nicholam77
Well-known member
While I was making friends with the Haas, the X1 was putting in work..
That looks so nice!!
Above 1200 Sq/FT Eastern Washington Workshop
- Thread starter slodat
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
That looks so nice!!
Ordered some end mills and a second 3/4" Shear Hog this morning. I'm going to see how it goes running both machines at once. I suspect the Haas will be enough of a speed and efficiency increase I may not run production parts on the Tree. Time will tell. It is perfect for shop stuff, one offs, prototyping, and proving out tool paths. I don't see it going anywhere. As a matter of fact, the Haas may not either, even after I get a more modern mill.
The forklift earned it's keep today, without incident! Photos tell the story best:
Unloaded..
Inside.
Realized I didn't have a good photo of this thing other than the for sale ad photos..
It's turning out to be a reliable, gentle beast.
Back in its parking spot.
Had some issues drilling anchor holes in the shop floor. Either both of my 1/2" concrete bits are dull as hell, or the floor ate them up. Maybe a little bit of both. I'll pick up a new bit on the way to the shop in the morning. I did get the dedicated 20a circuit ran, and moved the paint cabinet to the left enough to make room for the tumbler in the finish room. This is (probably one of many) a next (last?) step in the tool finishing. I'm excited to see how the parts look after tumbling, with the laser engraving.
I found out how to get a little better pricing from my aluminum supplier. I placed a huge, for me anyway, order today. I'll be running machine tools for the next many days. Fair warning.. I'll be posting a lot of photos!
Cheers, ya'll. Thanks for following along!
The forklift earned it's keep today, without incident! Photos tell the story best:
Unloaded..
Inside.
Realized I didn't have a good photo of this thing other than the for sale ad photos..
It's turning out to be a reliable, gentle beast.
Back in its parking spot.
Had some issues drilling anchor holes in the shop floor. Either both of my 1/2" concrete bits are dull as hell, or the floor ate them up. Maybe a little bit of both. I'll pick up a new bit on the way to the shop in the morning. I did get the dedicated 20a circuit ran, and moved the paint cabinet to the left enough to make room for the tumbler in the finish room. This is (probably one of many) a next (last?) step in the tool finishing. I'm excited to see how the parts look after tumbling, with the laser engraving.
I found out how to get a little better pricing from my aluminum supplier. I placed a huge, for me anyway, order today. I'll be running machine tools for the next many days. Fair warning.. I'll be posting a lot of photos!
Cheers, ya'll. Thanks for following along!
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I can remember the days when I was a mold maker when all of the CNC's, grinders, EDM's, etc were running. It was quite the noise, but a productive good noise. There were times when we would go on lunch break and most of the machines were put on suspension. Our ears would ring, even with hearing protection. Ah the old days.......
I picked up a new masonry but on the way in this morning. It drilled the holes, but they weren’t.. easy. I suppose that bodes well for anchoring a vibrating machine down.
Having the tumbler back in this little room is going to work out well. I can close doors and the loud sound is nearly gone in the rest of the shop.
The tumbler did a great job on the parts I have on hand. I’m really glad I went this route.
I also got a chip bin/enclosure put together for the Haas. I used a bunch of the test bend coupons from the press brake as L brackets to bolt everything together. They worked great. I’m sure folks will shake their head at the choice to use MDF. It has worked great on the Tree. There’s not much in the way of moisture with the Fogbuster. And, this serves as a prototype.. that may not get replaced. We shall see how it works. A crash into mdf shouldn’t cause any real damage. This will be a huge improvement.
I need to move both vises toward the center about 1.5”. And cut a hole for the milling stop.
Having the tumbler back in this little room is going to work out well. I can close doors and the loud sound is nearly gone in the rest of the shop.
The tumbler did a great job on the parts I have on hand. I’m really glad I went this route.
I also got a chip bin/enclosure put together for the Haas. I used a bunch of the test bend coupons from the press brake as L brackets to bolt everything together. They worked great. I’m sure folks will shake their head at the choice to use MDF. It has worked great on the Tree. There’s not much in the way of moisture with the Fogbuster. And, this serves as a prototype.. that may not get replaced. We shall see how it works. A crash into mdf shouldn’t cause any real damage. This will be a huge improvement.
