Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Free Software

Annie, you can buy straight and ball end mills as small as .005" diameter from MSC. You can also buy straight end mills with a built in corner cuting radius. If you do your draft machining using a center cutting end mill, you won't need to drill a pilot hole first.

Smoke


-----Original Message-----
From: Anne Ogborn <anniepoo@...>
To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@egroups.com <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@egroups.com>
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2000 12:30 AM
Subject: Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Free Software

> For what it's worth, here's some parts off of it.
>
> http://www.idiom.com/~anniepoo/eng/walls.JPG

> Annie,
>
> Just for reference, how big are those parts in the jpg? What size cutter
> did you use?
>

the longer wall is about 5.5"

I used a 1/32" dia flat end mill. I discovered that my notion of what radius
made an acceptably square looking corner was wildly too small. 1/32" looks
fine to my eye.

Since making these my technique has improved,
I'm now using PC board drills converted to end mills.
I have a .125 Al plate. I drill a hole in it using the drill I'll convert.
I dip the drill in melted hard wax (same wax the parts are made of), and
reinsert in the hole I drilled before the wax hardens. The tip should just barely
protrude.
I use a Dremel motor tool and the harder gray/green grinding wheel to grind the
tip off flat, going slow and easy and working using my "God alone has more magnification"
optivisor + loupe + magnifier light combo. Switch to a cutoff disk and put a tiny
cut across the center - this will form a crude "relief". (I only do this on the larger
sizes).
I've made some cutters out of #77 drills this way. They're great for detail, but
I haven't found a good way to put an accurate radius on the end so I can make teeny
tiny ball mills.
If I had real machine tools I'd make a gizmo to do it, but I don't.
I'd like to have some teeny weenie ball mills to cut figures. #77 is 0.018 dia, which
comes out to 1.5" dia in HO.
I'm thinking if I could find 0.005 solid carbide wire (uh, can I get that at Radio Shack? 8c) )
I could just snap the end off. The ragged break should have enough cutting action to
make a final cut with it. Gosh, my software says it'd only take 26 hours to do half a figure
with one of those. It'd be worth it - I could get eyebrows!

Annie

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