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Scratch Build – Complete Project QUAD - a Quick and Dirty PC/Spindle cooling with CNC Router attachment

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by dan297, 7 May 2021.

  1. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    A small update.

    "The wall of stabby"...almost completed. :lol:
    Kinda halfway sorted. Tools for wood, drills, endmills, form tools, thread mills, face mills.
    It took a while that the tool holders came in from China, but finally they are here and I shifted a few bits and drills from the other mill to this one.
    I also got me a few new endmills, mainly for wood and plastics like acrylic and acetal.
    The thing is that the high rev spindle is rather powerless below 6000rpm, so all my 3- and 4-flute endmills, which I use on the 4000rpm BF20 are pretty useless on this one, especially the big ones...
    But since the endmills are now paired with a tool holder and the ISO20 tool holders are not compatible with the SK20 spindle of the BF20, I somehow need dedicated tools for each mill anyway...

    Still some room left for special stuff like endmills for carbon fibre material, radius endmills, ball nose endmills, etc...

    20210911_133851.jpg
     
    Last edited: 11 Sep 2021
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  2. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    I put them to work on this little beauty.
    A 800x500x20mm fixture plate out of acetal.

    Basically, a copy of the one Alex Banks posted on the bit-tech YT channel 2.5 years ago.
    So no need to post anything on the making.

    I went with a 50x50mm pattern of Ø6,0mm holes for the dowel pins and a corresponding pattern of M8 threads.
    But I ditched the pattern of the smaller threads for the time being. I can still add them once I start to miss them.
    In the middle are a few extra holes and threads for mounting 2 parallel mod vises.

    I absolutely adore the mod vise from SMW, but since I am a metric guy I can't really use their stuff.
    So I will make my own version of it, but 125mm wide and out of 7075 aluminum.

    20210911_132714.jpg
     
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  3. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    I am still debating the ATC.

    Although the wood bits @ 18000rpm and 5m/min feed rate produce more chips than dust, I still somehow prefer to have a dust shoe installed, when working with wood.
    There are pros and cons of a dust shoe and preferably I loved to have an adjustable one.

    This is the best thing I have seen so far in that context:



    I absolutely love his stuff.
    Unfortunately, I cannot fit something like this to my router, because the moving parts of the Z-axis are too bulky to fit into a secondary moving frame.
    It would be just too big and probably not generate enough suction.
    And since I do also plastics and aluminum it would most likely interfere with the mist cooling.

    I do not want to install and de-install the dust collection every time, depending on what material I work on, so I have something modular in mind, with an upper part fixed to the machine and a removable dust shoe of some sort...
    I am currently playing around with some designs, trying to minimize the required size of the thing...and how to still have the option for ATC :oldconfused:
     
  4. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    What about a really small nozzle on a strong vac, or 2 small nozzles? NVM, I watched your vid.
    Love the plate. I couldn't do that since I designed mine to be open in the middle for odd parts. I'd have to resurface it each time I pulled it.
    That's a beautiful collet wall. That should keep the sea birds away. :hehe:
    ...That would rust sooo bad here.
     
    Last edited: 11 Sep 2021
  5. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Nope, it wouldn't. They are stainless :grin:
    At least some of them...

    I have already made a few trials with a small nozzle (trying to go brushless...)
    A complete fail. Those wood chips are like little bullets at these cutting speeds :eeek:

    So I have to go with some kind of bristles in order to catch them.
    But yeah, I try to keep the footprint as small as possible...

    That is my current thinking.
    Bristle ring removable (to use ones with different length, depending on router bit and cutting depth)
    Lower suction channel removable (to do non wood stuff and potentially ATC)

    Fräse 05.jpg
     
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  6. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    Wish I could help, but i'm from the 'blast it off the table and sweep the carpet' party.
    That looks small enough to get the bristles caught in the cut.
     