I need to move both vises toward the center about 1.5”. And cut a hole for the milling stop.
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cycle61
Well-known member
I've seen the ceramic media for tumbling steel parts, but never the plastic triangles for aluminum. Those look cool!
Looks real nice! Consider adding t-slot chip covers. Here are some examples:
- https://www.mcmaster.com/1353N13/
- https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/77751907
- https://www.octaneworkholding.com/products/octane-chip-guard?variant=37104268574876
- https://www.carbideanddiamondtoolin...34-Long × 58-Wide-ID-JF70MSCSET_p_334056.html
HTH,
M
I’ve definitely transitioned into the territory where a lot of what I’ve bought for the shop is necessary, useful, and not really fun. Automation is where it’s at being a solo shop. I’m really happy with the tumbled finish.
They work really well!
I’ve followed Octane’s IG forever. The covers don’t make sense while I’m still vacuuming up chips. When I get a VMC, I’ll order their covers!
Thanks again for the tips, advice, and contributing to the conversation guys!
Got a couple of good deals on Craigslist today. Involved 500+ miles round trip. I think it was worth it. Both have been on the short list for a while.
36 x 48 x 6.75” granite surface plate on a stand. It weighs 1200 or more pounds. Truck did great with the load in the bed. I tied it down every way I could come up with. Trip home went without incident. The Tow/Haul mode on the 10 speed F150 makes stuff like this so much more enjoyable.
It came with this sweet Starrett cover, too!
While I was on the wet side I also picked this guy up:
1995 vintage Yuasa 220mm rotary axis. I’ll change the motor out and matching drive so I can run it as a fourth axis on the Tree milling machine. This will make one of my parts turn out a lot better. I make it in four different sizes. This will see some immediate use when it’s up and running. Based on the conversation with the seller and the photos I had a hunch it was new and just shuffled around shops and what not.
Pulled the motor cover when I got it in the shop and this is what I found.
It’s mint! This was a great deal.
Once again the forklift made short work of unloading the truck. I also set the surface plate it place with the forklift. Then minor adjustment with the pallet jack.
All in all a good haul for very fair prices. Now to get the servo and drive coming.
36 x 48 x 6.75” granite surface plate on a stand. It weighs 1200 or more pounds. Truck did great with the load in the bed. I tied it down every way I could come up with. Trip home went without incident. The Tow/Haul mode on the 10 speed F150 makes stuff like this so much more enjoyable.
It came with this sweet Starrett cover, too!
While I was on the wet side I also picked this guy up:
1995 vintage Yuasa 220mm rotary axis. I’ll change the motor out and matching drive so I can run it as a fourth axis on the Tree milling machine. This will make one of my parts turn out a lot better. I make it in four different sizes. This will see some immediate use when it’s up and running. Based on the conversation with the seller and the photos I had a hunch it was new and just shuffled around shops and what not.
Pulled the motor cover when I got it in the shop and this is what I found.
It’s mint! This was a great deal.
Once again the forklift made short work of unloading the truck. I also set the surface plate it place with the forklift. Then minor adjustment with the pallet jack.
All in all a good haul for very fair prices. Now to get the servo and drive coming.
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Awesome additions, I lust after a nice surface plate, have no real need, but would like to have a small bit of stone when needed to check a surface!
Chrisb62
Well-known member
Yes, they come in very handy. Bought mine with a mobile cart, which is nice to move around in a smaller shop.
Ron- absolutely. There’s quite a bit of shop stuff that can be had for pennies on the dollar. The trick is to jump in the truck when they present themselves! 3’ x 4’ feels like the right size for my uses. I’ve seen some huge stuff for relatively low prices, but I don’t need 4x8 or bigger.
Chrisb62
Well-known member
They are and they need to be because that thing was heavy!!!!!
