1.3" hole at 45 degrees through 1/4" stainless sheet

[Peter from Holland]

I would have done it on the lathe Cheap conventional lathe
Fixture that goes in the 3jaw chuck and holds the plate at the right angle and position
Balance the ficture Next time you need it stick it in the 3jaw and be done

Peter

 

[boslab]

I’ve done a crude approximation, made a 45 fixture for the lathe and used a long boring bar.
Crude but it worked ( and made me a bit dizzy watching it wobble).
Mark.

 

[implmex]

Hi kb0thn:
That looks frickin' beautiful!
I could weld something like that (but a lot smaller) with my laser welder and it would be just about perfect.

For those who don't know, a pulsed laser needs an almost perfect fitup because the pulse duration is so short that if there's a gap the weld pool won't coalesce across it, and you'll end up with two blobs instead of a weld.

Cheers

Marcus
www.implant-mechanix.com
www.vancouverwireedm.com

 

[DanielG]

5-axis waterjets are really common. Find a shop with one and have them do the part complete. One sheet of 1/4" plate goes onto the table, 300+ completed parts come off the table. My guess is that the added cost of waterjet vs. laser will be cheaper than machining 300 parts.

 

[michiganbuck]

Would it be beneficial to straight mill an approximate ellipse shape, so as to have less travel at an angle?
Im not a mill guy, so excuse me if I'm off base.

 

[kb0thn]

Would it be beneficial to straight mill an approximate ellipse shape, so as to have less travel at an angle?
Im not a mill guy, so excuse me if I'm off base.

The ellipse was laser cut in along with the outer profile and rivet holes.

I even tried to get a little sneaky on the ellipse profile to have a slight flat left from the laser after I did my 45 degree cut on the mill. It didn't end up working out. I was trying to eliminate the knife edge where the material thickness goes to zero.

 

[guythatbrews]

Have you noticed any tool life issues with the lasered edge?