Questions About Manufacturing of Ways

[DDoug]

As anyone who has tried to design a machine from the ground up would likely know, you quickly end up having to think about it from a dozen angles simultaneously and slowly shake the final design out over time. I appreciate the constructive advice you and others have provided, and am definitely feeling the hard learning curve here!

-I expect to hold 0.003+/- from "zero" over the long axis of the workspace but that number can be flexed a little if required by my materials. The key with this machine's heavy construction is less about needing supreme accuracy, but more about reliably and safely cutting steel long term. I see a lot of these hobby mills that can barely cut aluminum, and I really want something to cut steel with. I make a lot of projects requiring precision reamed holes in steel/Ti to line up perfectly, and I am also looking at some future work where I may be cutting some loose pneumatic cylinders/ piston heads. I just don't want to have to worry about my cheap Chinese linear rail slopping over time.

-Speed is also of minimal concern to me as I already spend more time than a mill would one hand sawing, filing, sanding, lapping ect. Slow is okay if it means I get nice cuts.

-Damping is only required as far as a safe and consistent cut is concerned, this machine will live in my garage so noise is less of an issue.

I have a very rough CAD drawing of the most basic layout right now that I will throw up here soon.

Please try over at "the zone".
Posting a linky for that site here, is not allowed (weird forums rules)
try www. seeandsee zone.com

Make the obvious changes.

 

[aphocks]

I realized that I failed to mention the use cases that will motivate my machine (doh).
I am a custom knife/tool maker right now, and am also looking to work on remaking old guns with modern techniques, I am also designing some clocks and would like to make those, finally there a a myriad designs from my years spent as a broke ME student and I would like to make some of those.

So project-requirements are:

knifemaking: Precision drilling and reaming holes through tool steel and titanium which can be stacked in layers 5 high and lined up with precision dowel pins. this is the doozy and it's what takes me the most time with my current tools. I know it can be done and I have done it the hard way a dozen times by hand. I also need some 3d contouring for handles in hardwood and composites.

Gunsmithing: For me this will mostly include drilling, boring, and profiling aluminum, and some light steel profiling of small parts.

Clockmaking: Mostly just 2D profiling in softer metals.

Misc: profiling drilling and boring mostly aluminum and plastic.

So the knifemaking is what is currently driving the design.

 

[DDoug]

I realized that I failed to mention the use cases that will motivate my machine (doh).
I am a custom knife/tool maker right now, and am also looking to work on remaking old guns with modern techniques, I am also designing some clocks and would like to make those, finally there a a myriad designs from my years spent as a broke ME student and I would like to make some of those.

So project-requirements are:

knifemaking: Precision drilling and reaming holes through tool steel and titanium which can be stacked in layers 5 high and lined up with precision dowel pins. this is the doozy and it's what takes me the most time with my current tools. I know it can be done and I have done it the hard way a dozen times by hand. I also need some 3d contouring for handles in hardwood and composites.

Gunsmithing: For me this will mostly include drilling, boring, and profiling aluminum, and some light steel profiling of small parts.

Clockmaking: Mostly just 2D profiling in softer metals.

Misc: profiling drilling and boring mostly aluminum and plastic.

So the knifemaking is what is currently driving the design.

Please try over at "the zone".
Posting a linky for that site here, is not allowed (weird forums rules)
try www. seeandsee zone.com

Make the obvious changes.

 

[michiganbuck]

I think building could be a huge project and likely not as good as the lower end of milling machines. to buy a $1000 clunker mill and then adding CNC control might cost $3,000 and be a better machine than could be made from scratch. Often one can buy a CNC Bridgeport (or the like) for under $5K.. but with many CNC mills you lose that ability to do a quick manual job.

Here is one in Ohio for $2900 or make offer. likely $2500 would have it.
DX32 BRIDGEPORT "2J-HEAD" CNC VERTICAL MILL - #28440 | eBay

That price is about the same as a toy CNC router.

Actually, a good drill press and some hole location jigs can be a big asset to knife making and the like, for quick accurate hole spacing. One can even braze in some carbide bushings in such a jig and make hole spacing for years.

(Note: I'm not stuck on Bridgports but they are a common mill and CNC mill.)

 

[Cole2534]

I realized that I failed to mention the use cases that will motivate my machine (doh).
I am a custom knife/tool maker right now,...

Without any tools? No, you're not.

If $1000 required a permission slip you need to be very honest about your capacity to do this. Aside from purchase cost, machine tooling, transportation, rigging, maintenance, and repairs aren't free. Neither is measurement gear, support equipment or the place to store it.

I get where you're coming from- limited resources but you may have a good idea you want to develop. Noble cause, but find a maker space.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[fciron]

Umm, for your knife-making dowel pin issues it sounds to me like you just need a good drill press and to work on your layout. I can get +-.003" with a steel rule, scribe, and center punch.

If you're doing multiples, you can make hogs and guides for a few penny's worth of material. Drilling Practice and Jig Design - A Treatise Covering Comprehensively ... - Erik Oberg, Franklin Day Jones - Google Books

Even if you decide to cnc that, you're not looking for a super-rigid bed; you're looking for a motor and spindle that can push your drills through those materials. Getting the right drills for your application matters too.

Drilling holes through stacks of tool steel is a different problem than profiling micarta.

Also, every layer of crap you put between your bed and your moving table is another potential source of error and instability, no matter how slippery it is. At the DIY level, a thin film of oil is your best bet and beware of steel on steel, it will stick.