Don't recall the size offhand but it took 2 strong men to roll it into my enclosed trailer about a foot off the ground up the ramp.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Wow some great tooling additions to your shop lately. I would appear you have most things needed for a fully functional machine shop. What a journey to acquire, modify, automate and learn to use it all. outstanding!
Assume 'wet side' is soggy foggy Seattle area?
Assume 'wet side' is soggy foggy Seattle area?
Once the weight goes over 4-500 pounds, I want rigging and material handling equipment these days. Too easy for things to go sideways and someone get hurt. Those granite slabs are no joke with the weight!
Wet side is Seattle area for me. I think the term "wet side" is hilarious! I very much love my desert life. Honestly, the shop is my version of living a dream! I really love what I'm doing and I hope the business is able to sustain my costs as I breathe it into existence. One of the things I am focused on is implementing automation where it makes sense, I can afford, and makes an impact on productivity. So far, so good!
ODIS
Well-known member
No truer words spoken on the rain.... However, going west to the Olympic Peninsula, there are areas where Seattle looks very dry to areas that are semi-arrid.
As for your endeavors in your shop...... OMG! You have brought so many readers to new heights! Certainly, there is tons of interest in all that you do!
Thanks for sharing all of your activities!
As for your endeavors in your shop...... OMG! You have brought so many readers to new heights! Certainly, there is tons of interest in all that you do!
Thanks for sharing all of your activities!
Completed a little project that has been on my mind for an embarrassingly long amount of time.. It's one of those things that no harm is done by waiting and every time I come across it, I think about it and something else is more important. This is a pretty cool doodad that I came across. It's a "zero loss" condensate drain. It's a little tank that collects the water on the compressor tank bottom drain and empties the little tank once there's level in it. It doesn't blow down based on a timer like the typical drain. Their instructions specify running 1/2" pipe from the tank drain to the device.
Whelp.. a few days ago I crawled under there and took a look at what I would need. I wanted to use brass for corrosion resistance. I ordered the fittings from Supply house and they arrived today. This is the basic idea:
The top of the X fitting is for the existing compressor blow down device, compressor tank on the right, condensate drain on the bottom, and of course an air drain valve to the right. I added a coupler to give me the additional inch or so I needed, and it really helps with installation and any future service will be really easy. It helps that I bought a few of these last time I needed one, so it was in the drawer. Installed:
I need to add a receptacle to the nearby box at some point. This is the valve in case anyone wants more info.
Whelp.. a few days ago I crawled under there and took a look at what I would need. I wanted to use brass for corrosion resistance. I ordered the fittings from Supply house and they arrived today. This is the basic idea:
The top of the X fitting is for the existing compressor blow down device, compressor tank on the right, condensate drain on the bottom, and of course an air drain valve to the right. I added a coupler to give me the additional inch or so I needed, and it really helps with installation and any future service will be really easy. It helps that I bought a few of these last time I needed one, so it was in the drawer. Installed:
I need to add a receptacle to the nearby box at some point. This is the valve in case anyone wants more info.
Thank you for your kind words and continued support. I really appreciate it. I lived on the Kitsap peninsula when I was stationed on a missle submarine out of Bangor in the early 90's. I spent a lot of time riding motorcycles up, down, and all around the Olympic peninsula. Amazing area for sure! I've followed your 911T project. It turned out so nice! Well done!
Again, thank you, and everyone else for this outlet. I really enjoy it!
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
larry4406
Well-known member
How many $$ for the compressor drain?
I paid $180 in 2018. I bought it here.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
OK, I am very impressed with what looks looks like a NOS Yuasa. Great score Steven!!
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Really big milestone in the shop. I bought half a ton of material. Doesn’t look like it to me, but I’m sure of it based on the check I wrote alone!
Full stick of each component I make is in the queue. Lots of chips to make.
And, this sweet Rubbermaid cart arrived yesterday. The carts are a huge help running machines.
Full stick of each component I make is in the queue. Lots of chips to make.