  7. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    I hope not. The model is actually not correct.
    Those bristles are 23mm long and the inner dia of the bristles is Ø60mm. Should be good.
    And I plan to make a few rings, 23mm, 18mm, 13mm, 8mm.
    The idea is to have them squeezed only a few mil, when the bit is at full depth.
    I guess most of the woodwork is cutting out parts from a flat sheet, not so much work on a piece in a vise.
    For this I can choose the appropriate ring, depending on depth of cut and end mill length.
    So unless I have a lot of doc variation I should be fine.
    Not ideal, because I will miss the chips at the beginning and end of a cut, but this is the best I came up with, so far.
    If I catch 70-80% of the chips I am ok with this solution. It is somehow a trade off on a multi material machine...

    They are made from a shop vac spare part, which is less than 5 EUR.
    So making a few is no too big a deal.

    20210912_190318.jpg


    I just had to cut off the nozzle with the band saw and mill down the cut to an even surface.
    Soft jaws from scrap acetal are required for that task. :grin:
    I will super glue a 1mm thick steel ring to this surface and it will be then held in place with some magnets...like any other dust shoe in this world...

    20210905_090515.jpg
     
    Last edited: 12 Sep 2021
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  8. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    The dust collection has to wait - my printer is down. :sad:
    While I am waiting for Formlabs' support to fix the issue, I started on the modular vise.
    As I already mentioned, it is basically a copy of the SMW mod vise, but in metric and 125mm wide.
    I will make 2 of them, so I can also clamp some bigger parts.

    Here is a little footage of the making...



    Now you know why I spend the effort to build an enclosure.
    I am still fiddling around with the feed rate. The 3.6m/min is only 75% of the recommended feed rate, but I thought it would be a good idea to start slow and increase gradually. Also the width of cut @ 10% of the endmill dia is not really agressive...

    Here is a little work in progress.
    They will get the final pass with a face mill, once they are bolted to the fixture plate - to ensure an even height.
    The countersunk has an 0.3mm offset, so it pushes the base plate against the dowel pins when the base plate is bolted to the fixture plate.
    For alignment there are two options. Dowel pins in the fixture plate which interlock with the two holes above the countersunks - a really snug fit.
    Or the top edge is pushed against two dowel pins - in case I need some lateral adjustability...

    20210914_181257.jpg
     
    Last edited: 14 Sep 2021
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  9. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    OK, That's a beast. :thumb: That would have taken me hours to cut.
    Looks like you need a cover for the Y rails and screw.
     
  10. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Yep, those chips are everywhere :grin:

    The gantry collects a fair share of them, but so far I am not too concerned - at least not with acetal and aluminum chips.
    They do not stick to the screw and what piles up on the rails I usually clean after each job with the shop vac, together with the area around the work piece.
    Wood chips and dust is a different matter (CFK even more), but for those I hope to get the dust collection working some fine day...

    I am reasonably content with the router. Absolutely no comparison to my BF20 in terms of speed and chip load, despite the fact that due to the weak torque of the spindle I can not cut more than approx. 15mm² (ae x ap) in aluminum.
    But at a feed rate of around 4m/min, that is ok. And there is still room for improvement.
    Best thing, however, is the surface quality. Almost a mirror finish :eeek:
    I am using only 2-flute carbide endmills. They are not cheap, but imho absolutely worth the money...

    Today I went to work on the base plate of the moving jaw.
    I need to do this in 4 clampings.
    This is the first one.

    20210915_172900.jpg

    Bottom right on the moving jaw you can see one of the reasons why I am making these vises in the first place...Forgot to change back parallels to a pair of 4mm higher ones and boom...
    Instant death of a Ø10mm carbide endmill...:waah::waah::waah:
    Should not happen anymore, because these vises do not need parallels...

    The second op is on the BF20, because this kind of Ø40x20mm HSS face mill cannot run on the router. I takes only 2000rpm...
    This surface needs a 1.5° slope, so I just tilted the vise.

    20210915_203602.jpg

    Next op is to remove the base and than finally facing the top, once it is screwed to the fixure plate, for an even height with the base plate of the fixed jaw.

    I also made the fixing plates for the moving jaw.
    This op took about 10 minutes. Milling things like this would have taken me ages the way I use to do CNC so far... :eeek::duh:

    20210915_190611.jpg


    I cut them in pieces on the band saw and milled again a corresponding slope.

