Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Watch finishes, by CNC

Do a web search on Engine Turning or Engine Polishing for lots of ideas.
There were special machines to do this that used patterned templates. Sort
of like a CNC program done in hardware. As well as an abrasive finish the
machines would engrave or plane relieved patterns as well.

For abrasive tools look at Cratex rubberized abrasives. They are made in
many shapes, wheels, cones, points etc. which mount on mandrels. See
http://www.cratex.com Using your CNC to program the patterns would relieve
much of the tedium associated with this finish.

At 09:51 PM 2003/11/30 -0600, Chuck Knight wrote:

>http://mywebpages.comcast.net/timconnor/ham922/ham922_07.jpg
>
>I want to do this type of finishing to a watch movement, just as an
>experiment...isn't it pretty? This style of decoration is done by using
>a rotating emery disc, and a watchmaker's lathe...lots of tedious
>handwork. I'm thinking of attaching an emery disc onto the end of a
>dowel, and chucking it into a router. Needless to say, there is no
>pressure involved, but only light contact and a precise and slightly
>overlapped toolpath. Given a small, reasonably accurate CNC router,
>this should be simple to achieve. FYI: This watch is from the turn of
>the last century -- one with this level of decoration would cost a
>minimum of $2500, and most are closer to $4000, in today's market. This
>one cost >$100, 100 years ago...this is one of the super-accurate
>railroad watches that kept the trains on time.
>
>Back to CNC. As I see it, once I have a tool made, it should simply be
>a matter of programming the toolpath. Does anyone have a program that
>would automatically generate a spiral, concentric circles, straight
>parallel lines (cotes de geneve) and other simple "filler" patterns
>which I could use for this purpose? I don't want to "reinvent the
>wheel" if I don't have to. I already know that the dust generated will
>require me to clean the movement afterwards, but for the purpose of this
>experiment, I'll happily do it. I could probably do it myself, but I've
>never programmed in G-Code.
>
>I know there are simple "pocketing" programs floating around...what
>types of paths do they generate?
>
> -- Chuck Knight
>
>
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