And, this sweet Rubbermaid cart arrived yesterday. The carts are a huge help running machines.
lilscorpion
Well-known member
Not sure on your finish specs but check out ~10 minutes on this video for a hack to get past not having the right gooseneck for two 90’sI had a deal setup for a nice granite surface plate. Seller had it listed multiple places and ended up not getting it. (I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on a surface plate.) During that time, I found what looked like a great deal on a Mitutoyo surface gage. Seller accepted my offer, and I asked them to make sure they packed it really well. I offered to pay extra for good packaging. They replied, "I'll do my best."
This is how it arrived:
I'm glad they did their best. I'd hate to see their version of half ***.. Much to my surpise the wood case, and the height gage itself arrived completely unharmed!
I also received these guys.. @MadeByMiller will recognize this as the materials needed for the Prusa nyloc mod.
The fiber laser is at the other end of the bench from my shop computer. This results in a lot of walking back and forth when setting up a job. I came across this little Stream Deck and I had an idea..
It lives over by the laser. Now I can nudge the design on the work piece, frame it, stop the frame, and I've already been able to start the job from the foot pedal that came with the laser. This sort of thing is a huge quality of life/worth the expense for the smiles sort of thing.
I've continued to get to know the forklift. A nearly six-ton forklift on gravel is interesting to say the least. I'm starting to get some stuff down. That feels good. The last sewing machine to move has square feet and there's not a built-in provision to bolt to the pallet. Perfect exercise for a quick sheet metal job.
This was what I came up with in Fusion:
Plasma table did a great job cutting the parts with the Fine Cut consumables. Again, very little dross and nice edge quality. Using the desktop version of the press brake control and it shows a part collision with the punch on the fourth bend. I'm going to need to get a gooseneck punch for stuff like this.
For that fourth bend, I only let the punch go down until the part made contact with it, and then released. Hand bent the rest. Not perfect, but perfectly fine for the application.
And, in place. Will do a great job.
too close together for your setup -
Making progress with getting to know the old Haas. It's not as frustrating as it was.. I had to make a few small changes to the chip enclosure, install the work stop, and I was off! OP1 went well. Chip enclosure was great for these toolpaths.
I had read on PM about changing parameters to turn the spindle up to 6k rpm from the stock 4k, and rapids from 200ipm up to 400ipm. These are huge changes!
OP2 went well also!
10.007mm on a 10mm call out. Not bad at all. That's 0.0003"
I'll take it.
The parts look better coming off the Haas. It's not a huge surprise. The Haas has well-tuned servos, and linear bearings instead of box ways. I haven't looked close at it, but the cycle times are going to be significantly less. I'm happy with the Haas. Lots of parts to make!
Prepare for posts where I start to love the differences between the Haas and the Tree. Tool changer, faster spindle (6k vs 5k rpm), servo spindle, rigid tapping, faster feeds (double the Tree), faster rapids (4x the Tree), did I say TOOL CHANGER and 400ipm RAPIDS?!
I had read on PM about changing parameters to turn the spindle up to 6k rpm from the stock 4k, and rapids from 200ipm up to 400ipm. These are huge changes!
OP2 went well also!
10.007mm on a 10mm call out. Not bad at all. That's 0.0003"
I'll take it.The parts look better coming off the Haas. It's not a huge surprise. The Haas has well-tuned servos, and linear bearings instead of box ways. I haven't looked close at it, but the cycle times are going to be significantly less. I'm happy with the Haas. Lots of parts to make!
Prepare for posts where I start to love the differences between the Haas and the Tree. Tool changer, faster spindle (6k vs 5k rpm), servo spindle, rigid tapping, faster feeds (double the Tree), faster rapids (4x the Tree), did I say TOOL CHANGER and 400ipm RAPIDS?!
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MadeByMiller
Well-known member
Parts look really nice!
Not So Legendary
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2021
- Messages
- 62
Your vibratory finisher may benefit from a VFD, I don't know how their drive arrangement is but the folding over movement of product is dependent on speed, cg, and product load. Also the bolts for isolation springs should have jam nuts, lock washers aren't totally sufficient for sustained vibration.
Thank you, Austin. I like how things are turning out.
