CNC (Lasers, Routers, Etc)

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Hekotat

Hekotat

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Bandwagon said:
Yea, I thought I could get away without having one. Dumb idea. The one that was mounted when I bought it causes Z issues all the time though, and the half assed enclosure I made needs to be modified now.

I didn't really go through $200 in bits....That's about what I've spent after replacing all the dull ones that came with the machine, along with the 1x 1/16in bit I broke and another one that I think I burned up when trying something. How can you tell when your bits get too dull? Just the way it sounds, or do you go by feel or what?


Working on setting up labels for this thing now. I'm going to fill about 80% of the empty space with clear resin, then use V-carve and resin with pigment to fill it in before covering up the last 20% with clear resin.
View attachment 454375
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Usually when a bit is used up it'll be blackened and the noise will change slightly (Depending on the bit and application). However, the entire time I worked at Multicam I used old/burned up bits when working with wood. I had to sand it anyways so it made little difference to me. Now, if it started ripping out chunks or scalloping and chattering I'd throw it away and grab another.

Working with plastics, aluminum and engraving is a completely different animal. Your edge and cut quality will look like dog shit and with plastics it'll start melting instead of cutting and will typically gum up your dust extraction and potentially start a fire as well as destroy your spindle (I ruined a 30k spindle in 5 mins testing new software with a new dust boot design, as soon as I smelled burnt plastic I stopped it but it was too late. It took one hour to clean out all the melted plastic and get the dust boot off the machine). I always looked for the best bits when working with those materials, I didn't want to waste an expensive piece of material with a shitty bit.

You've probably spent enough time with your machine to know what it's supposed to sound like, if something sounds off your best bet is to check it out immediately. Might be something stupid but it's a 50/50 shot it could turn into something catastrophic. We've had more customers that I can count burn down their entire shop trying to leave their machines running while they monitor them from home with a webcam.

Looking forward to the finished product on this one, make sure to post it up.
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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Hekotat said:
We've had more customers that I can count burn down their entire shop trying to leave their machines running while they monitor them from home with a webcam.
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Ahhh, ok. Blackened bits. That's the one I was talking about that I just threw away. I was cutting 1,600 very small lines and there was not enough movement and too much friction. What you described (along with sound, etc) is the general idea I was just getting to. I didn't realize how easy it is to hear the difference between a sharp and a dull bit until I switched over to one of the brand new ones, then it was obvious.

The 1/16in bit I broke (and burned up the spindle) on was because I tried to skip 3D rough toolpath and go straight to the 3D finish. Because I am dumb.
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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k^M said:
Yep that was me with laser cutting and routing projects, I tried to rig it so if a fire broke out it'd heat up & explode a fire extinguisher but thankfully I never had to find out if it worked.
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Rofl dude, I ordered a fire extinguisher bomb 5 minutes after I made that post.
 

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k^M

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Bandwagon said:
Rofl dude, I ordered a fire extinguisher bomb 5 minutes after I made that post.
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Probably a safer bet, I have no idea what would happen to a fire extinguisher under pressure but at least the bomb is designed to smother.
 
Hekotat

Hekotat

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Bandwagon said:
View attachment 454388

Ahhh, ok. Blackened bits. That's the one I was talking about that I just threw away. I was cutting 1,600 very small lines and there was not enough movement and too much friction. What you described (along with sound, etc) is the general idea I was just getting to. I didn't realize how easy it is to hear the difference between a sharp and a dull bit until I switched over to one of the brand new ones, then it was obvious.

The 1/16in bit I broke (and burned up the spindle) on was because I tried to skip 3D rough toolpath and go straight to the 3D finish. Because I am dumb.
Click to expand...

It was a learning opportunity, at least you learned from it rather than just ignoring it. No shame in that.
 
Hekotat

Hekotat

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I think most typically think that will never happen to them, I probably would have fallen into the same category had I not seen so much shit first hand. Completely changed my outlook.
 
Cleetus-Meetbeetus

Cleetus-Meetbeetus

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I programmed and ran CNC driller/routers in a furniture plant for 10 years -- Morbidelli, Biesse, Homag, Weeke. Also programmed for turret punch and 5 axis metal machines. The turret punches were beasts, just amazing to watch -- take a 4X8 galvinized and hammer out drawer parts in minutes. All of the CADing was done in AutoCAD and later Pro Engineer, then imported into the operating programs as DXF files. The original Morbidelli programming back in 92 was all done in G code, and it was a real bitch. I've fucked machines up in just about every way possible.

In 1996 the company bought a Homag Genius and I was tasked to learn to operate it. I made a program for making pivot doors and dropped a zero. It was supposed to pick up a skill saw, come across the door and trim the overhang off the top and bottom. There's a 30mm safety margin built in for travel but it thought the door was 5 mm when it was actually 50 mm. It picked up the saw and brought it out, spun it up, and started its travel across the door to the zero point. I had the remote in my hand but before I realized what was happening it had hit the door sideways and started to drag it off the table. I heard a loud TING as the blade popped off, hit a garbage bin and disappeared down the aisle to embed itself in a cinder block wall -- just as I hit the e-stop. There were two teeth broke off in the garbage bin, and it was about an inch into the cinder block. When I got to work the next day maintenance was building a cage around the machine. Before the machine took over the door shop could make 80 doors a day with about 30 employees; the Homag could do 200 doors a day, and I kept one man to square out lock mortises with a chisel because the smallest round I could do was 1.5 mm. Luckily the rest were able to be redistributed throughout the production line. Six months later they bought 10 more to do flat panels: table tops, shelving, gables, etc.
 
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