    20210915_201217.jpg


    The fixed jaw sits tight on the fixture plate because it is interlocked with the dowel pins.
    The moving jaw sits also tight (without over torquing the screws in the acetal fixture plate), because it can not slide back due to the 1.5°slope...

    20210915_211458.jpg
     
    Last edited: 19 Sep 2021
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  11. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Finished the two mod vises today.

    At first I planed the fixed and moving jaw base plates together, screwed on the fixture plate, so an even height is guaranteed.

    20210919_190057.jpg

    20210919_193347.jpg


    Next I milled the actual jaws, which are designed to take Mitee Bite Talon Grip Jaws in different positions, depending on the size of the part.

    20210919_203641.jpg


    The jaws are symetrical, so the part can be clamped either with the Talon Grips...

    20210919_203747.jpg


    ...or the other side (without marring the part)

    20210919_203900.jpg


    The Talon Grip side does not need paralles, the part can rest on the narrow lip in front of the grips.
    All 4 lips were milled in one pass, installed on the base plates, so they are parallel and even in height.

    20210919_203800.jpg


    With the two vises I can now clamp relatively large parts.
    The vises are 175mm wide, with 125mm wide jaws.

    20210919_203153.jpg


    The clamping force is applied by the offset in the two countersunk M8 holes in the moving jaw, which pushes the jaw into the part...

    20210919_203159.jpg
     
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  12. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Next I will finish the dust collection and then I will close this thread.

    I have ditched the ATC. There are just too many chips flying around, which could potentially pile up on the tool holder and mess up the clamping in the spindle.
    And I do not see moving covers, or stuff like that on this machine...
    A manual tool change (with the ATC spindle) takes only a few seconds, no real difference to ATC.
    Since I do not run the router unattended, it is no big deal to do it by hand.
    And I can always check on the tool, tool holder, do some intermediate cleaning, etc...

    Maybe, one fine day, I will still do an ATC, for wood bits, when a proper dust collection does not dump too much dust and chips on the tool holders, but we will see.
    For the time being I am ok with the current status. :thumb:
     
  13. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    You've done guud! :thumb: I loved every post.
    I'm looking forward to seeing some obscene case building in the future. :D
     
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  14. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Thanks Cheap. Your comments were much appreciated :thumb:


    OK, finally...the dust collection.
    I managed to get all the required parts printed.

    20210920_141356.jpg


    The hose need to somehow stay out of the way during the travel, so I went with the e-rib system from Igus.

    20210920_182423.jpg


    These ribs are snapped over the hose and stabilise it, means it stays in a nice arch, rather than swinging around in an undefined shape...
    Y-position = 0mm

    20210920_190557.jpg


    Y-position = 510mm

    20210920_190703.jpg


    I could still think of a more elegant way to fix the hose to the gantry, but for the time being a zip tie will have to do...
    When I do not use the dust collection I take off the bottom suction channel, the rest stays in place.

    20210920_191118.jpg


    But for a propper dust collection the bristles have to touch the surface.
    At the speeds and feeds the router can cut through wood, my shop vac is just too weak to suck any flying chips straight out of the air...
     
    Last edited: 20 Sep 2021
  15. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Let's see :naughty:
    My wife just asked me to build her a laptop :eeek:

    She wants something to drive her Cameo.
    Not sure why she not just get an old second hand laptop, but hey...happy wife, happy life :grin:
     
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  16. the meeks project

    the meeks project What's a Dremel?

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    Brass tubes...wicked!!
     
  17. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    br..? Oh. 4 months ago. :lol:
     
  18. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    :happy: I had to look back as well...
    Yeah. I had the fittings and as well the tubes lying around, so I thought what the heck, let's use them.
    Wasn't sure how agressive the cooling fluid of the spindle is and how well acrylic or even PETG can withstand it in the long run.
    I plan on zero maintenance :grin:
     
  19. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    Zero maint. is doable, as long as you didn't sneeze in the plumbing anywhere.
     
  20. dan297

    dan297 Modder

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    Not that I remember...:grin:
     

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