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Above 1200 Sq/FT LilScorpion’s Fab Space

Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.

moab11

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Thunder Bay, Ontario
That looks like a great idea to store some of your most used tool holders! Close at hand, and then also gives you a handy spot to put extras when not needed as you work through a project.
 
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lilscorpion

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That looks like a great idea to store some of your most used tool holders! Close at hand, and then also gives you a handy spot to put extras when not needed as you work through a project.
yeah, I think a combination of the two is probably perfect. If I had maybe 5 or 6 on the top lip of the splash guard that should be enough for just about anything I'm machining as I'm machining and then be able to put them away when I'm done.
 

Firstram

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May 16, 2017
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I can’t find a picture and I’m working out of state. I have swing away tables on each end of my 1340. It’s just an angled square tubing arm that registers on a pin with a table top that has a central pin in it as well. I use them for all of my pertinent tooling and parts when I’m working. They lift off and store away when not needed. My friends call them the dentist tables.!
 
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lilscorpion

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I can’t find a picture and I’m working out of state. I have swing away tables on each end of my 1340. It’s just an angled square tubing arm that registers on a pin with a table top that has a central pin in it as well. I use them for all of my pertinent tooling and parts when I’m working. They lift off and store away when not needed. My friends call them the dentist tables.!
I think I get what you’re saying but not sure. Share pics when you can…
 

bugnut

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Just a quick thought-reduce the thickness of the part with the screws and move the screw into the wedge. The two pcs back to back =1 print and can be mated to each other.....Love that going looking for the files.....
 
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lilscorpion

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Dumb question time....
If you use pin gauges to measure the width of the dovetail, why wouldn't one use round pins to hold the tool holders?
Pin gage just helps you take a measurement that's otherwise difficult to measure. In this case, a pin is unimportant because we have the ability to model and we know the angle (defined in the Aloris CA spec). Here's an examle:

axa-dovetail-dimensions__82015.jpg

We know (or it's documeted) that the taper is 60* which, with the above info, makes modeling very easy. When I made the wedges out of aluminum I machined to exact and then removed a bit until I got it to slide nicely without being loose. Perfect wasn't the objective. Now, with having 3d printers I'd print a model and try it first, then machine to spec.

To your point, round pins would be sufficient enough to retain the tools as long as their attachment was strong enough. It wouldn't be a bad plan actually, just maybe not as ****. Using pins would be MUCH easier and quicker with no real downside. It's more than "not a bad plan", it's a smart idea.
 
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lilscorpion

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Oven build reminds me of a place I worked at that made temperature ovens for crystal oscillator testing. Made everything in-house, circuit boards, software, full machine shop. They had to be within 1 degree C anywhere/everywhere in oven, which is no easy task, from -40 C to 150 C. Used nitrogen or compressor cooling, electric heat. The amount of mass in the oven affected things too. It was interesting work, I did a bit of everything.
Working on getting the insulation in the oven which gives me a lot of time to contemplate 2 things:

  1. Things people have said to me that I didn't grok in the moment.
  2. Other projects that I wanna do
in regards to #1....how does one design an oven to be within one degree C anywhere/everywhere? You teased maybe the most important and relevant information of my current (big) project. I'm focused on ensuring that I have sufficient circulation but I'm gonna bet there's something I'm missing....

Multiple sensors?...share. ;)
 

LXCam

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Apr 23, 2013
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AZ
Working on getting the insulation in the oven which gives me a lot of time to contemplate 2
in regards to #1....how does one design an oven to be within one degree C anywhere/everywhere? You teased maybe the most important and relevant information of my current (big) project. I'm focused on ensuring that I have sufficient circulation but I'm gonna bet there's something I'm missing....

Multiple sensors?...share. ;)
Oh come on LS, everyone know you need to create a vacuum furnace duhhhh 🙄


So just hook up your shop vac and hope for the best 🫣
 

kaymccampbell

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Feb 27, 2015
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29,500
Location
Upstate New York
Working on getting the insulation in the oven which gives me a lot of time to contemplate 2 things:

  1. Things people have said to me that I didn't grok in the moment.
  2. Other projects that I wanna do
in regards to #1....how does one design an oven to be within one degree C anywhere/everywhere? You teased maybe the most important and relevant information of my current (big) project. I'm focused on ensuring that I have sufficient circulation but I'm gonna bet there's something I'm missing....