I’m going to defer to the manufacturer. They have been making them for 50 years and came highly recommended. I’m really happy with the finish I’m getting out of the tumbler. The motor is single phase, so no VFD.
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Had a great day in the shop today. Running parts on the Haas is REALLY nice. The speed is nice, the tool changer is a huge improvement. I'm really happy to have it up and running.
The chip enclosure is working well. No complaints for what it is. While the machine was running, I was able to get stock cut for the next three parts I'm running.
The Ellis bandsaw is working well for this task. No complaints since I started using WD-40 with it. I was really excited about the arrival of some stuff the mailman brought today. This is a 3/4" carbide chamfer mill that I got for a song on ebay.
It's great.. except it's 100° and I thought it was 90°. Not a big deal, just not what I wanted for this tool. This is exactly how a guy ends up with a LOT of tooling though. And.. I finally broke down and bought the IsoTunes ear muffs I've been eyeballing for a while. They are a bluetooth ear muff that is rated as hearing protection.
I have an older version of their ear buds and I always wished I would have gone with the muffs. These work well. I wore them all day while running machines listening to podcasts. The boom mic is handy for when a call comes in. Overall, very happy with them after day one.
The chip enclosure is working well. No complaints for what it is. While the machine was running, I was able to get stock cut for the next three parts I'm running.
The Ellis bandsaw is working well for this task. No complaints since I started using WD-40 with it. I was really excited about the arrival of some stuff the mailman brought today. This is a 3/4" carbide chamfer mill that I got for a song on ebay.
It's great.. except it's 100° and I thought it was 90°. Not a big deal, just not what I wanted for this tool. This is exactly how a guy ends up with a LOT of tooling though. And.. I finally broke down and bought the IsoTunes ear muffs I've been eyeballing for a while. They are a bluetooth ear muff that is rated as hearing protection.
I have an older version of their ear buds and I always wished I would have gone with the muffs. These work well. I wore them all day while running machines listening to podcasts. The boom mic is handy for when a call comes in. Overall, very happy with them after day one.
GeddyT
ALLIANCE MEMBER
If you haven't, try a helical chamfer mill. Maritool stocks them. Really happy with the 3/8".
Thank you for the recommendation. I had not noticed them. Added one to my cart for the next time I order. I love that Maritool keeps your cart between visits. I wish Suncoast did. This is the 1/2" 4 flute chamfer mill I use. $19/ea and they are great tools from what I can tell. And, he's not too far away. His threadmills are great as well.
Just finished running a whole 12' stick of this part. It went well, without incident. That's always nice. Now to run the same part in three other thicknesses.
This is the chip enclosure after running 24 parts:
That ended up being right at 5 gallons of chips.
Just finished running a whole 12' stick of this part. It went well, without incident. That's always nice. Now to run the same part in three other thicknesses.
This is the chip enclosure after running 24 parts:
That ended up being right at 5 gallons of chips.
larry4406
Well-known member
What exactly do these parts do (assuming you can divulge)? I think you indicated that they were switchgear/electrical system related.
RickP
Well-known member
Have you received some feedback from customers about how well they work in the field? Those Pelican cases look like they'd provide good protection in the back of a work van. How does the aluminum work compared to copper? Is your current run of parts for new customers or a repeat order?
Nice work, by the way. I think a lot of us on GJ are watching you "live the dream" of starting a business yourself. (I've been self-employed for a while and I know how hard it can be at times!)
Nice work, by the way. I think a lot of us on GJ are watching you "live the dream" of starting a business yourself. (I've been self-employed for a while and I know how hard it can be at times!)
I have received feedback, and it has been good. Thankfully. The Storm cases travel well. I much prefer Storm over the typical Pelican cases. Storm has a push button latch, and their roller case handle is much better. Pelican bought Storm from Hardigg at some point. Aluminum works well. Current run of parts is a mix of new and repeat, as well as a some shelf stock in anticipation of more orders. I just transitioned to running full 12’ sticks of each part. My hope is to continue to work toward lean manufacturing principles.
Thank you for cheering me on. It’s a wild ride for sure. I’ve never worked harder, or enjoyed it more!