New Haas Metal-Mill today?

[k2 Ceramic Studio]

They are good at probing in the UK, huh?

We are the best of course! Lol Loving the flag Scott. Renishaw do a load of nice toys, The PowerMill (dentmill) guys use some for surface probing of MOD stuff after being cast then milled to make sure it is spot on.

 

[Mark Jackson]

This will take time and I need help and trial and error. (Mark....close your eyes!)
Scott

I can't think of a more qualified guy to tackle it. You've got way more patience than me!

 

[araucaria]

And here I was bitching about a measly $1250 to Edison.

I know for me its the Air conditioner that is running non stop, everything else I am pretty efficient on. I have tried to run all my major pieces of equipment on 220 for efficiency. The cost of the lights were the next biggest investment all CFL, has saved me a ton.

Hey John, has anyone started using solar power to subsidise their labs yet ? - free power once the investment is sorted out. It's getting realy popular here in the uk and we're so cloudy! mostly domestic stuff so far though but its a boom industry and set for a lot more growth, and some folk can sell their surplus back to the national grid.

 

[JohnWilson]

Hey John, has anyone started using solar power to subsidise their labs yet ? - free power once the investment is sorted out. It's getting realy popular here in the uk and we're so cloudy! mostly domestic stuff so far though but its a boom industry and set for a lot more growth, and some folk can sell their surplus back to the national grid.

Not that I am aware of, but we are currently getting bids to do that at my home. Problem is my wife wants a bigger house down at the beach and I will be damned if I invest in solar and not recoup my investment some how

 

[JohnWilson]

e in the U.K. Probing System.

OOOOO Sapphire

 

[CatamountRob]

That's a nice machine ya got there Scott!

Its not a Rolland, but nice just the same.............I mean, ya can't cut vinyl or nuthin....... but still nice.....

 

[JohnWilson]

That's a nice machine ya got there Scott!

Its not a Rolland, but nice just the same.............I mean, ya can't cut vinyl or nuthin....... but still nice.....

Stirr Stirr Stirr!

 

[Mark Jackson]

Not that I am aware of, but we are currently getting bids to do that at my home. Problem is my wife wants a bigger house down at the beach and I will be damned if I invest in solar and not recoup my investment some how

Great White did it. I think there are several in Central California who have done it. It feels like California is about six inches from the sun the last few weeks, so it's making more sense all the time, hey john?

 

[JohnWilson]

Yeah its been a typical August as far as heat is concerned, I think we had a milder than normal July so it just hit us harder. I am ready for fall for sure!

 

[greeny]

I mean, to be able to square-up the mill. Including shimming the spindle and mounting the trunnion and using dial indicator to get all axis zero'd in. Then compensate for faults in software, either in the CAM and/or the CNC Controller at the mill. It is never perfect, and if you look hard enough, you will find out of square and tilted surfaces etc.

I need to learn the correct way to measure and in what order. Then, how to approach the problem and fix physically or in software.

To shim the spindle, it's best to use a dial indicator in the spindle (with spindle off ;-)) on a post where you can make a large diameter circle on a perpendicular flat plate. It should have no deviation on at least a 100mm dia circle when strait.

The best way to measure how accurate the machine is (X, Y, Z) is to get in touch with Renishaw and have them perform a ball-bar test. This will show squareness, accuracy, and out of round. We have a unit in-house we use on all machines before they go out to the customer (Dental and CNC),and we recommend this be performed at least once a year.

From my own experience, you can't rely on only the software to compensate for a non-mechanically zeroed axis. I had a D5 that was a tiny bit off on the A-axis and we were having trouble milling extreme angles away from the middle of the blank (which is also the center of the A and B axis). They were fitting decent, not perfectly, and this was only about 45 mm from the workpiece zero point. The test cubes we milled were showing that everything was in line. A few tiny mechanical adjustments - we're talking less than .1 mm between 2 points about 70mm apart - and the fits were dead on.

It's pretty cool what you've taken on... good luck!

 

[DMC]

4th/5th axis mock-up today. Nothing bolted up.

We are making yet another custom fixture to hold the trunnion sideways onto the table, without making a riser plate.

This set-up has no extra room anywhere! Soooo tight!

But, it will work. So far, so good.

Brake-boosters mounted near control cabinet.

 

[DMC]

The Disk has to point up in the air to home that axis. It really sucks bologna, because I had to swap around everything at the last minute.