Multiple sensors?...share. ;)
I use a convection oven as my powder coat oven. It behaves very well. I see you've got fans in the top of yours. So long as you distribute the output airflow all over the bottom, you should have a pretty consistent temperature, and not need a lot of complexity.
 
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lilscorpion

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Colorado
I use a convection oven as my powder coat oven. It behaves very well. I see you've got fans in the top of yours. So long as you distribute the output airflow all over the bottom, you should have a pretty consistent temperature, and not need a lot of complexity.
think I've somehow created enough complexity regardless... :ROFLMAO:
Mine is/will be convection. You're right, the blowers on top of the oven will return the top/hot air back into the boxes where the elements are. Should work like convection or IS convection I guess. Hopefully the work will be worth the outcome. Hopefully.
 
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lilscorpion

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Sealed up the ducts on the ceiling of the oven.

IMG_6390.jpeg

And the other side so they can be mated together.

IMG_6389.jpeg

And together they are.

IMG_6391.jpeg

Insulation is RockWool. 3.5” total but to get there I had to use 2” with aluminum facing and add 1.5” (no facing). The facing is more or less aluminum foil which helps retain the heat.

IMG_6392.jpeg

With the top sealed, I was now able to push in the light assemblies.

IMG_6393.jpeg

Test fit the rear duct. Perfect.

IMG_6394.jpeg

Might use a little caulk to fill the void but it’s almost not necessary

IMG_6395.jpeg
 
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lilscorpion

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Colorado
Tho I’d like to show you pics of Andrew and I lugging this damn thug up the ladder, I can’t, it kinda just happened uneventfully. 😂

IMG_6396.jpeg

It’s getting real now but still a lot of work to do.

IMG_6397.jpeg

Tomorrow I need to get the rear return splitter connected to the element boxes. Plenty to do.

IMG_6402.jpeg

I’m parallel, I powder coated the knee mill organizer so it can be DONE.

IMG_6404.jpeg

Money.

IMG_6405.jpeg
 
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lilscorpion

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Colorado
Today I worked on the return ducts. Needed to adapt the 10x3.5” hvac duct to the element boxes which have an opening of 2” x 14”.

IMG_6406.jpeg

This will give me practice in cad and using the press brake. Took me a bit to figure the easiest way to model it. Few failed try’s because nothing was in the same plane. Got there tho.

IMG_6407.jpeg

Worked thru the various bends with it much trouble referring back to the models when needed. I have to figure out if there’s a way to print the sheet metal parts with bend locations and measurements. This one needed the gooseneck at the small tapered end.

IMG_6408.jpeg

I’m fairly comfortable with setting up the tooling. It all kinda came back to me quickly.

IMG_6409.jpeg

I seem to need to bend off the end of the brake all the time.

IMG_6412.jpeg

I clamped them together as which piece was finished.

IMG_6413.jpeg

Dimensions turned out like the model. Didn’t get out the calipers but it’s very close.

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Final piece.

IMG_6416.jpeg

Interesting, ran into the first (what I think is a silly) limitation in the Titan. The smallest bend it can do in the software is 170* and I needed a 173/7*. I was able to trick it by entering an over bend value to set it back 3*. Was able to do it, just not directly. Meh.

On to rivets. Clamp, drill, rivet, repeat.

IMG_6418.jpeg

Took a bit but was a lot of fun.

IMG_6419.jpeg
 
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lilscorpion

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Colorado
Working on some projects in the shop had me swapping tooling in and out of the press brake. Very quickly my temporary tooling cart became very annoying and I was finding myself moving one a few times to get at another.

IMG_6439.jpeg

Made a few organizers which made a huge difference. I’ll find drawer space for them so they can be put away when I want to use the cart for other production needs.

IMG_6441.jpeg
 
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lilscorpion

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Colorado
That powder coat oven looks fantastic.

You could probably sell these when you are done with the prototype unit.

Excellent fab!
Thank you. I got the fans and ducts sealed, temp wired, and gave them a go. Recirculating into the element boxes and everything 16ga should be a game changer for even heating and recovery.

This took all weekend. Not seeming like I could make a buck on these units tho I could build the next one 3x faster now that I figured out all the struggles. 😂
 

rattle_snake

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Jun 25, 2015
Messages
5,188
Location
Chandler, AZ
in regards to #1....how does one design an oven to be within one degree C anywhere/everywhere? You teased maybe the most important and relevant information of my current (big) project. I'm focused on ensuring that I have sufficient circulation but I'm gonna bet there's something I'm missing....

