked into the Takisawas (funny: that's the page I left to respond to the notification that you quoted me!), and they're perfect outside of too short of a Z capacity. I have steering stems and axles in mind, so I need to be able to go a bit longer and have a tail stock. Your lathe actually sounds like it would be perfect.

 

[slodat]

I've looked into the Takisawas (funny: that's the page I left to respond to the notification that you quoted me!), and they're perfect outside of too short of a Z capacity. I have steering stems and axles in mind, so I need to be able to go a bit longer and have a tail stock. Your lathe actually sounds like it would be perfect.

I looked at the machines I'm buying in person. I'm really impressed with the old Okuma OSP500 control. They are out there, and the price is right. It's somewhat big in footprint, though. about 10' wide and 8' deep. I'm going to put it in front of a roll up door so I have access to the rear of the machine.

 

[zanyad]

Okumas are beasts. Well built workhorses.

 

[slodat]

Okumas are beasts. Well built workhorses.

I'm excited about the lathe. It really is a beast! About 10' x 8' footprint. Weighs somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 lbs, has plenty of power, the tailstock is going to be awesome, and it's going to make a lot of really nice parts. At least that's the plan!

 

[slodat]

@GeddyT I found LB12 specifications, I think I posted LB15 previously. There must have been turret options, and other things. My machine has an 8 position turret, I don't think as much spindle speed..



I decided to give this DNC Pro a try.



It's half the price of the CalMotion, has a lot better UI from the looks of it, and it will be a lot easier to try it on both machines before buying a second.

 

[GeddyT]

I'm looking on their site, and I don't see that model. They have DNC Net, DNC One, and DNC Titan. Can you give me an update once you get using that on how well it works? Seems a reasonable price for the time savings. I also haven't found an answer on whether it works with .FNC extension, but you won't be able to help me with that one.

 

[Finallygotit]

Well done Steven. I also echo that the Okuma is a beast and a very accurate one at that.

 

[slodat]

A few items arrived this week from FB marketplace and eBay. Some really good deals from a retiring mold maker, a retiring machinist, and an eBay score with no competing bids on the surface gage. The inspection stuff lives by the surface plate now. I’ve got one more inspection piece on the way and I’m calling it good on that stuff for now.



I had quite a bit of windshield time this week for work. It finally came to me on how to solve where things shift around the shop to make room for the two new machines while I was driving home. I decided to continue/complete the shift away from upholstery work. The CNC plasma is going to take the place of the 6’ x 12’ upholstery table. I moved a lot of the stuff stored under it down the street and started dismantling the 2’ x 12’ side extension I added many years ago. This is what I started with:



Once I cut the top with the Festool track saw, the rest was mostly straight forward.



I flipped the mdf top fresh side up and gave it a quick once over with the sander. There’s currently another fresh sheet of mdf sitting on it. Then it hit me.. the table has to go completely. I don’t want this bay crowded. I’ll finish attaching the original top and it moves down the street along with some other stuff. Then I need to get the plasma table water system drained, disassembled, and ready to move with the telehandler next week.

I’ve mulled over how to situate things for almost two weeks, and this feels like the right layout.

 

[slodat]

Had this waiting for me on the X1C this morning when I got to the shop.





It's a holder for CAT40 tool tags. The tags are also 3d printed. The idea is the tag has pertinent information for the tool, its height offset specifically. When the tool is loaded in the tool changer, the tag is placed in this rack so you know what tool is in the machine, and you can keep the tool and tag associated with one another. Seems like a good system. Of course, the X1C does an amazing job printing the part.

Fired up the Prusa for the first time in a long while. It's printing more tool tags.



Watching the Prusa print the first layer is almost painful after getting use to the X1C. The Prusa will have about an hour in the first layer. Two printers is faster than one, and I'm still happy to have the Prusa in the shop. It makes really nice parts with PETG. These tool tags turn out flawless.

 

[slodat]

Ebay score that will be handy for learning the Okuma control basics. The date is not a joke!



Put a lot of work into the main bay today. Lots of cleaning. The table stays. It's on casters and moves around really well in the 4x8 configuration.



The cnc plasma will move to the left of the work table. I think this layout will work well. The work table will roll out of the way when needed. And sit next to the plasma most of the time. Now to move things around in the wood shop and machine room.

 

[loganb]

Random question...but how's the bulk batch of filament doing...still printing well? All out of PETG and needing to make an order and that price is pretty nice.

 

[slodat]

The inexpensive IIIDMax PLA+ is printing great. That’s the stuff I bought 30 rolls @ 10.99/roll.

I haven’t used any of their other filaments. For PETG I have used Overture with great success.

 

[zanyad]

Had this waiting for me on the X1C this morning when I got to the shop.

That's real nice!

Fired up the Prusa for the first time in a long while. It's printing more tool tags.

How do you store your tools and holders between jobs? I have a Huot rack but it doesn't have enough room for the tags, too.

 

[slodat]

I have a Huot cart.



The spacing is tight with the tool tags, but it works. I could modify the tags but I haven’t found it necessary yet.



Time will tell if it’s annoying enough to address. I’m not 100% sold on the tags. Thought I’d give them a go.

 

[MadeByMiller]

I'm in the brainstorming stage of designing a tooling cart for my friend/customer. I'd love to hear some thoughts from you on what your "ultimate" tooling cart would look like.

 

[slodat]

In general, the Huot Super Scoot is a great tooling cart. The shelf leaves a lot to be desired. That's where I'll make the change at some point. I'm thinking I'll make a little bigger shelf to hold the torque wrenches and other stuff for making up tools. And a shelf below it to hold some bins of small parts. What I like about the Super Scoot is it's made of 10ga steel. It's HEAVY duty and it matters with this one. That's what comes to mind.

 

[MadeByMiller]

In general, the Huot Super Scoot is a great tooling cart. The shelf leaves a lot to be desired. That's where I'll make the change at some point. I'm thinking I'll make a little bigger shelf to hold the torque wrenches and other stuff for making up tools. And a shelf below it to hold some bins of small parts. What I like about the Super Scoot is it's made of 10ga steel. It's HEAVY duty and it matters with this one. That's what comes to mind.

Thank you!

 

[GeddyT]

I'll second everything Steven said about the Huot. They're overpriced for what they are, but they get the job done nicely. Space is really tight for me, so I like that I can roll it out of the way when working and roll it back against the machine when I'm done. I agree that the shelves are a bit pointless. I'd prefer either an end cabinet or just nothing at all to make the cart smaller. You can find those carts at auction for next to nothing all the time if you're willing to do a little cleanup. I think I paid $50 or something like that.

 

[slodat]

Autsin - I have everything it would take to make a tooling cart, should the need arise. I have some other ideas I can PM you about.

Tom hit all the points right on. I bought my Huot cart new because I like clean stuff and I never found a used one after looking for quite a while.