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Some advise for a newbie learning

Scoop

Plastic
Joined
Jun 30, 2020
Hi guys,

Apologises if this is in the incorrect place, but would greatly appreciate some pointers from the vast array of knowledge out there.

I am now to CNC machining, spent the last ten years in the automotive industry, but due to Covid lost my job. I was fortunate to be taken on by a motorsport company who make all bespoke parts for various vehicle applications.

We have Haas machines, a VF2 and a VF4 and have largely been learning from YouTube videos and other forms of research and then been using the VPS systems to construct basic shapes (like REALLy basic)

I believe the plan eventually will be that i learn CAD/CAM software and use that but at the moment, my boss is keen for me to learn the basics using things like VPS.

I appreciate there is a wealth of knowledge out there, but the two specific things i am struggling with currently are:

* How to chamfer a part without the use of a CAM software.
* At the moment i am using a facemill and manually turning a part over to reduce a part to it's required size, but know that using an end mill and going around the edge that way is far more efficient. How can i do this without a CAM software?

I have a hell of a long way to go, i believe some training will be happening at some point when things improve Covid wise, but at the moment i am learning completely on my own as best i can.

Any further hints, tips, free things to look at and so on would be brilliant.

Look forward to hearing what's out there and connecting with some knowledgeable people.

Thanks,

Dan
 
I learned similarly, writing code by hand. and it was good for me in the long run. BUT. the end goal should be to be proficient at a cam software. There's nothing wrong with skipping the hand coding, unfortunately the curve is steep no matter what.

I started fusion 360 ~ a year and a half ago. I'm now able to utilize the program in a way that I would NEVER consider hand coding or using the vps on my mini mill 2.

My suggestion would be to start hitting YouTube in all of your free time. There is a mind blowing amount of information out there. Most will be overwhelming as hell for a while. But keep at it, eventually things will clik, you l remember things you heard/read/saw and try to make some relationships between others experiences and what you're able to notice about your own.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
Here is a good place to start, Haas recently did a video on how to program simple shapes.

"G00, G01, G02, G03 – EVERY PART YOU’VE MADE USED THESE CODES!"
YouTube

All of the tip of the day videos are great, Haas has really stepped up and put out a lot of helpful content.

By combining the knowledge from this video, and analyzing what your Haas templates output, you should be able to begin milling simple shapes.
Read your Manual cover to cover and spend some time after hours learning the ins and outs of the controller.
CadCam is essential for many part programs, but for squaring stock with nice little chamfers and radii on the corners you can write that by hand.
Write the program one time and save it as a template in it's own sample program file, then simply adjust to the new stock.

Fusion 360 is definitively doing great things and you should check them out, but every machinist needs to be able to read code and understand the basics IMO.
 








 
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