Multiple sensors?...share. ;)
It was a progression of designs and techniques. Ovens started small, 1 cu ft being able to test 10s of oscillators. Then medium size, larger and larger with capacities in the hundreds. Yes the ovens had circulation fans. Multiple sensors, up to 8 or 16 temp channels. Good door seals, wire seals. Don't put stuff in the corners. One of the major hurdles was the control scheme. Controlling undershoot/overshoot without being too slow. Test time is money, have to test hot and cold and someplace in the middle. We used a PID control loop. Took a long time to tune it. Calibration was not fun. Cooling with liquid nitrogen was very fast, compressor systems much slower. Differences in mass were hard to deal with, how many racks installed.

Some of the oscillators tested were OCXO. Oven Controlled X-tal Oscillators. So the devices being tested had their own heat source to stabilize the frequency, which in turn affected the temp control loop. The system also had to power all the stuff being tested, so racks of in-house programmable power supplies with fans. And all the measurement equipment, and a PC running associated software.

Today a basic electronics testing oven (hot only) can cost thousands to tens of thousands. Silicon wafer testers hot/cold hundreds of thousands.
 
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dr_clyde

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Jan 7, 2009
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Location
Holland, MI
Y’all are overthinking the lathe toolholder parts…

A simple piece of stainless bent that fits in the dovetail works perfectly and requires no machining, 3D printing or any special tools.

IMG_5518.jpeg

IMG_5517.jpeg

You can obviously CNC cut them for convenience and consistency, but you could do this with a cutoff wheel on a grinder if you wanted to.

I have mine attached to a piece of uni-strut so it’s adjustable and modular.

IMG_5519.jpeg

I saw this trick years ago on Tom Lipton’s blog and made my own.

A few years later I saw him add knobs to the toolholders and it’s a game changer. Super duper handy. Highly recommend.

IMG_7383.jpeg

IMG_7386.jpeg

The machined blocks are cool, but a lot of extra work haha.
 
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lilscorpion

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Mar 15, 2010
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Colorado
Y’all are overthinking the lathe toolholder parts…

A simple piece of stainless bent that fits in the dovetail works perfectly and requires no machining, 3D printing or any special tools.

IMG_5518.jpeg

IMG_5517.jpeg

You can obviously CNC cut them for convenience and consistency, but you could do this with a cutoff wheel on a grinder if you wanted to.

I have mine attached to a piece of uni-strut so it’s adjustable and modular.

IMG_5519.jpeg

I saw this trick years ago on Tom Lipton’s blog and made my own.

A few years later I saw him add knobs to the toolholders and it’s a game changer. Super duper handy. Highly recommend.

IMG_7383.jpeg

IMG_7386.jpeg

The machined blocks are cool, but a lot of extra work haha.
Yah, saw this a ways back. It’s WAY less complicated. I could make dozens in a hour verses the days it took with a dovetail cutter I paid more than a hundred for…. 🤨
 
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lilscorpion

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Mar 15, 2010
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Colorado
Works great, makes one heck of a mess on a manual lathe haha.

I used a Hougen mag drill coolant pump, I just put the quick connects on it so I could easily swap it around.

Since getting the Mazak I tend to not use the LeBlond for boring jobs that need coolant.
Boring would be ok on lower RPM/bigger diameter stuff but yeah, you’d be wearing some of it
 
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lilscorpion

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Colorado
Been busy jumping between things and haven’t taking as much pics as usual….but the oven is coming along…

All ducts are installed and sealed.

IMG_6522.jpeg

The rear split duct turned out awesome.

IMG_6523.jpeg

The blowers and lights are rough- wired. I’ll have to remove them to insulate the top. Lights work and the fans move plenty of air. Each fan is 300 cfm. The deflectors inside the element boxes work awesome. The steady stream of air is well distributed into each box. Should work great.

IMG_6525.jpeg

Control panel and secondary switch panel are Rough mounted so I can get everything working before sealing up the exterior.

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The secondary panel came off of my tripple oven and will control the lights and the fans. It’s too cool to not use.

IMG_6526.jpeg

Waiting on some more high-temp wire and I should be able to fire it soon.
 
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