We tried Eight different combos of mounting the stupid trunnion, but this is the only place it will work. No matter, just cost me a few hours, that's all.

 

[DMC]

I changed the Home position of the trunnion assembly by taking it apart and re-clocking one of the motors onto the other that holds it. (My crazy idea last night in bed....they just come to me>?)

Now, Home Position for the table on the trunnion is 30 degrees up from horizontal, or 60 degrees down from verticle.

This is Important change that gives me more freedon to place the rotarys. No more Home pointing sky-high.

Whew! For my purpose, we need the fixture basically flat to the horizon during milling and home positions to be clear from tool changes and other movements, and not stright up. Works much better for Dental application with my window fixture now.

I just took apart my first trunnion/rotary assemply and changed it from the way Haas thought it should work! LOL

It was just what I needed.

 

[DMC]

Now I am in this arrangement.








Everything has a very certian place to be. Due to homing positions after an emergency power-off situation, and tool change positions, and milling workspace, limits of the table movements, wires hitting or door hitting or ??

I cannot edit the homing "Dance" the mill wants to do. It is not to be changed from the way Haas wrote that code. Z retracts up first....then X-Y move to front-left of mill chamber together...then One rotary start spinning a certian way untill it finds home....then the Second rotary...

I had to work with the direction of rotation when mill is powered-on and homed for the first time, along with every possible combination of last coordinates for the axis to check for collision. I had major problems getting what I wanted into the mill. It was a real challange so far, but still working it out and moving forward. YEAH!

I think that we are very close to an idiot proof set-up. This is my goal. To be able to turn this machine over to an employee or even a kid and operate it safely. We will set limits for all axis, and try and come up with every bad situation we can think of now to see what happens. I am glad we are doing this, because we already found many many things that required a complete redesign over and over in the past few days. I think I have come up with the final solution to mill what I want.

So far, I have removed Two shields off the trunnion assemble and another cover on the bottom to expose and re-route the hydraulic lines and wires, this gave me more clearance on both ends, and I had to take apart the trunnion and re-assemble with one axis spun 60 degrees off from factory specs.

Have not had to use sledgehammer yet. Almost! But seriously....I NEED this to make teeth in Two weeks from now! All next week we calibrate and play with Renishaw toys, finish up the trunnion custom fixture to hold it to table sideways, then CAD of fixture design, then work with CIMSystem engineer the week after for days to develope proper Post-processor and basic 5-axis strategys with my tools on this mill.

Maybe work with FDA on an alloy or Two? Get material tested, get machine verified and certified and blessed by Pope, and then make it Kosher and sell it!?

 

[KTR]

Wow, would love to have one.

 

[DMC]

Trying out the fixture #2 I made.

It seems to fit and the workspace is in good position.

I have just a few Millimeters of clearance below the tools and the fixture during the "Homing dance" but it works! The position in photo below is Higher than my A axis Home and higher than any milling position we would ever use. It is beyond any position I forsee ever being used. I will make this a Limit potision in that Axis for one direction, the other direction will be just before the disk hits the metal table going down. The other "B" rotary gets no limits and can turn 360.

I tried to take a pic of worse case senerio for collision. I think I can set-up everything to be OK if use keeps tool lenght within a certain range.

 

[DMC]

Soooooo close!

But this is going to work. (?)

I need to make sure mill won't preform a tool change at this position.

I need to set parameter for safe axis positions during tool change, and prevent tool change if not within these coordinates.

I hope that is option in my Haas Controler? Reading up on it now....

The Round tool holder comes flying to the right at Sonic speeds, like a Gun being shot.

It is kinda scary.

 

[ts4341]

Fire that bad boy up.. Lets see some pics of it rippin' thru Titanium T or better yet post a video popcorn

 

[Chiolo]

I love the oil paiting . Lol, the pretty angel laying on bed and side-looking what you are doing with the heavy machine~~

 

[DMC]

It will run soon.

I have a couple weeks of writing software, and finish bolting up the trunnion and calibration......test cutting, etc...

Then, I have to clean and disinfect the Dino-grease out of the mill's chamber and tool system, and replace coating with Medical/Aerospace lube. (Vasco Vegi-lube stuff)

(Basically use a solvent and wipe over and over with lint-free cloth, then recoat surfaces to prevent rusting.)

Don't know what else?

Scotty